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.”
I like this, I am not sending you to David, I am sending you to Jesse. He didn’t choose David, he chose one of Jesse’s sons. Spoiler alert -- I have a very different reading of this chapter than you often hear. Generally you hear about how biased Jesse was towards David. But up to this point what have we learned. Kings have to be able to deal with bullies. That is what older brothers teach you. I think it is instructive that Michael Jordan learned to play by playing his older brother who was better than him at the time. Whatever doesn’t destroy you makes you stronger. When you are smaller, weaker, slower then your only chance is to be smarter. I think this is what we see with Tom Brady. This is also what we see with David.
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
This verse sets the stage. Samuel, the Mike Tyson of the Priesthood, knows that King Saul is now much more powerful than he is and is watching him. But God is not just all powerful, He is also the one in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
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.”
A lot of people complained about how mean Michael Jordan was but his response was “I never asked anyone to do anything that I didn’t do myself”. Saul was told to follow God’s instructions and Samuel is also told this.
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?”
The elders of the town trembled, this is the context. Saul was deceitful in asking Samuel to honor him before the elders. He was able to frame the narrative, “Samuel is trying to get power back for himself”, “Samuel is involved in insurrection”. No one wants to believe it but who are you going to believe? Obviously Saul must have some secret information to say this. Saul has just had some victories, maybe Samuel is jealous.
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.
Whoa, what? The elders are trembling, knowing that they could be accused of insurrection by Saul, so what is Jesse thinking when he is invited by name?
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.”
Do you realize we all need to learn from Samuel. NFL teams who let Brady get picked 199th need to learn from Samuel. People who let Hitler, Lenin, or Mao take power need to learn from this. We all make choices all the time, and these choices are all about choosing people. When you buy a stock you are really investing in people, leaders. Success or failure has a great deal to do with your ability to select the right people. It can be very difficult. I can definitely understand the “never trumpers” attitude, the choice was not easy to make. But being able to discern the heart, that is the key.
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?”
The general interpretation points to this to show how Jesse was biased against David. But let’s consider what we know, Jesse has a small business, it is his flock of sheep. He has left David in charge so he surely has a certain level of trust in him. Second we see that Jesse is presenting his seven oldest sons to Samuel so surely Jesse knows what is going on. Third we know that everyone in Israel including the people here know there is a rift between Saul and Samuel and that they could be accused of insurrection for just eating with Samuel. We also know something else, