David the Shepherd-King

Anointed while still in the field with the sheep; refuses Sauls armor for the smooth stones he knows; spares Saul twice in the caves; falls grievously with Bathsheba and Uriah; receives Nathans parable and writes Psalm 51 from inside the failure. Failure mode: Power that exempts itself from the moral demands it enforces on others. Restoration path: Receive the prophets word; repent in public; rebuild the broken bones rather than cover the bloodguilt. Markers: called from obscure faithful work; refuses borrowed armor; spares the king who hunts him; grievous moral failure mid-reign; accepts the prophets parable; writes confession from inside the sin