We now begin an exciting adventure into the life of a shepherd boy named David. David plays an important role in the Bible. More space is devoted to David in the Scriptures than any other person, except Jesus Christ. Jesus was called the son of David and the root and offspring of David. Jerusalem is the city of David.
Saul was man’s pick for a king and he failed. David is God’s choice who is blessed and used of God and also repents when he falters and fails. Let’s open up to this exciting account.
God asked Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul?” Samuel was broken hearted over Saul’s failure. It was a great disappointment. The one who really should be weeping and grieving is not weeping at all. It should be Saul with the tears. God helps Samuel see that, “what has happened is in the past. What’s done is done. Samuel it is time to go forward. Fill your horn and go to Jesse’s home.”
The message is the same for us today. Has a dream, goal or hope died? Has someone disappointed you? Get up and go forward in your walk with the Lord. Paul put it this way.… “this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13, 14). The history of most people’s lives is falling down and getting back up! If you have suffered a spiritual defeat in your life, learn from it, if a sin, confess it to the Lord, repent and forsake it, and go onward to serve the Lord the best you can. Have you been disappointed? Put your expectations in the Lord.
God said, “I have provided Me a king!” The Lord is in the providing business! He provided for Samuel and Israel. He will do the same for you too. “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
- God Shows Us What to Do (1 Samuel 16:1-5)
Samuel was to go to Bethlehem from Ramah, which would pass through Gilead.… Saul’s capital. Samuel is concerned that Saul will kill him if he anoints another to be king. He wonders how he can do this. Samuel shows a measure of doubt as to God’s ability to care for him.
The Bible is such an open, honest book. The fears of Samuel are revealed just like the weaknesses of other men of God. All of these people are just like us. They had the same concerns, worries, and fears that we have. We need to remember whenever or wherever God calls you to a task, He will take care of the details.
God’s solution to Samuel’s concerns is to conceal his plans. The concealment was not a deception. It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2). The trials of Job concealed the blessings of God for Job. Jesus’ delay in responding to Lazarus’ sickness concealed the miracle of his resurrection by the Lord later. Camouflaged in your trials are the blessings of God.
16:4–5 Perhaps the elders “trembled” at the sight of Samuel because they interpreted Samuel’s arrival with a heifer as an indication that a murder had occurred in their territory and that a legal action was being initiated; Youngblood suggests the elders were “awed by his formidable reputation,” established in part by his recent execution of Agag.[1]
The people are scared. They wanted to know what they did wrong. They are afraid because visits of this nature are usually for the purpose of judgment or denouncing sin. It is the same feeling a kid might have when he is called to the principle’s office at school. Samuel tells them he comes to peaceably make a sacrifice to the Lord.
- God Looks at Our Hearts (1 Samuel 16: 6–8 )
Jesse’s oldest son Eliab is seen by Samuel. Samuel presumes that he must be the next king. His presumption is wrong. Presumptions can get a person into big trouble. Some presume, “I have plenty of time to live and be saved!”
Another common presumption is, “It’s okay for me to live this way because everyone else is doing this too.” The majority is not always right, in fact, many times they are wrong.
God gives Samuel His criteria for picking His man. God is still teaching Samuel in his senior years and Samuel is still learning. We are never too old to learn and to grow in Christian maturity. God tells Samuel, “Look not on the outward appearance.… the countenance, height, and stature.” God’s criteria was to look at the inward.… the character and the heart of the person. The internal is more important than the external. God was looking for a man after His own heart (13:14). God is not interested in the tall, but the one who is small in his own eyes. God was looking for a man of …
* character not compromise,
* courage, not consternation or fear,
* conviction, not convenience for the moment,
* consistency, not confusion and changing beliefs.
Our Lord is much more concerned about our heart and character than reputation. Reputation is what we project.… what people think of us. It is what we can package, perform, promote, and pretend. Character or heart is what God knows we are when no one is around.
When the Lord looked at Eliab, He did not find what He was looking for at all. He knew what was in his heart. In chapter seventeen of this book we find Goliath mocking, defying, and defaming God. Look who gets mad when David shows up on the scene (17:28). It is Eliab. It is David, not Eliab who meets the challenge. He is not fearful and frustrated like Eliab who was tolerating the defaming of God. David responds with courage and faith in the incident. God commended David for his actions and attitude (2 Corinthians 10:18).
Is God still looking for a man or woman after His own heart today? You better believe He is! What does the Lord see when He looks at your heart? Does He find a love for Him (Deuteronomy 6:5) or wickedness (Jeremiah 17:9). Since matters of the heart are more important to the Lord than outward appearance, don’t you think we should be concerned about our heart condition too? If we’re are looking for a mate, don’t focus on the appearance alone of the person, be sure to focus on the character of the person too. When the beauty fades, the character remains. In all our relationships realize that it takes time to really get to know the character of a person.
The next son, Abinadab passes before Samuel, but he is not the man. Shamah and the rest of Jesse’s sons except one come before Samuel, but with no avail. The underlying insight here is this.… it is difficult to find a man after God’s own heart. As you look at yourself, are you a person who thirsts for a close walk with the Lord? We can fool people, but not the Lord who sees our heart.
