David Anointed King

God moves first. Samuel was still sad about Saul. Then the Lord said, “I have provided Myself a king among his sons” (16:1). God did not say He would go and look for a king. The choice was already made. Before Samuel filled his horn with oil, the next king had been picked. He was out in a field, watching sheep. When it feels like the end. Samuel thought the good days were over. Saul had failed, and Samuel cried over him. But God was already at work on what came next. When something sad happens to you, God is not stuck. He already knows the next step. Scared, and still obeying. Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me” (16:2). That fear was real, and God did not scold him. He gave Samuel a plan: take a heifer, which is a young cow, and offer a sacrifice. “So Samuel did what the Lord said” (16:4). Being scared and obeying God at the same time is not weak faith. That is what trusting God often looks like. A town that trembled. The leaders of Bethlehem “trembled at his coming” (16:4). A visit from God's prophet was serious business. Samuel answered, “Peaceably” (16:5), and he told the people to get their hearts ready to meet with God. What we learn. God is always a step ahead of us. We can obey Him even when we feel afraid, because He has already gone ahead.

Already done (16:1). God says, “I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” The Hebrew verb is ra'ah (say: rah-AH), which means to see. Here it means to see to something, to provide it. Abraham used the same word on Mount Moriah: “God will provide for Himself the lamb” (Genesis 22:8). Samuel was not sent to choose a king. He was sent to find the one God had already chosen. Grief with a limit (16:1). “How long will you mourn for Saul?” God was not angry that Samuel cared. Samuel had mourned for Saul ever since 15:35. But Saul's rejection was final, and Samuel had to turn toward what God was doing next. A real danger (16:2). Samuel's fear was not unbelief. Anointing a new king while Saul still ruled would look like treason, and Saul was already unsteady. God does not rebuke the fear. He gives Samuel a true errand and sends him anyway. Samuel was not told to lie; he really did offer the sacrifice (16:5). Courage. In Scripture, courage seldom means the fear is gone. It means obeying while you are still afraid. God told Joshua, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid” (Joshua 1:9), and the reason was that the Lord was with him. Trembling elders (16:4). The Hebrew charad (say: khah-RAHD) means to shake with fear. The elders asked, “Do you come peaceably?” Samuel told them, “Sanctify yourselves” (16:5). To sanctify means to make yourself clean and set apart for God before you meet with Him. For you. God is at work before you can see it. Your part is to trust Him and take the next step of obedience, even with shaking knees.

God was working before anyone knew it. He said He had already chosen a king. God picked him before Samuel even left home. The new king was out in a field with the sheep. Samuel was still sad about Saul. But God was already planning what came next. When something feels over, God is still working. Samuel was also scared to go. He thought King Saul might kill him. But Samuel obeyed God anyway. Being scared and still obeying is real trust. God gives us courage when we need it. He goes with us every step.

God had already picked the new king. Samuel felt scared. But he obeyed God anyway. God helps us be brave too!

A tall, strong son. When Samuel saw Eliab, he said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” (16:6). Eliab looked like a king. Samuel had heard from God many times, and still he made up his mind just by looking. God said no. “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him” (16:7). Stature means how tall someone is. Then Abinadab came, then Shammah, and then four more. Seven sons passed by, and God chose none of them (16:10). The heart. God told Samuel why: “For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (16:7). In the Bible, the heart is more than your feelings. It is the real you: what you think, what you love and what you choose when nobody is watching. Slow to judge. You cannot tell who someone is just by looking at them. The quiet kid, the new kid and the kid who is last to be picked are all seen by God. So be slow to make up your mind about people. Nothing hidden. You also cannot impress God by looking good. He sees the part of you that you cannot dress up. That might feel scary, but God sees your heart and still loves you. He wants to make it clean. What we learn. Ask God to help you see people the way He sees them, and ask Him to make your own heart right.

The same mistake again (16:6). Samuel had been here before. When he anointed Saul, Saul stood taller than any of the people (1 Samuel 9:2; 10:23). Now Samuel looked at Eliab and reached the same conclusion: “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” Israel had already had a king who looked the part. God would not choose that way again. Refused (16:7). In Hebrew, “refused” here and “rejected” in 16:1 are the same word, ma'as (say: mah-AHS). God's no to Eliab was not about his height. In 17:28 Eliab burns with anger at David and accuses him of pride, and we get a look at what was in his heart. Lebab (16:7). The Hebrew word for heart is lebab (say: leh-VAHV). It means much more than feelings. It covers the mind, the will, what a person wants and where their loyalty lies. It is the control room of a person. God sees the part that no photo, interview or reputation can reach. Comfort and warning. This truth is kind: God is never fooled by someone who looks unimpressive. It is also serious: He is never fooled by someone who looks impressive. Hebrews 4:12 says God's Word is “a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God's own choice. Saul was the king the people asked for, a king like all the nations had (8:5). David was the king God chose. Paul later said that God called David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22). That does not mean David was perfect. It means his heart was turned toward God. For you. Make Psalm 51:10 your prayer: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.”

Samuel saw Jesse's oldest son, Eliab. Eliab was tall and strong. Samuel was sure he was the one. But God said no. Then God told Samuel why. People look at the outside. God looks at the heart. The heart means the real you inside. It is what you think, love and choose. Seven sons walked past Samuel. God did not choose any of them. So do not judge people by how they look. You cannot fool God with good looks either. He sees your heart, and He still loves you. He wants to make it clean.

