David Anointed as King
Study Scripture 1 Samuel 16: 1 – 13
Background Scripture: 1Samuel 16: 1 – 13
Lesson 9 October 29, 2022
Key Verse
But the Lord said unto Samuel, Do not look at his appearance, or at the height of his stature; because I have rejected him; for God does not see as man sees; since man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.1 Samuel 16:7
INTRODUCTION
Our Lesson Study teaches us some very important Bible truths central to which of course is the statement that God looks on the outward appearances but the Lord looks at the heart.
But we hopefully will have you learn from this that God loves you for your entire being, how you are in total, and not as you appear to others outwardly. This is of course a critically important lesson that all believers must learn for its neglect is used by Satan to carry out his too often successful temptations and His frequent successes in stirring up of guilt feelings in believers when he reminds them of what they have done in the past.
But our Study also is really designed to teach you the ethical lesson that you must look at those around you, including your peers and as you do ask how God views them.
In addition, this Study points us to the very critical importance of our emotional state and therefore God has to ask His prophet Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn” when the first king of the nation of Israel that he has chosen on God’s instructions to him and who he clearly loves has been rejected by God.
We sometimes underestimate the strength of our mourning when we are in a time of transition in our community. We tend to forget that the overriding concern is not the future of a particular person but the future of the people of God. Sometimes therefore there is no time for grieving when people we love have prove themselves unworthy. When this happens God has to as it were anoint another king and we find ourselves mourning. Remember however that the work of salvation most go on.
Strangely we don’t seem to remember the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 9: 2 and 3
“I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh”. The Apostle had strong feelings of sorrow forthose who strayed and so should we. When things happen that we do not like and when the people of God suffer loss among our community. God is not surprised when we mourn. God well knows that His servants will have the tenderest of tender feelings with regard to the welfare of the people of God.
In this case we do not see Samuel mourning when people wanted to throw his two sons from their offices or even grieved over his own setting aside by the ungrateful people he has so faithfully served. His feelings of mourning were for the one for who the people of God had fond hopes and whose downfall meant likely to him the downfall of the people of God. This concern for the welfare of the people of God troubled him.
Our Study therefore will help us know the things on which we should focus and mourn about as we live on this earth.
We are therefore faced with a lesson on how servants must obey the command of God.
It is to be carefully in this Study that the guidance of God cannot be so easily discerned at the moment in which we are. It is sometimes discerned in hindsight. One writer tells us
“We may not sense what God is doing in our midst or how God is leading us. Even the great prophet Samuel did not know what God was doing. This story, with so much of the Old Testament, affirms that God’s “providence” operates beyond which our sight operates, but even so we remain within God’s view
Note also that God’s eye here is on the flock and not just individual sparrow. In our age we tend to individualize so many of the messages of the Bible. Here, it is important to note that it is the community of faith that is under God’s care. Neither Saul nor David’s older brothers might have understood the way in which God was providing for Israel as a good way, but God’s eyes were on the people as a whole and not merely the individuals.
Of critical importance also is how God secretly prepares His servants. In this preparation we also learn the kind of inner qualifications and characteristics that bring glory to God.
We tend to forget the parable about the kingdom of God when Jesus spoke about a farmer that scattered sead on the ground and then as it were went to sleep waiting while the earth produced first a small shoot, then eventually a small plant, and then a full grain. According to Jesus in Mark 4:26-29 the farmer did not know how his plant came out in such a big harvest but the time came when he put in his instrument and reaped. The grain was fully ripe at the time that God had intended.
We can learn how God prepares from this parable.
As we look at the story we learn something about the way of God in preparing His people. The way God deals with David is the way He deals with us.
We see that God prepared David for his role as a great king of Israel and we look at David’s qualifications and characteristics and how God would use everything that David did, his time alone by himself in the wilderness alone with God under the stars, his trials, his successes, his relationships, his errors, his foolish behaviour, and his betrayals, using these to shape David within. One writer comments:
“This is the way of God, and it was His way with David. Secretly, quietly, and mysteriously, God is planting a seed and sowing His harvest. He prepares you, no doubt, just as He prepared David: privately, quietly, almost invisibly. But the day comes, just as it came for David, when it is time to put in the sickle, for the harvest has come.
God had quietly prepared David for his role as the great king of Israel. For years, God had prepared David’s inner qualifications, characteristics which would bring God glory. Throughout David’s life, God would use everything consequences, trial, successes, relationships, aloneness, error, betrayals– to deepen those inner qualifications.
