1 Samuel 16: “The Selection And Anointing Of David As
King”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. INTRO:
1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapter 15 of the book.
1.1.1. We saw Saul lead the
children of
1.1.2. We concentrated in that
study on Samuel’s words to Saul, as he told him that the kingdom had been taken
away from him by the Lord, and how that before the Lord that it is more
important for us that we obey the Lord than that we make sacrifices: “Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice.”
1.2.
In out study today, we are going to look at chapter
16.
1.2.1. In this study we are going
to see how that the Lord guides Samuel to David who will be the next king over
1.2.2. We will see that David has
none of the qualities for a leader which people valued in that day (nor in our
day for that matter), as had been the case with Saul, who turned out to be a
great big flop as a king.
1.2.3. We will see that the Lord
tells Samuel that David is a man after his own heart, and that the Lord looks
upon the heart when He selects His leaders.
1.2.4. We will discuss what it was
about David’s life and writings that demonstrate that he was a man after God’s
own heart. We can see much about how
that David was a man after God’s own heart from his own writings, including the
following:
1.2.4.1. David longed more than
anything to spend time alone with the Lord.
1.2.4.1.1.
Psalm 42:1-2, “1 As the deer pants for the
water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for
God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?”
1.2.4.2. David was always meditating
day and night upon God’s word.
1.2.4.2.1.
Psalm 1:1-2, “1 How blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law
of the Lord, And in His law he
meditates day and night.”
1.2.4.3. David sought to honor and
glorify the Lord with all of his life.
1.2.4.3.1.
Psalm 2:11, “11 Worship the Lord with reverence And rejoice with
trembling.”
1.2.4.4. David desired to obey the
Lord with all of his heart, mind, strength, and soul.
1.2.4.4.1.
Psalm 1:1-2, “1 How blessed is the man who
does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of
the Lord, And in His law he
meditates day and night.”
1.2.4.4.2.
Psalm 86:11-12, “11 Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Unite
my heart to fear Your name. 12 I will give thanks to You, O Lord my
God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever.”
1.2.4.5. David trusted the Lord
always placing his faith in the Lord’s promises to him.
1.2.4.5.1.
Psalm 26:1-5, “1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
And I have trusted in the Lord
without wavering. 2 Examine me, O Lord,
and try me; Test my mind and my heart. 3 For Your lovingkindness is
before my eyes, And I have walked in Your truth. 4 I do not sit with
deceitful men, Nor will I go with pretenders. 5 I hate the assembly of
evildoers, And I will not sit with the wicked.”
1.2.4.6. David, with few exceptions,
inquired of the Lord and His will before he acted. He didn’t presume upon the Lord.
1.2.4.6.1.
Psalm 27:4, “4 One thing I have asked from
the Lord, that I shall seek: That
I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate [inquire] in His temple.”
1.2.4.7. David allowed the Lord to
discipline him and he never turned away from the Lord because of the fiery
difficulties and trials the Lord put him through in that process.
1.2.4.7.1.
Psalm 38:1-15, “1 O Lord, rebuke me not in Your wrath, And chasten me not in
Your burning anger. 2 For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And
Your hand has pressed down on me. 3 There is no soundness in my flesh
because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin. 4
For my iniquities are gone over my head; As a heavy burden they weigh too
much for me. 5 My wounds grow foul and fester Because of my
folly. 6 I am bent over and greatly bowed down; I go mourning all
day long. 7 For my loins are filled with burning, And there is no
soundness in my flesh. 8 I am benumbed and badly crushed; I groan
because of the agitation of my heart. 9 Lord, all my desire is
before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You. 10 My heart
throbs, my strength fails me; And the light of my eyes, even that has gone from
me. 11 My loved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague; And
my kinsmen stand afar off. 12 Those who seek my life lay snares for
me; And those who seek to injure me have threatened destruction, And they
devise treachery all day long. 13 But I, like a deaf man, do not
hear; And I am like a mute man who does not open his mouth. 14 Yes,
I am like a man who does not hear, And in whose mouth are no arguments. 15
For I hope in You, O Lord;
You will answer, O Lord my God.”
