David

This book is a look back by the aging King David as he tells a young virgin brought in to keep him warm, about his rise from being the youngest and disrespected son of Jesse of Bethlehem of Judah. God directs the prophet Samuel to anoint the boy, serving as a shepherd, as the next king, but nothing changes, until he becomes the unlikely hero that takes out a giant champion warrior of an opposing foreign army. The king's jealousy leads to 13 years of hunting down David to kill him in order to prevent him from becoming king. In this phase, David develops an intimate relationship with God, who protects him, gives him victories, and sees his character and skill as a warrior develop. After the tragedy of his best friend, Jonathan, dying along with his father King Saul, in battle, David becomes King of Judah only to endure a 7-year civil war with the northern tribes. Eventually, David becomes king of the united nation and builds an empire through conquest of neighboring countries. He brings the revered golden Ark of the Covenant to the City of David in Jerusalem and has a period of relative peace and prosperity. All is well until a series of family problems culminating in the revolt led by one of David's sons, followed by another son trying to take the throne by taking advantage of David's physical weakness in his declining years. In the end, David set up his son Solomon, before he fully abdicates and then dies with a legacy as a much-loved figure and as a man who was able to touch the heart of God.