But, at the point we pick up David’s story, God has already shaped David within . Quietly, unbeknownst to his own family, David’s harvest was ripe. He was ready to be anointed as the future king”
.
But note here the writer point to the place where we mourn and grieve as we go through our daily lives with the brethren: He states:
“The scene, as the reader approaches it, is steeped in sorrow, for you do not get David until you go through Saul”.
It is important that we note that the first king of Israel Saul could have had his throne established but God rejected him and his family line from sitting on the throne for his heart was not set on building the kingdom of God but he wanted to build his own name. So we read 1 Samuel 13:14 God uttering the dreadful words, “Your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart”.
So what does God want from us? Has He called and anointed us so that we can establish our own kingdom, or does He want us to establish His kingdom?
Can we please God if we do not have a heart after God’s own heart?
Every believer has surely read this passage:
Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they indeed craved them. (1 Corinthians 10:6).
Paul reminded his readers of Israel’s experiences in the wilderness and noted these were recorded as examples for our learning, so that we would not crave evil things.
Over three hundred years have elapsed since Joshua and his generation entered, conquered and settled the Promised Land. The ‘dark’ period dubbed ‘the time of the Judges’ has just ended and Israel’s first human king was on the throne; a monarchy was now the rulership in Israel.
A popular saying is “be careful what you ask for, you might just get it”! The Israelites had a ‘king like the other nations’ as they demanded and the consequences of rejecting their rightful king was already being felt.
Despite King Saul’s auspicious start his reign began to unravel fast as a major flaw in his make-up became evident. Saul showed a penchant for rash and hasty decisions. (14:25), a fatal flaw that would prove his undoing.
The people demanded a king to “...go out before us and fight our battles… ” (1 Sam. 8:20) and their king soon led them to victories over the Ammonites and the Amalekites. But noteworthy to this point, the writer makes no mention of Saul praying or seeking God’s guidance as he led the people. It appears Saul, like pagan kings saw himself as the supreme leader of his nation and had little regard for God’s established order.
The on-again off-again war with Israel’s most implacable enemy the Philistines soon absorbed the king’s attention and energy. The prophet Samuel informed the king that he should wait seven days for the prophet’s arrival to offer burnt and peace offerings to the Lord, (10:8). After all, we know that the picture belongs to God and not to us.
Saul however overstepped his bounds and disobeyed the Lord (1 Samuel 9:13; 13:7b–14; 15:2–33). Saul increasingly demonstrated the downfalls of having a king at all. As a result, the Lord ‘regretted’ choosing Saul and decided to anoint another king (15:35); “…a man after His own heart,”.
God’s choice, a mere lad at the time stands in sharp contrast to Saul the people’s choice. He is the last of eight sons of a seemingly well-to-do father but we first meet him tending sheep. Beyond the healthy glow of one who spends time under the sun and stars, nothing is said of his physical stature unlike Saul who we read stood head and shoulder above everyone.
As a matter of fact David’s father seem to have so disregarded the welfare of his youngest son that when Samuel who ruled over the entire nation, this great prophet came to have a great feast with the family his father Jesse was quite prepared to have David stay out in the field looking after the sheep instead of giving that job to one of his servant that we are sure he could afford to have.
So do not cry when you are left out of what you consider to be the great events in your family life for the church, the school, or the nation.
Do not mope about that. God is in control and will call you when He want to call you.
Clearly God’s criteria for those who would serve Him lies with the ‘heart’ and not the externals that so impress men. David’s lowly estate was not a deterrent to his becoming king and as a ‘caring’ shepherd (1 Sam.17:34-35) he mirrored Israel’s ultimate king.
The Study Text introduces us to God’s anointed king The first time he is directly mentioned in the Scriptures, we find him in an apparent lowly and neglected state: however God will raise him up to become Israel’s most famous and storied king and the recipient of the ‘Davidic Covenant’.
As we come to the Text, beyond God’s grace let us note and emulate David’s qualification for the office; he was a ‘man after God’s won heart’.
THE TEXT
Verse 1. I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?
Samuel’s continued mourning over Saul’s failures and rejection was inappropriate but understandable. While Saul’s success would have been success on behalf of Israel, God had rejected him and the last time Samuel would ever meet Saul was to tell him that God had rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:20–23, 35). Saul looked the part (9:2) without being able to carry out the office of king in the manner desired by the Lord (15:1–11).