1.2.4.8. David was committed to being
a man of his word and honorable in all of his character.
1.2.4.8.1.
Psalm 37:37, “37 Mark the blameless man, and
behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity.”
1.2.5. The Lord had His troubles
with David just as He has his troubles with all of us, and we will later in our
studies read about David’s sin that he committed with Bathsheba.
1.2.6. We will concentrate in this
study upon the fact that even today the Lord is looking for a man or woman who
is after His own heart.
1.2.6.1. What a full and meaningful life of challenge the Lord has for each person who commits his life to being a man or a woman who is after God’s own heart. In a diary entry, Jim Elliot, the Auca Indian martyr, wrote, “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life, that I may burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like You, Lord Jesus.”
1.2.6.2. Wurmbrand, was a man who was
tortured in prison by brutal guards, and he said that he had learned from his
guards. How? “As they allowed no
place for Jesus in their hearts. I decided I would leave not the smallest place
for Satan in mine.”
1.2.7. As we consider King David
throughout our study of 1 and 2 Samuel, remember that David, the man after
God’s own heart, in scripture is a type of Jesus Christ. As we go through these books we can and will
see many parallels in his life with that of Jesus Christ.
2. VS 16:1 - “1 Now the
Lord said to Samuel, “How long
will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over
2.1.
Notice here yet another indication of just how taken
Samuel was with Saul and how that he so wanted Saul to succeed as king. Because of his grieving over Saul, Samuel is
just moping around and not accomplishing anything.
2.2.
I think that we Christians can sometimes be like
Samuel on this day. Instead of going
about serving the Lord and being faithful to Him as we should, we can sometimes
be living in the past, or even caught up in bitterness and unforgiveness
towards others and mourning for the failures of the past.
2.2.1. The Lord tells us in those
times to live for Him today and to not look back.
2.2.2. We ought to have the
attitude of the apostle Paul in Phil. 3:7-15 towards those things of the past
in our lives, “7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I
have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I
count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them
but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him,
not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that
which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God
on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His
resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His
death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the
dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already
become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I
was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard
myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting
what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14
I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have
this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will
reveal that also to you.”
2.3.
Kings in the Old Testament times were anointed with
oil before the Lord by the prophets when they were called to office, and thus
the Lord tells Samuel to fill up his horn with oil and go and anoint one of
Jesse’s sons as king.
3. VS 16:2-3 - “2 But
Samuel said, “How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And
the Lord said, “Take a heifer with
you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
3 “You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what
you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you.”” - Samuel is concerned about his own life and
safety as the Lord commands him to go to
3.1.
We have to understand the geography to really
appreciate Samuel’s concern on this day.
The problem with going to the house of Jesse and anointing one of his
sons as king over Israel is that to go to Bethlehem Samuel would have to travel
right through Gibeah, Saul’s hometown, and Saul might suspect that Samuel is up
to no good if Samuel comes through town acting suspiciously.
3.2.
The Lord tells Samuel that the way to calm Saul’s
suspicions is simply to state that you are going to make a sacrifice to the
Lord. Then, when you go to make the
sacrifice invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and at that point in time the Lord
would tell Samuel what he should do.
4. VS 16:4-5 - “4 So
Samuel did what the Lord said, and
came to
4.1.
When Samuel came to the city of
4.2.
Samuel told the elders of the city along with Jesse
and his sons to “consecrate” themselves to the Lord and come to the
sacrifice. This meant that they were to
wash up and put on fresh clothes. People
were not to come to a sacrifice in
5. VS 16:6-7 - “6 When
they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 7 But
the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not
look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected
him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at
the heart.”” - When
Samuel sees Jesse’s son Eliab he thinks that this son surely must be the Lord’s
choice to rule over
5.1.
It is interesting here to observe that Samuel, the godly
and faithful man that he was, still had not learned the lesson that outward
appearances do not fit someone for service for the Lord. In other words, he still hadn’t really
learned anything from Saul’s rejection as king over
5.1.1. This revelation also shows
that even prophets, judges, and priests were not always discerning and that
unless the Lord worked in their hearts and minds and led them that they would
make very wrong decisions and choices in their lives and leading of God’s
people.