Eliab was tall and strong. But God looks at the heart. The heart is the real you inside. God sees it all!

The one left out. Samuel asked, “Are all the young men here?” Jesse answered, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep” (16:11). Every brother had been called to the sacrifice. Nobody thought to send for David, not even his own father. God's list. David was out doing a plain job that nobody was watching, and he was the one God chose. Being forgotten did not earn him anything. God was simply never using the list everyone else was using. Everyone waits. Samuel said, “We will not sit down till he comes here” (16:11). The whole feast waited for the boy everyone forgot. “This is the one!” When David came in, the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” (16:12). Samuel poured oil on his head “in the midst of his brothers” (16:13). To anoint means to pour oil on someone to show that God has chosen them for a special job. Picked and helped. Then “the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward” (16:13). God does not pick people and leave them to figure it out. He chooses them, and then He gives them what they need. The Holy Spirit came to help David do the work God gave him. What we learn. If you have ever been the one not picked or not noticed, God still sees you. He saw a boy in a field that nobody in the house was thinking about.

Haqqaton (16:11). Jesse calls David haqqaton (say: hah-kah-TONE), the youngest. The word can also mean the smallest or the least. David was young, and he was also the one nobody counted. He was left out of a sacrifice his whole family had been invited to. Keeping the sheep. Watching the flock was a job for the youngest. Yet Psalm 78:70-71 says God took David from the sheepfolds to shepherd His people Israel. The plain job was where God trained His king. Looks were not the reason (16:12). David was “ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking.” Ruddy means healthy and reddish in color. His looks were not what God went by, and they were not a problem either. They simply had nothing to do with the choice. Mashach (16:13). To anoint is mashach (say: mah-SHAKH). Oil poured on the head marked a person as set apart by God for a task, like a priest or a king. Samuel anointed David “in the midst of his brothers,” so the family were witnesses. The Spirit stayed. “The Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” In the Old Testament the Spirit came upon people for the work God gave them, and with David He came to stay. God chooses, and then God supplies. Back to the sheep. In 16:19 David is still “with the sheep.” He had been anointed and filled with the Spirit, and he was still doing chores. God's calling and God's timing are two different things. For you. God's choice of you does not depend on whether people notice you. Do the plain job in front of you today, and do it well for Him.

Samuel asked if these were all of Jesse's sons. Jesse said the youngest was out with the sheep. Nobody had called David in. Even his own dad forgot about him. David was doing a plain job no one was watching. And that is the boy God picked! Samuel poured oil on David's head. That showed God had chosen him. Then God's Spirit came on David with power. God does not pick people and leave them alone. He picks them, and then He helps them. If you feel left out, remember David. God always sees you, and He knows your name.

Nobody remembered to call David in. But God saw him in the field! God chose David and gave him His Spirit.

One rises, one falls. The Spirit came on David, and then the Bible says, “But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him” (16:14). Distressing means very troubling. Saul had turned away from God again and again, and now he was troubled and afraid. God is in charge of all things, but Saul's sin was his own. No crown yet. David did not get a crown that day. He got oil on his head, God's Spirit and a long wait. Later he was still “with the sheep” (16:19). Serving the king. Saul's servants looked for a harp player. One of them said of David, “the Lord is with him” (16:18). So the boy God had chosen to be the next king came to serve the king he would one day replace. Saul “loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer” (16:21). Music that helped. “David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well” (16:23). God was kind even to Saul. He sent him music and a faithful helper. Never grabbing. God had chosen David to be king, but David did not try to take the throne. He waited for God's time. Being chosen is not the same as being ready, and God uses the waiting to get you ready. What we learn. Waiting well is part of following God. Serve faithfully where you are today, and trust God with tomorrow.

Given and taken (16:13-14). In 16:13 the Spirit comes upon David; in 16:14 the Spirit departs from Saul. One king is rising while the other falls apart. A distressing spirit (16:14). The Bible shows God ruling over everything, even what He allows to trouble a person (compare Job 1:12). God is not the author of evil, and Saul's sin was his own. This trouble came after Saul had refused God's word again and again (15:23). Nothing in Saul's life was outside God's control, and God was still kind to him. Kinnor (16:16). The harp was a kinnor (say: kin-NOR), a small lyre with strings that was held in the arms and played by hand. David would later write many psalms to be sung with music like this. The servant's report (16:18). David was “skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person.” Prudent means wise. The servant ended with the reason for all the rest: “the Lord is with him.” Saul's own successor. Saul sends for David, loves him and makes him his armorbearer (16:21). Without knowing it, the king brings the next king into his own house. God was placing David where he would learn how a king's court works. Holding back. David, already anointed, served the man he would replace and did not take by force what God had promised. Many Christians see in this a picture of Jesus, who “humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death” (Philippians 2:8) before God “highly exalted Him” (Philippians 2:9). For you. Waiting is never wasted. God uses quiet years of faithful service to shape a heart that is ready for what He has planned.

Now God's Spirit had left King Saul. Saul had turned away from God many times. Now Saul felt awful and afraid. His helpers looked for a harp player. One helper said the Lord was with David. So David came to the palace. God had chosen David to be the next king. But first he served King Saul! He carried Saul's armor and played his harp. The music helped Saul feel better. David never tried to grab the crown. He waited for God's time. Waiting well is part of following God. God was with David the whole time.

David played his harp for King Saul. The music helped Saul feel better. David waited for God's time. God was with David.