GOD’S CHOICE OF DAVID (1
Samuel 16)
David was a man of all
seasons. His life marked an epoch of God’s working His plan and purpose in the
halls of history. Born to be a king, yet lived his early life as a shepherd. A
man of war; yet longed for peace. Knew what it was to experience the joy of the
mountaintops of life; yet experienced the depths in the valley of despair.
Popular but not without rejection. Gulston tells us that, “in
David all people would see themselves, in his hopes and his fears, in his
failing, and in his strivings to climb the High Way.”[1]
EVENTS LEADING TO THE
CHOICE OF DAVID
One cannot get a true
picture of the importance of David without some knowledge of the events before
his introduction in 1 Samuel 16. The kingship of Saul and his failure led to
the events of David. Notice three things about the kingship of Saul:
·
He was the people’s choice (1 Sam.
8:7-8). God allowed them the desire of their hearts.
·
He was a man of great looks and ability
(1 Sam. 9:2).
·
Once king he failed miserably in doing
the will of God (1 Sam. 15:9, 20-21) consequently rejected by God (1 Sam.
15:28).
Getz says, “the
story of Saul is one of psychological, physical and spiritual deterioration.”[2] Saul’s
downward direction is caused by his unbelief (1 Sam. 13:11); his impatience, he
ran ahead of God (1 Sam. 13); and his dishonesty, when asked by Samuel what he
did, he blamed others (Jonathan in 1 Sam 14; the people of God in 1 Sam. 15). Wiersbe
points out that, “We don’t have to commit a serious sin to
start on that steep road that leads to disgrace, discipcle and possible death.”[3]
It does not end well
with Saul. It ended with rejection by stubbornness; not restoration by
repentance. It is not how we begin in life, but how we end that important. Yes,
we will have failures and sin, even deep sin, but it does not have to end in
rejection. God is willing and able to restore because of repentance of the
heart (cf. Luke 15:17-24). We all are in some way or time prodigal sons that
need to be restored. Saul refused to return to his father’s house.
THE CHOICE OF DAVID
Saul was the choice of
man, which failed. David is the choice of God. That choice is not perfect.
David will have his failures, but instead of rejection, God will restore him
because he was a man after God’s heart. The choice of David is seen in 1 Samuel
16:1-13. The prophet Samuel has rebuked Saul and has nothing to do with him
until his death (1 Sam. 15:35). Saul had become a recluse living under the
regret of the Lord. Yet he is still king and has the power of a king.
In 1 Samuel 16:1-13,
there are three parts to the choice of God. They are:
The Mission of Samuel
16:1-5.
This has been called
the capstone of Samuel’s career.[4]
Yet it is a mission that Samuel did not want. There are two stated reasons for
this: (1) Grief over Saul [v. 1]; and (2) the Fear of Saul [v.2]. It saddens
Samuel that God rejected Saul. This may because of his own part in making Saul
king. He grieves because of what Saul became and because God rejected him. He
had done his best for Saul. Now he was left devastated. Sauel is also fearful
of Saul (as was Moses [Exodus 3:ll, 13; 14:1] and Jeremiah [1:6]), who could be
described as the Herod of the Old Testament. He was selfish, demented because
of his power, and self-protecting of his own power at all cost. He knew that
Saul was willing to destroy him because of such a mission. Like most of us,
Saul, would strike out at the massager, instead of heeding the message (cf.
13:14). Saul was not going to simply
surrender to a replacement. He would rebel against such an idea. Yet, Samuel knew he must obey God in spite of
the circumstances and personal danger. The
work of God must go on, and Samuel was to have a role in it. His mission was to
anoint the next king of Israel.
This is a God-directed
mission. It involved preparation, filling the horn with oil and taking the
sacrifice; obedience to the instruction to go, and ministry to the right
people, the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite. His going to Jesse was twofold: To
worship by way of the sacrifice and to choose the next king. This is preceded
by the act of consecration, both of the elders, and the house of Jesse (16:5).
This act of consecration consisted of ritual cleansing, involving bathing,
putting on clean outfits, temporary suspension of sexual activity, and
avoidance of the dead.[5]
The Meeting with Jesse
(16:6-10).
The words “when they entered” (16:6) is somewhat
unclear, however it seems to indicate in the context the place of worship.
After the sacrifice and worship, Samuel held the anointing ceremony. It
centered on Jessie and his family and was the central purpose of his coming to
Bethlehem.
God’s instruction to
Samuel was to anoint the one whom He designated to him (`6:2). After being
consecrated, Samuel begins to look over the sons of Jessie. He attention first
was directed to Eliab, who was handsome and impressive, but was not God’s
choice. Samuel is instructed not to look on appearance or stature (16:7). God
is looking on the deeper level of the heart (16:7). Eliab did not pass the
heart test. Samuel looked at the seven sons but God had not chosen any of those
(16:8-10). The prophet’s experience seems to contradict his revelation. Yet,
not all the sons had been examined. In disappointment Samuel finally asked “Are
these all the Children?” Jesse say there
is a young one out attending the sheep. He is the youngest, probably considered
too small to be considered to be in the running by Jesse. By being called the
youngest, it is to be noted that it is not simply pointing to age. It also
indicates that in Jesse’s mind he was the least important. David illustrates
the principle that God uses the small weak things to carry out His plan and
purposes (cf. 1 Cor. 26-31).
The Meeting with David
(16:11-13).
David was sent for.
Upon arrival, the physical traits are given. He is described as “ruddy” meaning either having red-tinted
hair, or having a bronze complexion. He was also “handsome.” However, these
traits are not the basis of God’s choice. All God’s choices are based on His
grace, not man’s greatness or potential greatness. What mattered was David’s
character. “He was not interested in how tall the man was, but
rather in the largeness of his soul,” observes Getz.[6] He
looks at the heart (16:7). In respect to Samuel and the choice of God there are
two important elements that stand out:
·
We are to guard against deceitful influences.
·
We must be conscious of the standards
that are God’s, not interject our own in their place.
David was clearly the
choice of God. Samuel had no choice but to anoint him king. David illustrates
three important principles about the choice of God:
·
The choice of God is often contrary to
human reason. Human reason would not have led to the choice of David.
·
God’s choice is based upon the heart of
the man, not his head. The choice of God is not based upon our ability, but our
availability.
·
The choice of God is a heavenly
recognition of the usefulness of the man. Our heart may not be perfect, but it
is to be perfectly useable by being open to God and His will.
David’s heart is shown
to be:
·
A Spiritual heart—he was a man after
God’s own heart.
·
A Servant’s heart—Psalm 78:70,
·
A heart of Integrity—Psalm 78:72
What is our heart
condition?
[1] Charles Gulston, DAVID: SHEPHERD & KING,
[Grand Rapids MI, Zondervan, 1980], 20.
[2] Gene A. Getz, WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE A FAILURE:
TAKE A LESSON FROM DAVID, [Ventura CA, Regal Books, 1979], 7.
[3] Warren W. Wiersbe, DON’T LOSE YOUR CROWN:
STUDIES IN THE LIFE OF KING SAUL, [Lincoln NE, BACK TO THE BIBLE, 1985], 40.
[4] Robert D. Bergen, NAC: 1, 2 SAMUEL,
[Nashville TN, B&H, 1996], 177.
[5] Ibid, 178.
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