5.1.2. From the gospels we learn
that even in Jesus’ day the Jewish religious leaders were concerned only about
outward appearances, and not the inward state of a person’s heart and motives.
5.2.
The Lord tells Samuel that the He doesn’t look at the
outward appearance of people, but that when He picks and raises up His leaders
that He looks at their hearts.
5.2.1. So many times the church has
made this same mistake of looking to outward appearances in raising up its
leaders. I have seen several famous musicians,
athletes, and actors come to Christ and then the church which was instrumental
in their decision for Christ try to immediately place these people in high
profile ministries only to have these people fail miserably and in many cases
fall completely away from the Lord. The
leaders in these churches thought that now that this famous individual has come
to Christ that because of the person’s outward appearance and fame that the
Lord would use him or her in a high profile ministry.
5.2.1.1. These church leaders didn’t
realize that the Lord first has to do an incredible work in a person’s heart
and He has to give a person a specific gifting and calling in order for a
person to be used effectively in ministry.
5.2.2. In 1 Cor. 1:26-28, Paul
wrote about how that it was true in his day that of the leaders that the Lord
raised up that there not many who were known by the world for having any
greatness of their own, “26 For consider your calling,
brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty,
not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to
shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the
world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may
nullify the things that are.”
5.2.3. I mentioned these same
things when we were first introduced to king Saul early in the study of this
book. I mentioned then that we in the
church need to beware of being taken by the appearance of any supposed pastor
or Christian leader because of his good looks, nice looking clothes, commanding
sound in his voice, the outward signs of success in his ministry, etc.
5.2.3.1. After that study, one of our
guys came up to me and told me that he was glad that we in our church don’t
have to worry about having a good looking pastor!
6. VS 16:8-10 - “8 Then
Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9
Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 10
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to
Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen
these.”” - Each of
the sons of Jesse assembled on this day passed in front of Samuel however the
Lord told Samuel that He had not chosen any of these
6.1.
Jesse brought to the sacrifice his favorite seven
sons, however there was one son that was so insignificant from Jesse’s
perspective that he didn’t even invite him to this feast. This was David, the Lord’s choice for king
over
6.2.
We see that those who are insignificant in the sight
of men are many times very significant in the sight of God.
6.3.
David was a very unique man in comparison with his
brothers and for these reasons his father considered him the least significant
of his eight sons and unworthy to attend this sacrifice:
6.3.1. He was the youngest son.
6.3.2. He had a light, possibly
red, complexion, had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.
6.3.3. He was a dreamer and was
always thinking and meditating about the heavens.
6.3.4. He was a musician who was
skillful at playing the harp.
6.3.5. He was a shepherd boy who
loved his sheep and took good care of them.
6.4.
The Lord would later use David’s imagination,
creative abilities, and musical talent when David would write many of the Psalms
and hymns for worship. David also would
later build stringed instruments for worship of the Lord.
6.5.
As David was faithful to tend his sheep, the Lord
was teaching him lessons to prepare him to be a shepherd of His people. David saw himself as the Lord’s sheep and
under the care of the great shepherd himself, and thus David would write that
wonderful Psalm 23 about the care he had received from the Lord as His sheep, “1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes
me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He
restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s
sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort
me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely
goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
7. VS 16:11-14 - “11 And
Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains
yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to
Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and
a handsome appearance. And the Lord
said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the
horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the
Lord came mightily upon David from
that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil
spirit from the Lord terrorized
him.” - Samuel asks Jesse if these
are all of his sons, and Jesse tells Samuel that there is one more son however
he is out tending the sheep
7.1.
Samuel anointed David with oil as the new king of
Israel, however afterwards very little changed:
7.1.1. David was surely told by
Samuel that he would be the new king, however David would not assume rule as
king for another 32 or so years.
7.1.1.1. Before David would assume
his duties as king over
7.1.2. David’s father and brothers
most likely did not understand what this anointing by Samuel meant.
7.1.3. No one in
7.1.4. Saul would continue to rule
as king for now (actually many more years), however he was not God’s man and
not following the Lord. He would over
time be given more and more over to evil.
