Unit 2: Out of Slavery to Nationhood
Key Verse:
1 Samuel 16:7b NLT
7b The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
God sees right through us!
What you need to know
1 Samuel 15:1-3 NLT
1 One day Samuel said to Saul, “It was the Lord who told me to anoint you as king of his people, Israel. Now listen to this message from the Lord! 2 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I have decided to settle accounts with the nation of Amalek for opposing Israel when they came from Egypt. 3 Now go and completely destroy[a] the entire Amalekite nation—men, women, children, babies, cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and donkeys.”
There are times when God wants to make a point. He wants to use His servants to make a statement. In this case, God desired to judge the nation of Amalek for their treatment of Israel during their wilderness sojourn. Amalek, descendants of Esau should have been an oasis in the desert experience that Israel underwent. Instead, they stood against Israel, thus drawing God’s ire. God commanded that the Amalekites be wiped out completely. It was up to Saul to see that through.
1 Samuel 15:9 NLT
9 Saul and his men spared Agag’s life and kept the best of the sheep and goats, the cattle, the fat calves, and the lambs—everything, in fact, that appealed to them. They destroyed only what was worthless or of poor quality.
However, Saul had other ideas. It seems that when Saul observed the quality of the livestock, he and his men decided to keep some of the choicest animals for themselves. Expressly contrary to what God had commanded. From that point forward, God was done with Saul. He would command Samuel to travel to Judah to reveal the next king of Israel.
The Lesson
Samuel 16:1 NLT
1 Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”
After the Lord determined to reject Saul, He commanded Saul to get up and move on. It was time to reveal a new king. Samuel did not have the luxury of dwelling on the hurt that he was experiencing over God’s rejection of Saul. After all, He, Samuel, was God’s man, the prophet and last judge of Israel. Even in mourning, it was necessary that he obey God.
There are times when the circumstances of life seem overwhelming. Somehow, we have to continue on. We have to move forward. God provides an answer: “fill your flask with olive oil…” In essence, God commands that we refresh ourselves in His Holy Spirit. We are to seek His face in order to find the strength that we need nearness of His Presence, in the intimacy of His embrace.
Samuel was to put the affection that he had for Saul aside in order to elevate Israel to the next place God planned for them. “Go to Bethlehem and find Jesse”, God commanded. From Bethlehem, the “House of Bread”, God would select the next king of Israel from the ‘House of Jesse’, the grandson of Boaz and Ruth.
1 Samuel 16:2a NLT
2a But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
In fact, Samuel now feared that Saul, who was once his protege, would now seek to end his life. While Israel had been given a king, it still remained a somewhat loose confederation of tribes. Saul, a Benjamite, would not relinquish the monarchy without a fight. Additionally, the tribe of Benjamin was notorious for its war-like mentality. They would support Saul in his effort to remain on the throne. Samuel had lost a friend and gained an enemy.
1 Samuel 16:2b-3 NLT
2b “Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord. 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me.”
God understood Samuel’s concern. Samuel, an Ephraimite would have to leave Ramah and travel through the territory of Benjamin in order to reach Bethlehem. He would need a valid reason for traveling through the region, one that did not involve wresting the monarchy from the tribe of Benjamin. God provided the answer. Samuel was to take a young heifer with him to sacrifice before the Lord. upon his arrival, God would reveal to Samuel the next king of Israel.
1 Samuel 16:4 NLT
4 So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”
Be reminded that Samuel, the prophet, was the last judge of Israel. He was the vessel God had chosen and used to communicate His Word clearly to His people, Israel. An unannounced, unsolicited visit from God’s judge may have meant that sent him to announce God’s judgment for some misstep on the part of the people of the region. Why would Samuel have traveled so far otherwise? The elders of the town approached Samuel in fearful anticipation of what may have led to his unheralded arrival. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”, they asked. What was coming next?
1 Samuel 16:5 NLT
5 “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.
Samuel immediately put their hearts at ease. He had simply come there for worship. This would be a time of refreshing before the Lord. If there were to be a ‘Word from the Lord’, Samuel assured them, it would be a Word of peace and encouragement. The people of Bethlehem were to purify themselves and…get ready for church! Additionally, Samuel specifically requested that Jesse and his sons attend the service. He took it upon himself to see to it that they were properly prepared to worship before the Lord.
