The Life of Samuel Series - Study #7

“Samuel Anoints a New King”

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Study #7 in The Life of Samuel Series 

INTRODUCTION:

We are drawing near to the end of this 8-part series on The Life of Samuel. There will be just one more after today. 

Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 16. At this point in Samuel’s life, he is already an old man. His hair is white, and he walks slower than he used to. He has some aches and pains that he did not have when he was a younger man. His voice is not as strong as it used to be, and he knows that his life and ministry are coming to an end. 

TRANSITION:

Yet if anyone looked closely in his eyes, they would see immediately that his mind was still sharp. His relationship with God was still fresh and growing stronger each day. He was still the priest and prophet of the Most High God and he still had that same spiritual authority that came from being God’s chosen man. 

He was finishing strong. He had served long and well, but his work was not yet over. God still had one more important job for him to accomplish before he went into retirement. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 1: The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

• Samuel mourned for Saul because he loved him, cared about him. You do not mourn for somebody you do not care about. Saul’s story was a sad one—a man with so much potential, who looked so good on the outside, yet he was hollow in the middle.
• But God reminds Samuel that it is useless to mourn over something that God has already determined. It is time to move on. In Ecclesiastes chapter three we read, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven… ⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.” God is saying that the time for mourning is over. Now is the time for action, and for joy, because He is sending Samuel to anoint the new king of Israel, a “man after His own heart.”
• Samuel is told to fill his horn with oil because he will need it to anoint the new king. Moreover, God gives Samuel specific instructions about where to go and who to look for. This reminds us of the words of Scripture in Psalm 37:23, which says, “The steps of a good man are ordered [i.e., established] by the Lord, and He [God] delights in his way.” And Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge Him [as God], and He will make your paths straight.” That is exactly what God was doing for Samuel.
• Notice too that David was from Bethlehem, the very place from which the Messiah was to come forth many years later. We can see that God was already orchestrating the events way back then, so that every detail of the prophecy concerning Christ would be fulfilled perfectly. 

Verses 2-3: But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me.” The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for Me the one I indicate.”

• This is kind of funny when you think about it. Samuel is having a face-to-face conversation with the King of the Universe and the Creator of all, and he is worrying about what puny little Saul can do to him. Sometimes we worry about the dumbest stuff!
• But God is patient with His servant Samuel. He tells Sam exactly what to do. God says, “Invite Jesse to a barbeque! There’s nothing threatening about that!” 

Verse 4: Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?” 

• Samuel had the good sense to shut up and obey the Lord. There is a lesson there for us too, is there not?
• Why were the elders of the town fearful when they saw Samuel arriving? He wqs just a little old man with a white beard dressed in a long robe. What could he possibly do to them? I think there are two possibilities:
1. They might have been worried because he was the judge, and they might have thought he was coming to hold court and to punish their offenses. Remember back to 7:15-16, “Samuel continued as judge over Israel all the days of his life. ¹⁶ From year to year he went on a circuit from Bethel to Gilgal to Mizpah, judging Israel in all those places.”
2. However, the second reason is that they may have feared him because of his well-known direct connection to God. The people of Israel loved Samuel, but I think they were also a little bit afraid of him because he spoke with God directly, face-to-face, the way a man talks to his friend. They thought he might be coming with a hidden agenda. 

Verse 5: Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 

• Samuel set their minds at ease and invited them to join him in making a sacrifice to the Lord. Jesse, being a well-known man of the community, was invited as well, along with his whole family. 

Verse 6: When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

• When Samuel laid eyes on Eliab, Jesse’s firstborn son, he thought that he was looking upon the new king of Israel. Eliab looked like a king. He smelled like a king. He walked like a king. He dressed like a king. He even talked like a king. Samuel thought to himself, “Surely he must be the one.” But he was not the one God had chosen. 

Verse 7: But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

• God calls Samuel up short. After all, he thought all these same things about Saul, and Saul turned out to be a big loser. So, God lets Samuel in on a little secret: greatness has nothing to do with appearances, and noble character cannot be seen with our physical eyes.
• God says that He has rejected Eliab, but not because there was anything wrong with him. Eliab was probably a great guy, a fine son, and an all-around nice fellow. The only problem was… he was not the one God wanted.
• What you have here is the human way of judging things, versus the divine way of judging things. This verse explains a lot of things. As humans we tend to be impressed by powerful people, rich people, smart people, good-looking people, tall people, well-educated people, people who dress well, smell nice, and use good manners. We gravitate toward people who know how to use command presence, who have deep and melodious voices, who drive expensive cars, and who live in attractive houses. However, none of those things impresses God. He looks at the inner man, at the character, at the secret thoughts and intentions of the heart. This goes along with what Samuel said to Saul back in 15:22— “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” Outward looks and religion for show do not cut any ice with God. He is not impressed by outward manifestations that have no inward substance. It is not what we say in a testimony; it is whether we are obeying Jesus. The Christian life is one of reality. It is not a life of “put-on” and pretense. When God looks at us, He looks at us from the inside. 
• 1 Corinthians 1:25-29 sheds some light on this for me: “For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. ²⁶ Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before Him.” That is why God still calls into His service people that the world would never choose, would never foresee as achieving anything great, or noble, or mighty. 