God’s word to Samuel was that the time for mourning was past (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4).
We must consider it quite a noble thing for Samuel to mourn over Saul but from God’s point of view He had to give Samuel a mild rebuke. Note that the Hebrew word for mourning used here is the word that is used when there are mourning rites over one who has recently died. This is the same word used in Genesis 37:34 when Jacob believed that Joseph had died. In Numbers 14:39 the wandering Israelites “mourned” for the dead after a plague. David use this word when he mourned over the death of his young son. This word is also used when another son had abandoned him and died as a result. For Samuel Saul’s rejection was a great loss.
We do not really know how long Samuel was mourning for Saul but the time had come for Samuel to get over it, get up and anoint the next king. In these times of transition when we do not know the future it is always difficult for us.
It is now time for us to remember that even though we do the work of God faithfully and we die, God will never allow His work to die. Similarly, when we are unfaithful and we fail at doing God’s work God will also never allow His work to die.
God’s word does not depend on any one man or woman and so when Samuel was paralyzed with mourning since Saul had tragically rebelled, God was not paralyzed.
A challenge for believers is to determine the time to move from healthy mourning to un-healthy over-focusing in the wake of adverse circumstances.
The horn is likely that of a ram (Genesis 22:13). Though horns were often used to produce sound (Joshua 6:5), they could also make excellent containers for oil (1 Kings 1:39; Psalm 92:10).
Jesse was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:21–22). He and his family, owned sheep and might have employed shepherds (1 Samuel 16:11). Their hometown, Bethlehem, was located in Judah, south-southeast of Samuel’s home in Ramah which was in the territory of Ephraim (7:17). The journey of more than twenty miles to Bethlehem required crossing through the territory of Benjamin. The New Testament village of Arimathaea is likely this same place renamed (John 19:38).
God’s rejection of Saul as king was of course valid, but Samuel mourned that decision deeply. God stood fast and told Samuel it was time to move on.
How long will you sit and mourn when God tells you stop?
Verse 2. …if Saul hear it, he will kill me… the most likely road to Bethlehem went through Gibeah, the Saul’s hometown,(1 Samuel 15:34). The odds were high that Saul or his family might realize Samuel’s mission, which could prove to be a grave danger. Without an innocuous reason to travel, suspicion or curiosity could be aroused.
By now Saul’s true character was evident to Samuel. Saul did not even hesitate to put his own son to death (chapter 14). Like Herod centuries later, he does not flinch at the thought of killing off any potential threat to his throne. Neither will he be reluctant to kill any who support a rival king
(1Sam. 21-22). The prophet was rightly concerned.
If somebody were to anoint another king this would be interpreted as an act of rebellion against Saul. This would be treason. But God in fact tells Samuel to obey Him.
One writer addresses the question that this give rise to. When God told Samuel to take an heifer with him and to tell anyone of the people who questioned him, that he had come to offer sacrifices to the Lord. This raises a question which one writer confronts:
“That’s very interesting because that raises the question. Was Samuel asked to exercise duplicity? Was he really to lie? When they said, “Why have you come? Was he to say, “Well I have come to sacrifice when really he comes to anoint a new king? I think probably the proper answer to this is it’s not always duplicity when you don’t tell everything that you know. He had come to offer sacrifice. It was not duplicity. And furthermore, David was not being anointed as a king now, but he was being anointed in virtue of the fact that God was going to give him the kingdom in the future. And so he is told simplify by the Lord “Well, take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD”.
… I am come to sacrifice to the Lord… Samuel was known for offering sacrifices while traveling
(1 Samuel 7:9; 9:12–13; 10:8; etc.). While this was not the primary reason for Samuel to be traveling this time, it was a legitimate reason and quite appropriate when anointing a king chosen by God.
Some might take issue that Samuel did not reveal his entire mission but he told the truth and God’s instructions show that His servants must conduct themselves with wisdom.
Note that David was not anointed as king until when he was to assume the throne over some of the tribes. Then he was again anointed when he assumed control over all the tribes.
A heifer is a young female cow. Heifers were not typically sacrificed, although precedent and instruction existed (Genesis 15:9; Numbers 19:2–10; Deuteronomy 21:3–6). Generally male animals were sacrificed (Leviticus 1:5; 4:3–21; Numbers 8:8; Deuteronomy 18:3; etc.). This may have been in recognition that female animals were more valuable for reproduction. While one male could significantly increase an entire herd, one female was unlikely to be so fruitful.