Beloved, what happens here is no different than what should happen for each of us individually and collectively when we prepare for worship. Not only are we to prepare ourselves by our dress and appearance when are preparing for worship, we should prepare ourselves spiritually and emotionally as well, spending time in prayer and devotion to clear ourselves of the cares and distractions of life as best we can, or collecting those very distractions in our hearts so that we may unburden ourselves before God when we come into the sanctuary. Purification requires that we present ourselves before God in honesty and transparency before we enter His house.
1 Samuel 16:6 NLT
6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”
At first glance, Eliab must have fit all of Samuel’s requirements. Maybe, just maybe, he reminded Samuel of his previous protege, Samuel. We can assume that Eliab was the eldest of Jesse’s sons and therefore would have been the natural choice as the one who was to receive the blessing of the anointing of God.
1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Interestingly, Samuel takes no action based on his own perceptions. He waits. He waits for… a Word from the Lord! Beloved, how often are we moved by our desires, labeling them, “the will of God”, when they are but our own will ‘dressed up’ by some scriptural rhetoric that we’ve attached in order to convince ourselves that, “certainly, God wants me to have this!” How well do we discern the Spirit of God? We need to have spent enough time in His presence to discern His will. God does not judge by the outer appearance. He looks at the heart. God spoke to Samuel to prevent Samuel from speaking out of his own will.
1 Samuel 16:8-10 NLT
8 Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” 9 Next Jesse summoned Shimea,[a] but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” 10 In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
Six times more, another son of Jesse was presented before Samuel. Six times more, the Lord was silent. God had not chosen any of them. Think about it. If Samuel had any uncertainty at first, his conviction became clearer with the rejection of each subsequent son of Jesse. God’s chosen was not among them.
1 Samuel 16:11a NLT
11a Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”
And now the Spirit of the Lord moves upon Samuel to reveal what, as of yet, has not been revealed. It begins with a question: “Are these all the sons you have?” God doesn’t do anything by happenstance. He certainly sent Samuel there on a mission: to anoint the next king of Israel. God does not make mistakes.
Isaiah 55:11 NLT
11
It is the same with my word.
I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
1 Samuel 16:11b NLT
11b “There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”
And now we understand. Jesse has withheld his youngest son. Why? I can only make an educated guess. Beloved, it is not uncommon for the youngest or last remaining son not to be required to serve in the military during wartime, particularly if the older brothers are serving or have died in service. It was the policy of our government in times past that the last son would be allowed to skip service in order to preserve a family’s heritage. It may be that Israel practiced a similar custom for the same reason.
Additionally, it is the practice of many cultures around the world for the youngest son to remain at home during adulthood to act as the caretaker of the homestead and his aging parents. In many cases, the youngest son is pressured by the elders (parents) to remain at home, restricting their life and livelihood to the confines of the rural community they were raised in rather than pursuing the allure of big city life or far away adventures. At Jesses’s instruction, David remained in the fields tending the family's flocks. This may have been Jesse’s plan for David, but God had other plans.
1 Samuel 16:11c NLT
11c “Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
David had not been present at the initial invitation of Samuel. That was to be corrected. Samuel instructed Jesse to send for David at once. They could not proceed without him. Who tended the flocks in David’s stead. We don’t know. What we do know is that God took care of it.
1 Samuel 16:12 NLT
12 So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.
And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”
Finally, after seven consecutive ‘No’s’, God says, “Yes.” Samuel’s patience, trust, and faith in God are rewarded in the confirmation of God’s Word in the arrival of David. Like his brothers, David is handsome in appearance, with beautiful eyes. But, God is looking past his outer appearance. He knows David. He has known him for some time. More importantly, we will find out that David knows God. He has known God for some time. He has learned from God, to walk by faith, not by sight. We will see that demonstrated later on in David’s story. God has a plan for David, a plan that involves His eternal Kingdom and purpose. In fact, God’s plan will have eternal consequences for David, making his name among the greatest among men, deeming him to be both a descendant and an ancestor of our eternal King, Jesus Christ.
1 Samuel 16:13 NLT
13 So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
And so, Samuel anointed David in the presence of his brothers. At that same time, God confirmed Samuel’s actions by pouring His Holy Spirit down upon David. The Spirit of the Lord remained with David from that day forward, imbuing divine inspiration upon a young man who had already found favor with God. This is the beginning of David’s story. He will eventually consolidate the loose confederation of tribes that were called Israel into a mighty nation under his reign and the subsequent reign of his son, Solomon. He is today regarded by the modern nation of Israel as the greatest king of Israel. His feats are marveled at in churches worldwide. In David, God finally had the servant king He desired.
Selah,
wb
2 Timothy 2:8 NLT
8 Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead. This is the Good News I preach.
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