Hebrew Bible: Chronicles

'Chronicles' recaps much of the Hebrew Bible's overarching story. The key points are:

Israelites conquered the Promised Land.
David became king.
Solomon, David's son, built a temple in Jerusalem.
The Promised Land split into two kingdoms: Israel in the north, Judah in the south.
Assyrians destroyed the kingdom of Israel.
Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judah; they exiled the population and destroyed Jerusalem.
Persians conquered Babylon; the king of Persia allowed the people of Judah to return home.
(The people of Judah became known as Jews; their religion became known as Judaism.)

Here's a fun story from Chronicles, part 1, chapter 21:

King David decided to carry out a census to find out how many people lived in his kingdom. God didn't like this; he spoke to the prophet Gad:

“Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’”

So Gad went to David and said to him:

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”
David chose option 3.

So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.”
And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem.

And David felt guilty that people had been slaughtered because of him:

“Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people.”

The angel told Gad to tell David that he should build an altar on Ornan's threshing floor.
Ornan & sons were busy threshing wheat when David arrived; they were so engrossed in their work that they hadn't noticed the giant sword-wielding angel stood next to them. When they turned and saw it, Ornan's sons fled. Ornan kept his cool and went to chat with David, who purchased the land and built an altar.

Then the Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.