David

David was the second king of Israel. He was from the tribe of Judah and was born in Bethlehem. He is a direct ancestor of Jesus. Starting his life as a lowly shepherd he was chosen by the prophet Samuel to be anointed King of Israel during the reign of King Saul. As a consequence, God's favor left Saul and landed upon David. For the next 15 years he waited to become king. Much of those years he was chased by Saul who attempted to kill him again ad again.

At a young age (about 15) he killed the Philistine champion Goliath with only a sling and a stone. He was then taken into the court of the king and even played the lyre for him. When he became older David started to lead the armies of Israel and earned the respect of not only his men but the whole of Israel as well. This, along with the fact the God's favor was on David, caused Saul to want to destroy him. God never allowed Saul to kill David and when Saul eventually fell in battle David rose to the throne.

Though David is said to be a man after God's own heart, as king he committed some heinous sins; among them were adultery, murder, and taking a census of the people. But David always loved God throughout his entire life. One can see his love for God in the Psalms that he wrote throughout his life.

Family
David was born to Jesse and was the youngest of eight brothers (those named are Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah). His wives were Michal, Ahinoam, Abigail, Maacah, Haggith, Abital, Eglah, and Bathsheba. His sons were Ammon, Daniel, Absalom, Adonijah, Shephatiah, Ithream, Shemmua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphetet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada, and Eliphelet. He also had a daughter named Tamar.