God Chooses
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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.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will 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.”
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?”
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.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 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. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
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 powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
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This reading of 1 Samuel 16 at first sight seems to have no relevance whatsoever to 2024. We find a very strange procedure for choosing a King: sacrifice a heifer, oil in a horn, a line-up of seven sons and Israel's last judge, Samuel, will pick the winner.
If you are here for the first time you must be thinking, what have I come to this morning then bear with me, this passage is so relevant to today.
Indeed the vert first verse sets the scene for the whole section:
(a) God says how long will you mourn,
(b) Sam I’m sending you to Bethlehem,
(c) ‘I have chosen a king from Jesse’s family.’
So that is the procedure: it’s not a general election it is God’s selection.
Those three phases can teach us a lot today: Samuel Upset, Samuel Looks and God Chooses
Samuel Upset
Samuel Looks
God Chooses
Samuel Upset
1 Samuel 15:35 ends by saying that God was grieved. Israel needs a better king than Saul. The process of replacing Saul begins. It’s a strange way of choosing a king, what’s wrong with the son of the last king the heir? Well, that’s the problem – the last king had messed up and it grieved Samuel. God made a decision: the new king would not be Jonathan.
‘The Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.’
1 Samuel 16:1 begins with Samuel upset. Saul’s failure upset Samuel. Such was his affection for Saul. Samuel has been his mentor and spiritual director throughout Saul’s reign. When we see a friend wander from God or his word - it saddens us (and it should). Saul had been under Samuel’s care spiritually.
Parents, let us remember God has entrusted our young people to us. Samuel is upset when Saul turns from God. Many of us will have been grieved if our young ones do not stay on course and follow the Lord. Sadness and fears can hold us back from doing something for God.
Notice that God says to Samuel How long are you going to grieve over Saul? God is saying– leave that with me: I am sovereign over this – pray for them, challenge them, love them but - I have got something for you to do Samuel - get going again. Press on Samuel. Fill your horn with oil and get going - Samuel did as he was commanded.
I do not think that Samuel was special because he was a character, comic, revolutionary, a warrior - Samuel was special because he did what God told him to do, he applied the phrase ‘trust and obey.’ Fill your horn with oil and go and Samuel filled his horn with oil and went!
Samuel’s sadness led to fear (v2) ‘Saul will kill me’. Fear can overwhelm us. What are your fears? Fear of someone, fear of losing someone, something ahead, fear of speaking out in witness. Fear that doubts the goodness of God. Does fear hold you? God wants to free you from your fears. ‘Fear not occurs 365 times in the bible - one for every day of the year! I encourage you to draw near to God through the psalms. Claim the promises like Psalm 34:18 the Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in Spirit.
So, God gives Samuel a reason to press on. God's way is revealed step by step, we wre to trust the Lord in the step ahead that he reveals even if we cannot grasp the whole picture. ‘Go and sacrifice a heifer and invite Jesse’s family.’ Jesse was probably the principal man of the city. His Father was Obed, grandparents were Boaz and Ruth. Jesse’s family Bethlehemites - our interest should be heightened when we hear the location Bethlehem - we may come back to that later. Samuel was instructed to invite this family to come to the sacrifice and feast - ‘And I will show you what you should do’ said the Lord.
Samuel Looks
We read in 1 Samuel 16:5 that Sam invites Jesse's sons - seven sons. Sam looks at the lineup before him - he only has the outward appearance to go on. The sons come in and the first is tall, dark and handsome and muscular obviously a leader. He ticks all the boxes for the leader of a nation. Besides, at that time, the eldest son got the inheritance. It’s looking good for Eliab. 1 Samuel 16:6 Samuel looked at Eliab and said, ‘Surely this is the one.’ But the Lord says don't look at his appearance I have rejected him. The Lord looks at the heart not the outward appearance. God is looking deeper, God sees within. God says don't be like the world Samuel - looking at appearance, talent, strength.
We live in a time when the look is so important. The appearance. The current trend among Gen Z is to see what the influencer is wearing, hear what the influencer is saying, what flag the influencer is waving - then like or dislike. That influencer may not have the wisdom or the maturity or the integrity to influence wisely. Yet they have influence.
As our election draws near - in this Media age, pictures are so powerful. Sunak missed the D-Day photo, it was a major crisis.
The look, the appearance, the externals were what appealed to Samuel but it was not what God was looking for, it was not what God was looking at.
Appearance may give the impression that you are gifted or beautiful - our culture puts pressure on us to have the look (mental health issues result).