The Law of Moses specified several types of animal sacrifices (Leviticus 12:6–8; 16:3–28). Samuel’s sacrifice was not connected to any specific festival, so it should likely be considered a peace offering. The beast could be male or female so long as it was “without blemish” (3:1). A key difference in this case is that neither the tabernacle nor priests play a part. Samuel however was instructed by the Lord himself to make this sacrifice as part of his errand to Bethlehem, so these absences are no cause for concern.
Verse 3. … and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee… Samuel is to invite Jesse to this sacrificial meal, which will provide the occasion for him to anoint one of his sons as king. The specific son is not identified, but it is to be one of the sons of Jesse. This will be a sacrificial meal very much like the one Samuel is invited to attend, along with his servant (1 Sam. 9-10).
The Lord did not give Samuel detailed instructions at this point, though Samuel might have appreciated a step-by-step guide in advance. All he needed to know to proceed was to take a sacrifice and to invite Jesse to the occasion. Samuel would walk by faith, awaiting God’s next instruction (Romans 1:17).
God’s people must trust that He will provide what we need to carry-out His work.
Verse 4. … the elders of the town trembled at his coming, …, it is unclear why the elders immediately trembled at Samuel’s approach. Their reaction may be evidence that Samuel had a reputation for bringing punishment and bad news; a reputation that many prophets later earned (1 Kings 18:17–19; Jeremiah 38:1–4; Amos 7:10–17; etc.). The Hebrew word translated peaceably has more to do with positive connotations of peace like wholeness and well-being than simply an absence of violence.
With regard to their question Comest thou peaceably? see 1 Kings 2:13 and 2 Kings 9:17–29.
Samuel had executed the Amalekite king Agag; it was a time of political tension; news of Saul’s rejection was likely common by now; was it safe to receive the prophet?
Verse 5. I am come to sacrifice… Israel did not yet have a temple (1 Kings 6:1), and the Ark of the Covenant was located in Kirjathjearim (1 Samuel 7:1–2). Though in later generations, sacrifices offered outside Jerusalem and the temple where the Ark was housed were often associated with idolatry (1 Kings 13:32–33; 14:23; 15:14), at this time it was the norm (1 Samuel 9:11–25). Sacrifices such as Samuel’s could be given on an altar that was built to God’s specifications (Exodus 20:24–26).
… sanctify yourselves … sanctification was an act of preparation that involved ceremonial washing to remove any ritual uncleanness and the donning of freshly washed clothes (Exodus 19:14–15;
Numbers 6:1–21). The ritual of cleaning oneself for a sacrifice was an acknowledgment that ultimately no gift could be given to God that was “good enough,” but He would accept what came from a clean heart (Leviticus 26:41).
Verse 6. … Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him... the selection of Saul, years earlier, was not difficult for Samuel. God told him in advance that the king-to-be would be coming the following day. God made it clear at the outset that Saul was the one He had chosen (9:15-17). In the case of Saul’s replacement, Samuel knows where and whose son the new king will be, but he does not know which one of the sons of Jesse. Samuel has his own criteria for selecting the new king, some of which must stems from the designation of Saul, reinforced by the criteria for kings of that day and our own day as well.
Just what would the criteria be? First, one would expect the first-born to be the choice for king. The first-born was given a double portion of his father’s goods’
(Deut. 21:15–17). Headship of the family was passed on to the first born. The oldest would be expected to be the most mature, the most experienced, the wisest of the family.
In addition to priority in birth order, Samuel expects the king-to-be will be evident by his appearance. Studies show that most top executives tend to be “tall, dark, and handsome.” Samuel expects the same. This was exactly the way it was with Saul (9:2).
Eliab was Jesse’s oldest son (1 Chronicles 2:13) and being the firstborn son entitled him to high honor. Possibly Samuel noticed markers of Eliab’s favored status, though this is by no means a necessary conclusion. More likely Jesse brought his firstborn in front of Samuel first, assuming this was another honor for the oldest son. For whatever reason, Samuel jumped to the conclusion that his search was over.
Verse 7. … Look not on his countenance, … Eliab was apparently tall and handsome, reason enough for Samuel to be impressed at first glance. But such outward measures had already failed as valid criteria regarding whether Saul was up for the job (1 Samuel 10:23–24).
