The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord .' And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you." Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, "Do you come peaceably?" And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord . Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord 's anointed is before him." But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one." And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these." Then Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here." And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he." Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our Lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well." So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me." One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him." Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me David your son, who is with the sheep." And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight." And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. - 1 Samuel 16:1-23 ESV
Rev. Dwight Yoo
Samuel had anointed a king, Saul. Saul was a big, imposing man. He was what people wanted a king to look like. A man who looked impressive for battle. But this was not the king that God wanted.
So God sends Samuel to anoint a new king. Samuel goes to where God directs to find the new king. He goes to see Jesse and his sons. And he sees the firstborn, and thinks to himself, ah this must be the one, so large, so impressive. But God says no. God says no to all seven sons. Samuel asks if Jesse has another son. And there is one more. He is the youngest, overlooked, and left out of the feast. He is short and looks like the runt of the litter. God says, this one... And Samuel anoints him. This is not the one a man would have picked. But God looks at the heart.
God cares about heart and character. The Pharisees were impressive with their religious knowledge, but Jesus rebuked them. Their hearts were far from God. The hypocrisy is visible to God and it is abhorrent. But don't be so hard on them, because the church suffers from this as well. Always trying to appear good in front of the pastors.
So David is anointed, he's going to be king. All will end well, right? The spirit comes upon David. And then trouble comes! David was anointed in his teenaged years. He would not become king till he was 30. He becomes hunted, hiding in caves, and running for his life. This is a recurring theme. It happens to David, Jesus, and others. God will refine our character through trial and trouble. This is the normal pattern.
God would later save us through another son of Jesse. Another son born in Bethlehem will show us God's way. He will not pick up a sword to save, but he will die a shameful death to give life and salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment