1. God’s King (16:1-5)
1 Samuel 16:1–23 (ESV)
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears 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 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
This Chapter opens up with Samuel’s grief over Saul. We are not told exactly why Samuel was sad and grieving over Saul. I think we can make some assessments and perhaps get close to the reason why.
Samuel had invested his life’s work into Saul only to have it and him fail miserably. Or at least that’s what Samuel thinks at this point. He’s grieving over Saul, as God says. It no doubt includes Saul’s sin and failure to obey God. It probably includes the fact that he was the one to anoint Saul king and he looked so promising at first. I’m sure it included doubt as to what was going to happen in the future to Israel.
Notice what God’s remedy is to sadness and grief…
Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
Here we see the remedy of God is to look to Him, trust Him and obey Him. Sitting around feeling sad is not what God desires from us. Get up Samuel I have a new mission for you.
So, the remedy is to get up and get back to it. Continue obeying the Lord and He will show you amazing new realities.
Fill your horn with oil, Samuel there is going to be another king to anoint.
Here is the big difference between Saul and David. Saul was the king the people wanted. Remember, they wanted a king like the other nations. Saul was a man who looked impressive on the outside but was not a man of God, rather he feared the people. Saul was their king and Saul failed miserably.
Here is the key for this entire Chapter…
I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
I have provided for Myself a king…
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
Samuel knows he will have to pass by Gilgal where Saul is to get to Bethlehem and he also knows just how evil Saul really is. If Saul finds out that Samuel is going to anoint someone else king then Saul will kill Samuel to prevent that from happening.
“Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
Here is an issue we must consider. Here is an ethical situation we must deal with where God is concerned. This is often addressed as the ethics of concealment. This is not a lie.
When God’s people find themselves is situations that are kin to wartime strategy, deception is not sin. Just like when an army attacks an enemy by stealth in is not a sin. You are not required to tell your enemy when and where the attack is going to occur. An army may in fact do things to further deceive and trick an enemy. See Joshua 2 with Rahab and the spies.
We know the real purpose for Samuel going to Bethlehem was to anoint David to be king. We also know if the true purpose was revealed Saul would have killed Samuel. So God tells Samuel to take a sacrificial animal and say, you’re going to Bethlehem to sacrifice. He did do that so there is no lie involved.
2. David is Anointed King (16:6-13)
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. 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 rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
The first impression for Samuel is that the king God has chosen has to be Eliab. He’s the one. He’s the man. He’s taller and more handsome than the others. He is very social and speaks well. People seem to really like him. Samuel probably had his hand in the horn of oil ready to go but then God quickly steps in.
What’s very important here is that we get it when the people chose Saul and they went only by his outward appearance…but this is Samuel, this is God’s prophet. Surely, Samuel knows which one. Point is here that if God had not stopped Samuel, we would be reading the account of Saul part two.
Only God can lead Samuel to the right choice.
Man can only make superficial choices based on outward appearances. God, however, sees much deeper. God sees the heart of a person. That’s what matters.
Beloved here’s a word for us today from God’s Word. Always be aware of the peril of impressions. This is true in all of life. Do not ever think you can make the choice God wants you to make without prayer. Only God knows what’s best for us. We do not…ever. We choose Sauls and Eliabs while God looking to the inward part had already chose His King, David.
In our lives be very careful what you do and the choices you make because left to yourself no matter how godly you think you are, maybe even like Samuel, you will choose wrong without God.
This section shows us the discernment we need and don’t have. There is no formula or a 12-step program here. Seek the Lord, read His Word and pray and stop what you’re doing don’t think you have to move you can be still and wait.
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here…
One writer tells us, God must save us from our saviors.
The truth we discover as we seek out God and His choice is that there is always a surprise.
Here, God’s choice is really the last choice Samuel would have made. He had seen all of Jessie’s sons and at each Samuel was optimistic and yet God said NO.
Samuel knew God had said that the king will come from Jessie’s sons and seven have been paraded before Samuel and each time God said…
Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
So, Samuel asks are there any more sons?
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
The one no one suspected. The youngest the dirtiest, the one who smelled like sheep…When he entered the room, God said, there he is!!
We are to be surprised by that choice. It makes no sense. No one expected this, Samuel least of all. God uses the most unlikely people to do His will. David, was the least in Jesse’s house from a small village, just a shepherd boy…that’s him.
Just as God surprises us with David. So, to, David’s descendant Jesus, our Lord was also rejected by man. He was not the one we would pick.
1 Peter 2:4 (ESV)
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
God has now equipped David for the task with the Holy Spirit.
3. God’s Preparation for a New King (16:14-23)
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.
Saul’s downfall…the Lord removes the Holy Spirit and sends Saul a harmful spirit to torment him. Here we see divine judgement.
We can see God’s providence as Saul’s councilmen sends for someone skilled in music to help calm Saul’s spirit. David is chosen to go to Saul.
In God’s wonderful workings, we see that David is being prepared to be the King. God places Davil in the King’s court and he learns proper ways etc.
We see the Lord is with David.
Saul began to greatly appreciate David and they became close. David is promoted to be Saul’s armorbearer, a role with great honor. At times of war, he would accompany Saul into battle. David was also learning how to fight wars. God was getting David ready.
Resources Used:
1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
1 Samuel by Tsumura
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