… the Lord looketh on the heart... the Lord would later tell Isaiah, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.… As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8–9). The evidence supporting this truth is overwhelming, present from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.
Here God cites the key difference in the way He sees things. Society often judges a person based on his or her appearance (Esther 2:17–18; Isaiah 53:2–3), and Christians are not immune to making the same assessments (James 2:1–4). The modern church makes its selection of officers dependent more on appearances and education and status than they do the standards laid down by God.
The Lord however looks past the external and is not distracted by appearance. He seeks out the deepest recesses of our hearts (Psalm 139). God’s criteria have more to do with a man’s character than with outward appearances
Samuel could not possibly be expected to know Eliab’s character on sight. But God’s knowledge went beyond sight. We catch a glimpse of Eliab’s heart when he fails to stand up to Goliath and chastises David (1 Samuel 17:28).
Verses 8–9,.. Neither hath the Lord chosen this… Jesse called his second- and third-born sons, Abinadab and Shammah, respectively. Little more is known about these brothers beyond that they were in Saul’s military facing Goliath and the Philistines (1 Samuel 17:13).
Verse 10. … Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel… only seven of Jesse’s sons (and both of his daughters) are named in 1 Chronicles 2:13–15. David was the eighth son (vs.11; 17:12). A likely explanation for this difference is that Jesse had another son who unfortunately died before reaching adulthood.
Verse 11. There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep... Jesse apparently considered his youngest too insignificant to be called home. Or maybe there was no one to relieve him that night from his work watching the sheep (1 Samuel 17:20), and he seemed an unlikely choice regardless. Jesse’s description of the missing son as the youngest could also be understood as the “smallest,” suggesting that Jesse had not called this son home because he was not a grown man (17:42). Exclusion for this reason clearly contradicts the Lord’s admonition to Samuel that the physical qualities of a candidate were of no consequence (vs.7).
Some scholars however think that they have gleaned from studying the chronology in Scripture that Jesse had married after the death of his first wife and probably for family reasons this wife was not as highly regarded and so if David was born from this lady he would be to a certain extent rejected by his other brothers and probably not so well treated by his father and the family. One writer believes strongly about this and states:
“It is not too strong to say that David was the family reject, banished to the menial task of shepherding alone in the wilderness. Jesse called him the youngest, a reference to his age, but also to his stature as the smallest and least in the family sight. David wrote,
“My father and mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in. (Psalm 27: 10). Out in the pasture lands David was forsaken by his father.
Jesse had pushed David away from the family, into the wilderness with the sheep, but in so doing had pushed David to God. Already, in the wild, under the stars at night and the sun by night, God had become David’s. His father had rejected him, 1 of the great pains of his life, but God had accepted him, God had become his father. The Lord had become his Shepherd….. The wilderness and the pain and hurt became useful— it had driven David to his Lord.
And God wills to do the same for you, to use all the junk and hurt of life to help drive you to Him”.
This analysis might account for David’s poor parental practice which led to troubles in his family. David never seemed to properly disciple of parent his children.
God acts in what we would consider to be strange ways sometimes, for the one who we think to be insignificant is often the one that God chooses. This of course in the eyes of many writers presents a powerful countercultural, evangelical message that is offered to us and offered to our times.
Though shepherding was not a profession of great esteem, the imagery of a shepherd was used to describe the caliber of a leader. When a priest or king was unfaithful, the people were like defenseless, directionless sheep (Jeremiah 10:21; 23:1–2; Matthew 9:36). When the people were led well, it was like having a good shepherd guiding them (Psalm 23; Isaiah 40:11; John 10:1–18). The man God chose would be in the latter category (Ezekiel 34:23; 37:24).
… we will not sit down till he come hither… Jesse and all his sons but one had been sanctified for the sacrifice (1 Samuel 16:5b, above). Still, Samuel insisted that the remaining son arrive before they sat down to eat the sacrifice (vs.2). Samuel needed to see the youngest son before his task was complete.
Note that in spite of Samuel’s grief, his fear, and his failings the prophet is open to the word of God and he is obedient.
This presents to us a good picture of who we are and the ways in which we can deal with our disappointments even though we feel grief, remorse, or guilt at our past or imagined behavior. God will guide us just as He guided Samuel. He loves when we are obedient to His will.
We are reminded “God is the master of the unlikely and unexpected-of choosing people and possibilities that don’t seem obvious. As it says in 1 Corinthians 1:27, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong”.
