The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord ’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
So he sent and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came on David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
My thoughts -
The people wanted a king and so they got one. But things didn't work out so well with Saul. Saul did not have a heart for God. He followed his own will and trusted in his own strength. After many disappointments Samuel, who had selected Saul with the Lord to be king, gave up on him. This caused Samuel to grieve.
In Samuel's grief over Saul the Lord visits him and tells him to stop grieving and go anoint the new king. I love how David is then selected. He wasn't the oldest. He wasn't the biggest. He wasn't the strongest. He wasn't the handsomest. In fact, he wasn't even there. All criteria that people would use to choose would have picked someone not like David. Heck, Saul was a better choice by human standards then David.
Saul was big and strong. He stood a head taller than his peers. And we was good looking and a powerful warrior. Dude was larger than life. No wonder the people wanted him to be king. David is little more than a boy when Samuel first encounters him here. He is such an afterthought that he's not even present when Jesse and his sons are invited to the sacrifice. He's stuck at home tending the flock. He's the youngest. If a warrior is needed he's got three bothers in Saul's army. Who would want the youngest? Who would want the smallest? Who would want that guy to be king?
But God does not judge by the same standards that we do. David had a heart after God and was everything that Saul wasn't. He trusted God and not his own strength. He went on to kill Goliath without having a sword or armor so that all of the people could see that God saves them, not their swords and spears.
Human judgement would not have put David on the throne, and yet God selected David to be king and he became the greatest king in his people's history.
Look, too at Jesus through human eyes. He was born into poverty. He was effectively driven out of his home town by his own people. He was ultimately executed by the state. If this was the Messiah, if he was God incarnate, if he was to deliver his people he picked a really odd way to do it. Where was his army? Where was his kingdom? How could he rule when he was killed? Jesus didn't look anything like the Savior we humans would imagine.
But God works differently than we do. God used weakness as strength and in death provided life. Time and time again we see this. Our own judgement wants to use might to do our will. And yet God chooses the humble and turns our expectations upside down.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
No comments:
Post a Comment