In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan tells David a parable about a rich man who steals a poor man’s only lamb. When David condemns the rich man, Nathan reveals that David himself is guilty, and David repents.

The parable led David to judge the wrong for himself before he realized it described his own actions. It helped him see clearly what he had done.

Nathan was telling David that he was the guilty party in the story. David was the one who had taken what belonged to another and caused a man’s death.

David did not argue or excuse himself. He said, ‘I have sinned against the LORD,’ and Nathan told him that God had put away his sin.

It is found in 2 Samuel 12.

In 2 Samuel 13-14, Amnon wickedly wrongs his half-sister Tamar. Her brother Absalom, full of anger, waits two years and then has Amnon killed. Absalom flees, and is later brought back to Jerusalem.

They were all children of King David. Amnon and Absalom were half-brothers, and Tamar was Absalom’s sister, whom Amnon wronged.

Absalom hated Amnon for the great evil he had done to their sister Tamar. After David failed to bring justice, Absalom took revenge himself two full years later.

Absalom fled and lived in exile for about three years. Through Joab’s help he was later brought back to Jerusalem, and in time David welcomed him and kissed him.

It is found in 2 Samuel 13-14.

In 2 Samuel 15, Absalom wins the loyalty of Israel by standing at the city gate and flattering the people. He then has himself proclaimed king in Hebron, and David flees Jerusalem to escape him.

He met people at the gate as they came for justice, listened to them, told them their cause was good, and complained that no one would hear them. He acted humble and kissed those who bowed to him, and so he stole their hearts.

He asked David for leave to keep a vow in Hebron, then used that trip to launch his rebellion. He sent spies through the tribes to announce by trumpet that he reigned as king in Hebron.

When David learned the people had turned to Absalom, he chose to flee rather than let the city be attacked. He crossed the brook Kidron and went up the Mount of Olives, weeping and barefoot.

It is found in 2 Samuel 15.

In 1 Samuel 25, a rich man named Nabal insults David, David sets out to destroy his household, and Nabal’s wife Abigail rides out with a gift and wise words that stop the bloodshed.

Nabal was a very wealthy but harsh man of Maon whose flocks were in Carmel. He refused to help David and his men after they had protected his shepherds.

David had guarded Nabal’s shepherds, but when he asked for food in return, Nabal insulted him and refused, so David set out with about four hundred men to take revenge.

About ten days after Abigail met David, the LORD struck Nabal and he died. David later married Abigail.

It is found in 1 Samuel 25.

In 1 Samuel 30, David returns to find Ziklag burned and everyone captured by the Amalekites. He asks God, pursues the raiders, defeats them, and recovers all the people and goods.

They were bitter and grieved because their wives, sons, and daughters had been taken captive, and they blamed David for leaving the town undefended.

His men found an abandoned Egyptian servant in a field, fed him, and he guided them to the raiders.

That those who stayed behind to guard the supplies would share the plunder equally with those who fought in the battle.

It is found in 1 Samuel 30.

In 2 Samuel 5, all the tribes of Israel come to David at Hebron and anoint him king. He then captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites and makes it the City of David.

David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in all.

David took the stronghold of Zion from the Jebusites and named it the City of David. It became Jerusalem, his capital.

The Bible says David grew greater and greater because the LORD God of hosts was with him.

It is found in 2 Samuel 5.

In 2 Samuel 6, David tries to move the ark to Jerusalem on a cart. When the oxen stumble, Uzzah reaches out to steady the ark and is struck dead by God for touching it.

Uzzah was a son of Abinadab. He and his brother Ahio drove the new cart that carried the ark of God.

God had commanded that the ark be carried, not touched. When Uzzah took hold of it, the anger of the LORD was kindled against him for his error.

David left the ark at the house of Obed-edom for three months, and later brought it up properly, dancing before the LORD in a linen ephod.

It is found in 2 Samuel 6.

In 2 Samuel 7, David wants to build a temple for the ark of God, but God tells him through Nathan that instead God will build David a lasting house, throne, and kingdom.

The prophet Nathan, after the word of the LORD came to him that night.

That God would raise up David’s offspring, that his son would build the house for God’s name, and that his throne and kingdom would be established for ever.

Not David, but his seed after him — his son, who would build the house for God’s name.

It is found in 2 Samuel 7.

In 1 Samuel 3, God calls the boy Samuel three times in the night. Samuel thinks it is Eli, until Eli tells him to answer the LORD.

Samuel did not yet know the LORD’s voice, so he assumed the priest Eli was calling him.

He said, “Speak; for thy servant heareth,” showing he was ready to listen and obey.

As he grew, the LORD was with him, and all Israel knew he was established to be a prophet of the LORD.

It is found in 1 Samuel 3.

In 1 Samuel 16, God sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint a new king. After seven older sons are passed over, the youngest, David, is called in from the sheep and anointed.

The LORD told Samuel that man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. David’s brothers looked the part, but God had chosen David.

Jesse was a man of Bethlehem and the father of David. God sent Samuel to Jesse’s house because He had chosen a king from among Jesse’s sons.

The Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. Later David played the harp for Saul, and Saul was refreshed when an evil spirit troubled him.

It is found in 1 Samuel 16.