In terms of personal application for us, we need to be open to unlikely possibilities, open to the possibility of God calling us down an unlikely or unexpected fork in the road. And yet, the question is, how will we recognize the unlikely fork in the road when it’s before us? And, even more importantly, how will we know that the unlikely fork is in fact the right fork?
The answer of course involves seeing life through God’s eyes rather than our own. Man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. As a result, we need to be continually asking God to give us His eyes. We need to be continually asking God to give us eyes that see into the heart of the matter. Ultimately, this involves faith, which has been described as spiritual eyesight. Our physical eyesight shows us outward appearances, but the eyes of faith show us the heart. The eyes of faith show us life as God sees it — life as it really is”
Verse 12. … he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy… Jesse sends for David and he is brought before Samuel. This is such a significant occasion that the Samuel decided not to sit down until David came. As an old man standing for hours while waiting for David this is no small matter.
David is also a good-looking young man, lacking none of the qualities found in his older brother save his age and position as first-born. We see that God does not disqualify David for his good looks, but neither does He choose him because of them. David’s character is pleasing to God, and it is the basis of his election to service. David’s physical appearance is icing on the cake; David’s deficiencies will be provided by the Holy Spirit and the preparation God has planned for him.
Even though the Lord does not look at the outward appearance (vs.7; 2 Corinthians 10:7), the youngest was a good-looking young man. Just as we cannot assume that an attractive person is also a good person, neither can we assume that the opposite must be true (Isaiah 53:2). Truly the outside is no measure, one way or the other.
Ruddy is a rare word in Hebrew for physical description that implies the color red. Elsewhere it described Esau’s appearance at birth (Genesis 25:25), which could also mean Esau looked healthy and robust. There is some controversy about how David looked and one scholar addresses that problem:
“Given the Lord’s earlier instruction,’ Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature” we are surprised to learn that David has beautiful eyes and is handsome.
Ruddy could refer to a reddish hue in his hear our complexion — perhaps sun-bleached hair and suntanned skin because of his work in the fields. But Cartledge says that the Israelites would be dark complected, and ruddy wood most likely refer to a person of lighter complexion”. (Cartledge, 202; see also Baldwin,127).
…, Arise, anoint him: for this is he… though David had not been sanctified with his father and brothers for the sacrifice, the Lord indicated that not only would David participate, but he was to be anointed as Israel’s next king.
Verse 13. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him … here all David’s brothers stood, freshly washed and in their best clothes, ready for a feast. In from the fields came this youngster, unwashed, smelling like sheep … and he was the honored one! While this might be puzzling or even troubling to the brothers or other onlookers, we know that God had chosen David based on the state of the man’s heart. Though he had not cleaned the outward dirt, inside
David had a heart turned to God and ready to do His will.
So David is now anointed as a teenager privately without any excitement or fanfare. But the additional significant anointing when he was anointed a second time at age 30 when he became king of Judah. Judah of course was his tribe. Finally he was anointed a third time when he became king over all the tribes of Israel after many years of preparation.
Jesus later said to the scribes and Pharisees, “Ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew 23:25–26).
We can conclude here that God considered David had a ‘right’ heart; an outer washing would just have been for appearances.
Before the anointing of Saul and then David as kings in Israel, the act was used primarily for ordaining priests or sanctifying an object as holy to the Lord (Exodus 28:41; 30:22–33; Numbers 7:1; 35:25). From Abimelech’s attempt to become king (Judges 9), anointing shifted to focusing more often on a king than a priest.
...the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David… significantly, David was not anointed only with oil but also with the Spirit of the Lord (1 Samuel 10:6, 9–10; 16:14). This image reminds us of Jesus’ own baptism in water and the Spirit’s coming to Him “like a dove” (Luke 3:22; compare 4:18; Acts 10:38). Echoes of David are appropriate and even intentional in Jesus’ life. After all, Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise to David of an eternal throne (2 Samuel 7:11–16; Hebrew 1:8–9). David was an imperfect, fallen example even of a man after God’s own heart; Jesus is the perfect example, the very image of God (Colossians 1:15–20).
God will provide David with all he needs to be Israel’s king. David is immediately given the Spirit of God to guide and empower him. In the providence of God, he will be strategically placed in the presence of Saul as his armor-bearer (16:21), where he can learn the rules of royal court.
David is not chosen to immediately replace Saul, but is first placed in a kind of internship, later to be mentally, morally and spiritually groomed for the kingdom which will not be his for several years.