7.1.5. It is a scary prospect
however that anyone who likewise turns away in his heart from following the
Lord with all of his heart will over time be given more and more over to evil.
7.2.
We see here that after being anointed as king that
the Holy Spirit came upon David enabling him to be where the Lord wanted him to
be as king over God’s people.
8. VS 16:15-23 - “15 Saul’s
servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing
you. 16 “Let our lord now command your servants who are before you.
Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall come
about when the evil spirit from God is on you, that he shall play the harp with
his hand, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants,
“Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18
Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the
Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one
prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord
is with him.” 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me
your son David who is with the flock.” 20 Jesse took a donkey loaded
with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul
by David his son. 21 Then David came to Saul and attended him; and
Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. 22 Saul sent
to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my
sight.” 23 So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God
came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and
Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.” - David is hired to play the harp whenever the
demon would terrorize king Saul
8.1.
Just as the Spirit of God came upon David enabling
him to be the king God intended him to be, the Spirit of God simultaneously
left king Saul since he was now being rejected as the king over Israel.
8.2.
It is incredible to see how that the Lord works
behind the scenes in people’s lives to bring about His own purposes. Here David has been chosen and anointed by
the Lord to be king over Israel, and the Lord provides a way from David to be
right there within the king’s palace so that he can get a clear glimpse of the
inner workings of kingdom, see the many needs in the nation, and learn the
things that he as a leader over God’s people should and should not do.
8.3.
Saul has no idea that David has been chosen and
anointed by the Lord to be the next king or he never would have allowed David
into his palace and minister to him.
8.4.
Notice here that David was already known not only
for being skilled at playing the harp, but also for being a ‘mighty man of
valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech,’ and of course, for being ‘a handsome
man.’
8.4.1. Evidently, word had gotten
out about how that David had with his bare hands killed the lion and the bear
who had attacked his sheep (1 Sam. 17:34).
8.5.
Even though David had already been chosen and
anointed as king over
8.5.1. God calls all of us to be
faithful right where we are, in the small things of our life, and it is not
until we have been proven faithful with what God has given us now that He shall
promote us to greater things in His service.
8.5.2. We will see in our study
through this book David learning lesson after lesson through the many fiery
trials he encounters as the God prepares him before he enters his reign as
king.
8.6.
David as a type of Jesus Christ had to suffer
humiliation before he could ascend to the throne and in the same way the Lord
Jesus Christ, before He could ascend to the right hand of God, first came and
humbled Himself by taking on human flesh and being found in the flesh He was
obedient and humbled Himself even unto death, death upon a cross.
8.7.
We see here how that David gained favor with king
Saul, for Saul loved him and made him his armor bearer.
8.8.
I want to make one more analogy. It is interesting to me that when Saul is
demonized by a demon that the people’s response is to find someone to play
music so that Saul will feel in a better mood and the demon will flee away from
him. Why didn’t the people encourage
Saul to repent and confess his sins before the Lord and in this way cause the
demon to depart from his life. This is
what he really needed to do, isn’t it?
8.8.1. The analogy here is that
this is similar to how the church often reacts to people and to
situations. Instead of leading people to
get their lives right with the Lord when they have problems, they look other
places for their help. Many times, for
instance, they send a person to the mental health professionals who in a manner
of speaking “play the harp” to help the person feel better about
themselves. However in these situations,
what we in the church need to do is to lead people into relationship with the
Lord and to get their lives right with the Lord, and allow the blood of Jesus
to cleanse them of their sins.
9. CONCLUSIONS:
9.1.
As we think about king David and how that he was
God’s man, a man after God’s own heart, (as was mentioned earlier) the Lord
today is looking for men and women after His own heart. Are you a man or woman who is after His own
heart?
9.2.
Is your life given completely over to the Lord and
consecrated solely for Him and His use and purposes for your life?
9.3.
Do you desire to spend time with the Lord, glorify
and honor the Lord, obey the Lord, inquire of His will in all areas of your
life, and meditate upon His word night and day as did king David?
9.3.1. Today, why don’t you commit
yourself and your life to the Lord and make it your life’s goal to also be a
man or woman after God’s own heart?