You can tell a lot about a person by the way they deal with the good and the bad in life. What they make of their personal triumphs, and how they account for their failures. King David is one of the Bible's clearest examples of a character whose life experiences ranged from blessed and fortunate at times, to pitiful and sad at other times. But it's how he responded to these situations—whom he credited for his successes and how he made up for his shortcomings—that speaks to who he was as a person.
David's story starts simply. He was a shepherd boy from Bethlehem (later the city where Jesus would be born and Christianity would take root). David, whose name means beloved in Hebrew, first appeared on the scene as "the recipient of an important divine promise," The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday. 1992). Vol. 2, p. 46 . when the prophet Samuel secretly anointed him to succeed Saul as king of Israel.
David made his way to Saul's court as a young musician. He first made a name for himself with his single-handed battle with a menacing Philistine, the giant known as Goliath. In spite of his lack of experience, David couldn't have been that intimidated; he volunteered to fight Goliath. To the other soldiers on his side, who were cowering in fear, that might have seemed baffling enough. But there was another surprise: David refused to wear battle gear. Instead, the weapon of his choice was a sling and a few stones.