It is important that we are told in the Old Testament that the Holy Spirit came on certain people. The Spirit came on those that were building the tabernacle. It came on Gideon when he was carrying out his task against the Midianites. But in the Old Testament references we do not see that there was any permanent indwelling but a special endowment with power for a special service, to complete special tasks.
In David’s case the Spirit came on him so that he could carry out his task as king.
No believer in the Old Testament times was permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit. But after the Cross every believer is permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit as John 14: 16 makes clear for Jesus told us that he would pray the Father that the Father would appoint and send another comforter to be with His people forever.
So your test that you face is, “Do you have the Holy Spirit? Does He permanently indwelt you so that you have on display the FRUIT of the Spirit? Note the “fruit” is singular with several aspects to it. You must have all the aspects so you will have the One Fruit.
We are not told that Samuel explained everything about the anointing of David to his family. He might not even have told them that David was the future king of the nation for that would get his family afraid of Saul for any such talk would be a talk of treason.
What we do know is that Samuel had a school for the prophets and it might’ve been thought that Samuel was simply selecting David for his school. Scholars believe that David spent a great deal of time with Samuel and therefore Sam will prepare them for the tasks that were before him.
…Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah… mission accomplished; the saga ends with no drama. The next king was anointed, so Samuel simply left to continue his usual work in Ramah (1 Samuel 7:17).
The work of God does not always end peaceably as we see here, nonetheless his people must be prepared to obey Him in faith.
CONCLUSION
The question of leadership is always current in our fast-changing societies. We should note that God sought a man who had a heart for Him. Let us look for the kind of leadership that God chooses. Let us seek to be the kind of men and women ourselves whom God seeks for His service.
God’s choice transcended human expectations of royalty and testifies to the Lord’s knowledge of the human heart. We are at a disadvantage when we make decisions based on what we see.
We must understand that like David, we have been anointed with the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:21–22). The Spirit leads us not into fear of what we see but with confidence in what we cannot see, hope in what we know by faith (5:7).
Like Samuel, we do not often know the whole story or what we are meant to do many (or even a few) steps into the future. For the prophet, as for us, the Lord gives the information needed in order for us to be able to act in faith. We can work confidently when we are focused on becoming more like Jesus and calling others to love Him as we do.
There is a note of sadness in this chapter 16 however for we are told in verse 14 that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. So therefore Saul lived life in mental agony because even though he was given much he rejected to follow the word of God.
What happened to Saul therefore after this was a matter of judgment falling on him for his disobedience. The only thing that could help him was music played by David.
David was not therefore only a great Shepherd, but a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, the Lord was with him, and he was wise and prudent in his speech.
Saul’s mental agonies presented the opportunities for David to come into the court of Saul and to help him for somewhere before this David had become known as a mighty warrior of God.
When we think about issues in the local church we have to learn that the word of God is to rule over the life and activities of the church.
It is the thoughts of the Lord Almighty and not our thoughts that should govern. It is not our feelings, but the ways of the Lord that should guide us.
We should of course note that God prepares His servants often in a quiet way. David was the choice that God had made but what he was doing over many years was the seemingly insignificant thing of looking after sheep and protecting them. While he was in the field with the sheep God worked on his heart and he was trained for the day when he would become the great king of Israel.
Keeping sheep requires certain virtues. Shepherds have to be vigilant, caring, should love to feed the sheep, see that they were in the right pasture, protect them from wild animals, deal with their sicknesses, deal with the accidents that happened to them. And so when David learned all these things he would be able to be responsible for the flock of God. We therefore see on one occasion when David make a mistake he would ask God not to punish these people, I have done wickedly not the sheep, he said.
David was a man of courage and so he could tell us that Jehovah was his light and his salvation, and so he would say, Whom should I fear?
David could say openly to God that he had sinned. Saul would never say that he had sinned and he had no repentance. So we should be careful that we will begin well like Saul but will finish well. Never run away from your feelings of terror when you sin and having your feeling turning to indifference and allowing your secret sin to take over.
At the end of his life Saul said that he had played the fool and had erred exceedingly. We are therefore looking at one of the greatest tragedies that have ever happened.
In our church today if there is an difference to the commands and statues of God it is a tragedy. Indifference to the things of the Lord is a tragedy. So may God deliver us from indifference to the things of the Lord and ask God to give us a sense of repentance and confession so that we will be restored.
May we pray as David did, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10).