Long scripture today as we begin a week focusing on David,
one of my OT favorites:
1 Samuel 16:1-13
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 people 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 for him 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
powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
So all this week, we’re going to talk about David, but to
talk about David, you’ve got to talk about Samuel first. If the prophet Samuel doesn’t carefully
attend to and discern the Lord’s guidance, David has no shot of being
considered as a candidate to be anointed King.
Samuel has enormous power here (Notice that the Elsers of Bethlehem
tremble when Samuel arrives). Who he
anoints will be seen by most as God’s chosen leader of Israel.
While very powerful, Samuel also has a dangerous
responsibility. When he anoints someone
else to be the next King, he will almost certainly incur the wrath of the
current King, who in this case, is Saul. And Saul can easily have Samuel
removed or even killed. So his
instruction from God to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as King must have weighed
heavily on him.
I love the conversation between Samuel and God while Jesse
brings his sons, one by one to him.
“Surely this one, Lord”
“Nope, not that one.”
“How about this one?”
Nope!”
This continues until seemingly there is no one left. But God says, “none of these.”
So Jesse admits there is one more son, but he’s not present.
“So, get him; we’ll wait here.”
They fetch David and the moment he arrives, God whispers to
Samuel, “That’s the one; anoint him.”
Samuel does as he’s told and David becomes the chosen
one. But multiple reasons, this should
have never happened. The youngest of
eight sons is chosen to be King. That
never happens. Someone other than
someone related to the current king is chosen; that rarely happens. A shepherd? Forget it. If God doesn’t choose David AND Samuel
doesn’t follow God’s guidance, David would NEVER be King.
Often, in the Bible and in our lives now, the way is paved
for a well-known “hero” by someone who will never get the credit. The big deal is not the credit but the way
being paved. We pave the way for each
other. I often pray that God will help
me help others succeed in ways in which I’ll never be informed. The beautiful thing about that is I can only
assume that God is answering it. I just
keep paving. I hope you will too.
Prayer: God help us
be way-pavers that are not worried about who gets the credit. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for God to show you what you could do today to make someone’s life even a
little bit easier.
Song: Leeland – Way
Maker
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