The book of First Samuel

Fulfilling Samuel’s prophecy, King Saul and his sons die in a crushing defeat against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, ending his tragic reign in suicide and disgrace until the men of Jabesh-gilead recover their bodies.

After Amalekites burn Ziklag and kidnap the families of David’s men, David finds strength in God, pursues the raiders with the help of an Egyptian slave, recovers everything, and establishes a law of equal sharing among his troops.

God providentially uses the suspicion of Philistine commanders to reject David from their army, sparing him from fighting against Israel and freeing him to rescue his family.

Desperate and abandoned by God, King Saul visits a medium at Endor, where the spirit of Samuel rises to pronounce the final judgment of Saul’s impending death and the transfer of the kingdom to David.

Exhausted by Saul’s pursuit, David seeks asylum with the Philistine King Achish, who gives him Ziklag; from there, David raids Israel’s ancient enemies while deceiving Achish into believing he is attacking Judah to prove his loyalty.

David infiltrates Saul’s camp at night while a supernatural sleep holds the army, refuses Abishai’s offer to kill the king, and instead steals Saul’s spear and water jug to prove his innocence, leading to a final confession of foolishness from Saul.

When the wealthy fool Nabal insults David and refuses hospitality, his wise wife Abigail intervenes with food and diplomacy to prevent a massacre, leading to David sparing the household and God subsequently striking Nabal dead.

When King Saul accidentally enters the very cave where David is hiding, David resists his men’s urging to kill him and instead cuts off a piece of Saul’s robe, later using it to prove his loyalty and sparing of the king’s life, causing Saul to weep and acknowledge David’s future kingship.

David saves the city of Keilah but is forced to flee when God reveals the citizens will betray him to Saul; later, after a final encouraging meeting with Jonathan, David is narrowly saved from capture in the desert when a Philistine raid forces Saul to retreat.

While David gathers an army of outcasts at the Cave of Adullam and secures safety for his parents, a paranoid King Saul orders the slaughter of 85 priests at Nob for aiding David, a massacre carried out by Doeg the Edomite, leaving only Abiathar to escape to David.