Verses 8-11: Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”  ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.”  ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.”  ¹¹ So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”  “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

• This fashion show went on and on. Finally, it began to be a little embarrassing for everyone. Jesse was embarrassed because none of his boys was good enough to satisfy the holy man. Samuel was getting embarrassed because he had to keep saying, “No, sorry, this isn’t the one.” The brothers probably thought to themselves, “What’s going on here, for crying out loud. What’s wrong with me? I’m not exactly chopped liver you know.”
• Seven brothers passed before Samuel, and every time the Lord whispered in his ear, “This is not the one. NEXT!” Eventually Jesse ran out of sons, so Samuel said, “Is this all you’ve got?” Jesse finally admitted that he had one more—the youngest, the runt, the kid out in the field watching the sheep. Samuel says, “Go get him.” And sure enough, wouldn’t you know it; he was the one the Lord wanted all along!
• Why didn’t God just tell Samuel, “I have chosen Jesse’s youngest son, David. Go anoint him.” Wouldn’t that have saved time and wear and tear on the prophet? Isaiah 55:8-9 reveals the answer to that question: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD.  ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God has His own way of doing things and the sooner we wise up to that and stop trying to second guess Him, the happier we will be. 

Verse 12: So, he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”

• Jesse had someone, maybe a servant or one of the brothers, go out and bring David back in so that Samuel could meet him. Here we get a little bit of information about what David looked like. To us this term, “ruddy” usually means reddish. In the Old Testament it is only used to describe Esau and David. It does not necessarily mean, however, that David was a redhead with freckles; in that culture where everyone tended to be of dark skin tone, David stood out as being of lighter skin and hair. NASV says, “Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance.” But in a way it is not important because God already told us that David was not chosen because of his appearance. On the other hand, God does not despise that which is beautiful. God can use beauty. He is the Creator of beauty. The Bible makes it clear that David was a handsome young man, but God did not choose him for that reason. God knew his heart. He was God’s choice. In years to come, although David failed, down underneath was a faith that never failed. David loved and trusted God. He wanted to walk with God. The Lord took him to the woodshed and punished him within an inch of his life a few times, yet David never whimpered or cried aloud. He wanted that fellowship with God, and God loved him. He was a man after God’s own heart.
• The Lord gave Samuel immediate direction: “Get up and anoint him, NOW! He is the one I want.” 

Verse 13: So, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.

• Samuel responded with instant, unquestioning obedience. Here is another lesson for us.
• What must David’s father and brothers have thought of all this? They may have understood by the anointing that David would become a disciple of Samuel, or that in time he might become the prophet that would take Samuel’s place. But I do not think they understood that he was to be the next King of Israel that would replace Saul. Moreover, I am not sure that David fully understood what was going on. There is no indication here that Samuel took him aside and explained it all to him. Samuel and God knew what this was all about, but I do not think that Samuel spilled the beans. So, they must have all been a little perplexed by the whole thing.
• God often reveals His will to us one little piece at a time. And frankly, I am glad He does it that way. If He dropped the whole load on us at once we would panic and run. But God never gives us more than we can handle at the moment, with His help. That is true of temptation (1 Cor. 10:13), as well as trials.
• One thing did change on that day—and it was something wonderful. David was a young man, probably still a teenager. He was still a shepherd. He still lived under his dad’s roof, among his same brothers. Yet David was different from that day forward. Look at the text again: “And from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.” The NASV says, “And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” That day was a turning point for David. I do not think he understood it completely, but I am certain that he knew that something big had taken place in his life when Samuel laid his hands on him and poured the oil on his head and prayed over him. From that day forward he knew that God was real, and that God was with him.
• This is especially interesting if you read ahead in the text, for in the very next verse it says that the Holy Spirit of God departed from Saul, apparently at the very same time. 

CONCLUSION:

What are some principles we learn from these verses? Here are four (4) spiritual lessons I glean from this text:

1.    Although Samuel was an old man, he was still not too old to be used by God. We never get too old for God to use us. If you can still breathe air, you can still serve God.

2.    Though Samuel was a wise and godly man, he still needed to be taught by God to not be fooled by outward appearances. We never get so wise or so spiritual that we graduate from God’s classroom.

3.    We need to be careful not to judge people by outward appearances. We should not be taken in by those who look good; nor should we reject those who do not match up to our preconceived expectations. God uses all kinds of people, so long as they are humble, obedient, willing, and in love with God.

4.    We need to allow for time in the process of people-development. Even though David was anointed to be the next king he had a long way to go before he would be qualified for the throne. We need to look for potential in people and then help them become what God wants them to be. That is the ministry of disciple-making, and it requires time.