Samuel is on a mission from God to find and anoint another king other than Saul. He is sent by God to Bethlehem to anoint someone in Jesse’s home. As he views the sons of Jesse, he makes a common false presumption by looking at the outward manly features of these young men. God is still teaching Samuel even after years of service. He still wants to teach you too. God is looking at the heart and is looking for a man after His own heart. The remaining verses show where He focuses His attention.… on a teenage shepherd boy named David.
Samuel has looked at all of Jesse’s sons but none had the green light from the Lord. Samuel asked, “Are there anymore sons?” Samuel is told there is one more son.… the youngest who keeps the sheep. David’s dad doesn’t even call him by name. David was not even invited to the feast. We may all related to David by being overlooked, uninvited, deemed as unimportant. We may be that way to our family, but never to God!
David had a heart for the Lord. What a challenge and example for teenagers today to follow the Lord. It is a greater challenge for us who are older and supposedly wiser and more mature. Unfortunately, I have seen more maturity in godly teenagers than in some adults who claim to be Christians.
David wasn’t a big shot. He was herding the sheep which was a job usually done by the servants of wealthy families. It was considered a menial job. God was preparing David for greater tasks. God may entrust you with greater responsibility if you are faithful in smaller tasks.
David was considered foolish, an outcast. He was the youngest (16:11) meaning he was least in importance. The Hebrew root word is koot which means “cut off, detest, loathe.” David was least in his father’s estimation; the last choice on his list but he was first on God’s list because he was a young man after God’s own heart.
God has a way of finding His men in unexpected places.
* A king in a pasture with sheep.
* Joseph in a prison.
* Gideon hiding by a wine press.
* Moses in the desert.
David was chosen as king because he had a heart for God. What does this mean or involve? A look at David’s heart will reveal the answer. We should seek to have these traits too.
* David’s Heart
* Psalm 23:1.… A believing heart (Psalm 14:1)
* Psalm 23:2.… A meditating heart.
* Psalm 23:3.… A holy heart set on holiness.
* Psalm 23:4.… A confident heart that was confident in God.
* Psalm 23:5.… Grateful heart (Psalm 9:1)
* Psalm 23:6.… A Fixed Heart; not flirting with the world. (Psalm 57:7)
* Psalm 15:1, 2.… A truthful heart.
* Psalm 26:2.… An open heart. (Psalm 139:23)
* Psalm 37:4, 5.… An expectant heart that was dependant upon God.
* Psalm 40:8.… He remembered God’s Word (Psalm 19:14)
* Psalm 51:10, 17.… A repentant heart. He was repentant when wrong.
* Psalm 131:1.… A humble heart.
* Psalm 40:8.… An obedient heart
If we want a heart for God, then we should strive to have these attitudes in our lives.
David was son number eight. Eight is the number of new beginning in the Bible. This was a new beginning for Israel’s history. David is the second king to be anointed. He was God’s choice. This pattern of choosing number two is seen all throughout the Old Testament. God’s choice was.…
* Isaac, not Ishmael (a type of the flesh)
* Jacob, not Esau (flesh)
* David, not Saul (flesh)
* Jesus (the 2nd Adam), not Adam (1 Corinthians 15:22, 45)
- God Empowers Us (1 Samuel 16:11–13 )
David is anointed in front of his brothers. All there probably had no idea the long term ramifications, or that David would be king except God and Samuel. Oil was a visible sign of the Holy Spirit. For Jesus, the sign was a dove. For the disciples it was tongues of fire. Olive oil was used to light lamps, for cleansing, healing, nourishing, and strengthening. God was preparing to use David to do this for his own people. It was the first of three anointing’s for David. The second one was as the king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4). The third was as the king of all Israel (2 Samuel 5:3).
The Spirit of the Lord came upon David. The Holy Spirit of the Lord worked differently in the Old Testament than in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was selective (Moses, Joshua), temporary (Othniel, Samson), and could depart from the person. David was concerned about the Holy Spirit’s departure (Psalm 51:11). The Holy Spirit departs from Saul. In the Church Age, He is universal and indwells all believers permanently. He does not leave the Christian.
* John 14:16, 17—And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you.
* Romans 8:9—But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if any man has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. For this reason we are called the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:20). Does the Holy Spirit indwell you? Are you saved? Are you yielded to Him?
Other questions to consider: Why do we get anxious about our future? In what ways does God show us what to do and how to live? “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart;” what does this mean to you? How does God anoint us and empower us for our future?
Message Audio/Video and Outline: https://upwards.church/watch-now/leander-campus-videos
Watch Messages: YouTube-Upwards Church
Sources:
1 Youngblood, 1, 2 Samuel, 683.
2 Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, vol. 7, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996), 178.
3 Rod Mattoon, Treasures from 1 Samuel, Treasures from Scripture Series (Springfield, IL: Rod Mattoon, 2001), 251–260.
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