Appearance puts pressure on us to look young – so Ageing is a problem rather than a resource where maturity is an asset (mentoring). We put creams on our faces. 40 years ago I used to put my face in iced water - Clint Eastwood did it. Look at me now! Today when I see my reflection I see my dad.
Simon Weston CBE, at the age of 20 was maimed when Sir Galahad was bombed during the Falklands War. Simon survived & had severe burns to his face and body. ‘Being scarred makes me different. But I use this as an opportunity, even as a topic of conversation.’
I don’t think Samuel would have picked Simon Weston out in a lineup!
Samuel saw Candidate 1 and was swayed by the look. Samuel’s look could only see externals. God was looking deeper. The outward appearance could not answer these questions - how selfish are you, how vain are you, how do you react to criticism, to pressure how will you react to adversity? How wise, how joyful, how generous, how loving are you. What is the most important thing in your life?
Is it yourself, something else or God? How do we look in this deeper examination? That is a challenge for us today.
God Chooses
1 Samuel 16:10-11, 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. The Hebrew word is like the runt of the litter, in this part of the world we would say there’s the nipper. David is like a Cinderella character, he was tending the flocks - the eighth child is called,. he was not even in the first seven line-up. If you know your bible numerics, 8 is the number of new beginnings.
The outward appearance was not what God was looking at. David's heart was what God saw. Friends, there is a war in our hearts - tussles with worship and idols such as sport. He must be Lord of all. He wants your heart. There is nothing more important than our Lord Jesus. (v6) We can tell how people look but God can tell how they are. He looks at the heart. He knows it from the womb to the final breath. They (v8) waited for David to come in from the fields. Imagine him in his work clothes, dirty and smelly yet handsome. Not much going on with the outward appearance but God was looking for someone who had a heart for him. Not chic but lovely. And the Lord says ‘this is the one.’ David is Anointed to do what God calls him to do. Incidentally, David’s name means ‘beloved.’
1 Samuel 16:7 sounds obvious - God sees inside. But there is something deeper here, God's view is according to God’s own heart not the individuals own heart. According to God’s own will and purpose, not David’s. God is not looking to see if David has what it takes. He's not looking for a man who has a lot of God in his heart but this is a picture of God who has this man in his heart. It's not that he was super spiritual but that God is sovereign and chooses and equips who he wills for his purpose. God knows the plans he has for you, he sees all the potential you have with Christ in you. It is not because we are gifted, useful or special but because he loves you and chose you to be one of his own, an heir and joint heir with his precious son Jesus.
God reverses the values of the world. He chose Hannah not Penniniah, Sarah not Hagar, Ruth not Orpah. Why does God not choose the most impressive, the leader, the most gifted, the muscle, the beauty. Colossians 1:18 answers that, ‘in all these things Jesus must have the pre-eminence.’ The least likely in human terms was God's most likely choice. The eldest son would have been the world's choice. David: Israel's greatest King (v13 says) spirit came mightily upon David. Holy Spirit equips his servant for battle, royal office, and the prophetic. Remember in the New Covenant how the Holy Spirit falls on all that were gathered. The Holy Spirit is the enabling power for us to serve others.
We only hear of Samuel once more (1 Samuel 19:18 )before his death. He retired having seen the ‘sceptre brought into the tribe of Judah’ (a prophecy of Genesis 49:10). Talking of the tribe of Judah…..
David is a type of another Bethlehem child, Bethlehem meaning, – House of Bread or wheat. Remember Ruth and Naomi gleaning in those fields of gold in Bethlehem. Ruth the eighth book of the bible - there’s another number eight for you! Ruth married Boaz and they had a child called Obed. Obed and his wife had a child called Jesse, and Jesse and his wife had a child called David. Later, the prophet said in Isaiah 11:1 ‘A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse.’ In about a thousand years time, from this stump of Jesse would be another Bethlehemite his name is Jesus. Wow. Philippines 2:6 says he emptied himself of his outward glory. Isaiah 53:2 says he had ‘no beauty that we should desire Him.’ He was beaten and nailed to the cross so that we could radiate the Christ-like beauty that God intends for us - that we could be valued as God's own. This is not just a nice bit of theology – we should be bowled over by this. Jesus did that for you and me to enable us to draw close to him in a personal relationship. No longer a slave to the look, the talent, the money, the ageing. When the son sets you free you shall be free indeed (John 8:36). Free from materialism, fear of death and dying.
The only way to get this Christlike beauty is to open your heart to allow the spirit of the Lord to come upon you and with in you. Christ in you the hope of Glory. Amen
