Let’s pray – Lord, we thank you for your word to us and we pray that we may be open to hearing from you this morning just as Samuel and David listened to your voice and put their trust in you.
How do you tend to judge someone? Often our first impressions are based on a person’s outward appearance, until we get to know them. The most beautiful looking person may have a selfish and unkind heart. The most rough looking person may have the loveliest, generous kind heart. Well God knows us inside out, and it is the nature of our hearts that he cares about. Today we hear how God rejected King Saul due to the nature of his heart, and instead anoints David, a young shepherd boy, who loved and honoured the Lord.
If you were here last week you will have heard me give a background to the beginning of 1 Samuel when the Israelites asked for a King. There had been leaders like Moses and Joshua and then prophets like Deborah and Gideon. But the Israelites wanted a King like the other nations – they were not happy with the fact that God himself was their King. They seemed to forget that when they obeyed and followed him God fought for them and protected them far more than any earthly King could.
The people pleaded to Samuel for a King and even though they were rejecting God, he agreed to give them what they wanted, and Saul was chosen as their first King. However, there was a warning with their request for a King – in 1 Samuel chapter 12 he says to them ‘If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God –good! But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.’
Saul does not follow the Lord’s commands, in fact we read in chapter 15 that when Samuel went to see Saul to tell him of God’s displeasure at his disobedience, he was told that Saul had gone to Carmel to set up a monument in his own honour! It seems Saul’s own ego and power had taken hold, and he was placing himself in the place of God. The Lord grieves that he had made Saul King, and he rejects him.
Samuel did not see Saul again after giving him the Lord’s message though he mourned for him – he had known Saul since he was a youth.
Now the Lord instructs Samuel to go and anoint the one he has chosen to replace Saul as King – a man after his own heart. Saul had followed his own heart, doing what he wanted rather than following the Lord. He does however remain King for some time, but the Lord no longer blesses him, and we will go on to see some serious character flaws with Saul.
Samuel was worried about doing what the Lord asks of him; ‘How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!’ The Lord devises a plan to protect him and tells him to take a heifer and make a sacrifice inviting Jesse and his sons to participate and then the Lord says, ‘I will show you what to do. You are to anoint the one I indicate.’ Samuel always listened to the Lord and despite his fears he went as the Lord commanded.
So – who was Jesse and why was one of his sons to be the chosen one? Jesse was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz, and he came from Bethlehem…Do we know someone else who came from those ancestors and from Bethlehem many years later? Can we start to see the Lord’s plan and purposes?
Samuel meets the elders of the town who are worried about his arrival – they know that Samuel is a prophet of the Lord. But he assures them he comes in peace and invites them and Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice.
Samuel’s eye is naturally attracted to Jesse’s eldest son Eliab – he looked strong – probably physically dominating and he assumes that he was the Lord’s choice – also normally it would be the eldest son who was chosen. But the Lord say: ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ (16:7)
Seven of Jesse’s sons passed before Samuel, but the Lord had not chosen any of them. Samuel knows to trust the Lord who said he has chosen one of Jesse’s sons, so Samuel asks Jesse if he has any other sons. Then we hear that there is the youngest that is tending the sheep – they hadn’t even thought to bring him along. Being the youngest he was considered the least likely to be chosen. Even so he was ‘ruddy (or glowing with health) with a fine appearance and handsome features.’ His selection was the Lord’s and was not based on his appearance; God knew David and knew his heart. The Lord tells Samuel to ‘Rise and anoint him, this is the one.’
David had been chosen for a special purpose. David was a good and faithful shepherd. We hear stories of how he cared for his sheep and how he trusted in the Lord. In chapter 17 as he is convincing Saul that he could fight against Goliath he says to him…
“Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep…. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear… The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of the Philistine.’ David had trusted in the Lord from a young age. We’ll hear more about that well known story of David next week!
David as we know wrote many of the psalms and in the middle of Psalm 22, he affirms the hand of the Lord on him since his birth. “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.’
David was anointed this day in front of his brothers by Samuel with no explanation at this stage that he is being anointed for Kingship, but ‘from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.’
Samuel then went back to Ramah, his mission fulfilled, and the family of Jesse carried on as before. It was many years before David became King.
David went on being a shepherd for his family but also went to serve King Saul as his armour bearer and played the harp for him when Saul was troubled by an evil spirit.
As we continue to follow David’s story over the coming weeks, we will see just how David was a man after God’s own heart. Though we will also see he too had some character flaws! He was not perfect.
David may have been still a youth when he was anointed by Samuel, but God had great plans for him. The apostle Paul speaks of him as we heard in our reading from Acts today, that it was from David’s line that Jesus, the Messiah would come.
So, what do we need to learn from this passage today? Firstly, I think we hear that God requires obedience. Saul was rejected because of his lack of obedience. He chose his own way instead of God’s, and as he responds to Samuel about his sin (you can read this in chapters 13 and 15) Saul tries to make excuses about what he had done. I don’t know about you, but I think I probably do this often – and maybe like Saul, we fool ourselves by thinking we are being obedient – but we are only partially so. However, we can’t fool God – he sees our heart.
Maybe our outward appearance looks like we are obeying God, going to Church most weeks, serving in different ways, which is great– but are we also doing what God asks of us by loving him wholeheartedly and loving our neighbour. Do we really listen to what God requires of us? To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. (Micah 6:8)
God want us to have hearts like his, hearts full of compassion with a desire to live holy, loving, grace filled, humble lives. We will stuff up like David did, that’s why God sent Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for us that we might be forgiven each time we repent and pick ourselves up to keep following him.
This story also reminds us that God will choose the most unlikely people for his purposes and plans. Samuel didn’t expect David as the youngest to be chosen as King, but God chose him and then God’s Spirit came upon him in power. God will fill us with his spirit and give us all the gifts we need to serve him; we just need to be obedient as we listen to his voice. You may think you are not gifted or good enough, but God says otherwise.
Just look at who Jesus chose as his disciples – people like Peter a simple fisherman, who even denied Jesus, yet he went on to boldly proclaim the gospel and brought many people to faith.
There was another Saul who even denied Jesus and persecuted Christians, but he too was chosen and empowered to bring many to Christ. He became a new creation – and took on a new name – we know him better as the apostle Paul who we read of in Acts today.
In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul writes this:
‘Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things…so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”’ This is where King Saul went wrong, boasting in himself as he set up monument to his own glory!
When David was anointed God’s spirit came upon him. After Jesus died and rose again, he sent his Holy Spirit to live in his people to guide, comfort, strengthen and empower us to live for him.
David was chosen to lead God’s people, as one after God’s own heart. We too are chosen to be a people who seek to live as Jesus lived, with his heart.
Let’s pray – this prayer came on my prayer app yesterday:
God, with everything that I am I wish to honour you. Show me how to live a life that is in line with your character. Teach me how to live a life that brings you glory. You are worthy of all my praise, attention, love and affection. Thank you for drawing me closer to your heart! Thank you for loving me. Today I want to honour you. In the name of your son Jesus, I pray. Amen.