Welcome to Month 5.
Last month, you watched David rise. This month, you will watch him reign — and fall — and rise again.
Month 5 is an emotionally complex month of readings. You are going to sit with a man described as "a man after God's own heart" and watch him commit adultery. Watch him arrange a murder. Watch his family shatter as a direct consequence of his sin. And then, you are going to watch him write some of the most breathtakingly honest prayers ever recorded.
That tension is not a problem.
It is the point.
May opens with David consolidating his kingdom. He brings the ark to Jerusalem, dances before the Lord without shame, and receives one of the most significant promises in the entire Bible — the Davidic covenant. God tells him that his throne will last forever. This is not just a political promise. This is a redemptive one. The whole story is still moving toward something.
- Then comes Bathsheba.
- Then comes Nathan the prophet, standing in David's throne room, saying, "You are the man."
- Then come the Psalms of a broken king who does not run from God after his worst moment — he runs to Him.
- From there, the second half of the month walks you through family rebellion, political betrayal, David fleeing his own city, and a grief so raw it will make you stop reading just to breathe.
And yet...
God does not abandon him. The covenant does not break. David returns to Jerusalem. He prepares extravagantly for a temple he will never build. He blesses his son Solomon and hands off the kingdom with his hands full of worship.
By Day 151, you will be standing at the edge of Solomon's reign, holding the weight of everything David's story cost — and everything it secured.
This is the month the Psalms stop being poetry and become testimony.
Days 121-151:
- Day 121 2 Sam 5 ; 1 Ch 11-12
- Day 122 Ps 133
- Day 123 Ps 106-107
- Day 124 1 Ch 13-16
- Day 125 Ps 1-2, 15, 22-24, 47, 68
- Day 126 Ps 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132
- Day 127 2 Sam 6-7; 1 Ch 17
- Day 128 Ps 25, 29, 33, 36, 39
- Day 129 2 Sa 8-9; 1 Ch 18
- Day 130 Ps 50, 53, 60, 75
- Day 131 2 Sa 10; 1 Ch 19; Ps 20
- Day 132 Ps 65-67, 69-70
- Day 133 2 Sam 11-12; 1 Ch 20
- Day 134 Ps 32, 51, 86, 122
- Day 135 2 Sam 13-15
- Day 136 Ps 3-4, 12-13, 28, 55
- Day 137 2 Sam 16-18
- Day 138 Ps 26, 40, 58, 61-62, 64
- Day 139 2 Sam 19-21
- Day 140 Ps 5, 38, 41-42
- Day 141 2 Sam 22-23; Ps 57
- Day 142 Ps 95, 97-99
- Day 143 2 Sam 24; 1 Ch 21-22; Ps 30
- Day 144 Ps 108-110
- Day 145 1 Ch 23-25
- Day 146 Ps 131, 138-139, 143-145
- Day 147 1 Ch 26-29; Ps 127
- Day 148 Ps 111-118
- Day 149 1 Kgs 1-2; Ps 37, 71, 94
- Day 150 Ps 119
- Day 151 1 Kgs 3-4
Summary of Readings:
- 2 Samuel 5–24
- 1 Kings 1–4
- 1 Chronicles 11–29
- Psalms
- 133, 106–107, 1–2, 15, 22–24, 47, 68, 89, 96, 100–101, 105, 132, 25, 29, 33, 36, 39, 50, 53, 60, 75, 20, 65–67, 69–70, 32, 51, 86, 122, 3–4, 12–13, 28, 55, 26, 40, 58, 61–62, 64, 5, 38, 41–42, 57, 95, 97–99, 30, 108–110, 131, 138–139, 143–145, 127, 111–118, 37, 71, 94, 119
This month covers Days 121–151 of the Heart Dive 365 reading plan. You will finish 2 Samuel, move into the opening chapters of 1 Kings, complete 1 Chronicles, and read more Psalms than any other month — all of them anchored to the real moments that gave birth to them.
Weekly Readings:
- Week 1 (Days 121–128):
- David takes Jerusalem, brings the ark home, and receives the Davidic covenant.
- Chronicles gives you the fuller picture of who was with him and why it mattered.
- (2 Samuel 5–7, 1 Chronicles 11–17, Psalms 133, 106–107, 1–2, 15, 22–24, 47, 68, 89, 96, 100–101, 105, 132, 25, 29, 33, 36, 39)
- Week 2 (Days 129–135):
- David's military victories — and then his most catastrophic personal failure.
- The story of Bathsheba and Uriah is meant to be uncomfortable.
- Nathan's confrontation. The arrival of Psalm 51.
- (2 Samuel 8–12, 1 Chronicles 18–20, Psalms 50, 53, 60, 75, 20, 65–67, 69–70, 32, 51, 86, 122)
- Week 3 (Days 136–142):
- The consequences come home.
- Amnon and Tamar.
- Absalom's rebellion.
- David flees Jerusalem on foot while his son steals his throne.
- The raw, desperate Psalms written in the middle of it all.
- (2 Samuel 13–22, Psalms 3–4, 12–13, 28, 55, 26, 40, 58, 61–62, 64, 5, 38, 41–42, 57, 95, 97–99)
- Week 4 (Days 143–151):
- David returns. Numbers the people.
- Buys the threshing floor that will become the temple site.
- Hands the kingdom to Solomon.
- Chronicles closes out with David's final charge and the people's overwhelming generosity toward the house of God.
- Then — Psalm 119.
- (2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21–29, 1 Kings 1–4, Psalms 30, 108–110, 131, 138–139, 143–145, 127, 111–118, 37, 71, 94, 119)
What's in Month 5?
2 SAMUEL (Chapters 5–24)
The full reign of David — from his greatest height to his lowest point and back again. These chapters do not sanitize David's story. They show you exactly who he was: a worshiper, a warrior, a failure, a father, a man who fell hard and came back to God harder. The covenant God made with him never wavered, even when he did.
1 CHRONICLES (Chapters 11–29)
Chronicles retells David's story with a different lens — less focused on his personal failures and more focused on his preparations for worship. You will see the same events from a different angle, and both perspectives matter. Chronicles ends with one of the most beautiful acts of generosity in all of Scripture: the people giving toward the temple with such wholehearted joy that David breaks into spontaneous worship.
A Note About 1 Chronicles 29
Before you leave Month 5, slow down at 1 Chronicles 29.
David stands before the assembly and delivers an offering toward the temple he knows he will never build. Then the people respond. Then David prays. The language in that prayer — "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand" — is one of the most profound statements about generosity and humility in the entire Bible.
It is a fitting close to David's story.
He started as a shepherd boy with a sling. He ends as a king with his hands open.
1 KINGS (Chapters 1–4)
David's story ends and Solomon's begins. These opening chapters are full of political tension — deathbed instructions, rival claimants to the throne, and the transfer of a kingdom. Then Solomon asks God for wisdom instead of power, and God gives him both. A new era begins.
PSALMS (scattered throughout)
This is the heaviest Psalm month of the year, and also the richest. You will read Psalm 51 the same week you read about Bathsheba. You will read Psalms 3 and 4 while David is fleeing Absalom. You will read Psalm 119 — all 176 verses of it — at the very end of the month as a meditation on the word that carried David through everything you just witnessed.
Do not rush them. These are not filler days.
A Note About Psalm 51
When you get to Day 134, pause.
Read 2 Samuel 11–12 first. Read Nathan's confrontation. Read David's response. Then open Psalm 51.
This psalm is what repentance actually looks like. Not managed guilt. Not a performance for an audience. Not moving on quickly.
It is a man completely undone before God, asking not to be cast away — and trusting that God won't.
David does not earn his way back. He just turns back. And God meets him there.
That is the psalm. That is the moment. Do not skip past it.
A Note About the Psalms of Ascent
Tucked throughout this month, you will encounter several Psalms of Ascent (Psalms 120–134) songs sung by pilgrims traveling up to Jerusalem for worship.
They are short, they are communal, and they carry a very different energy than the crisis psalms written on battlefields and in caves.
Read them as what they are: worship sung on the road.
Feet moving. Hearts lifting. The journey itself as an act of faith.
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Day 121 2 Samuel 5; 1 Chronicles 11-12
Day 121 2 Samuel 5; 1 Chronicles 11-12: David finally becomes king over all Israel. After years of waiting, running, and trusting, God fulfills the promise He made to a shepherd boy.
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Day 122 Psalm 133
Day 122 Psalm 133: David celebrates the beauty of unity among God’s people, comparing it to the anointing oil that ran down Aaron’s beard and the dew on Mount Hermon.
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Day 123 Psalms 106-107
Day 123 Psalms 106-107: Two psalms, two perspectives. One remembers Israel’s rebellion. The other remembers God’s rescue. Together, they tell the full story of grace.
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Day 124 1 Chronicles 13-16
Day 124 1 Chronicles 13-16: David brings the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, but his first attempt goes tragically wrong. What happens when good intentions don’t follow God’s instructions?
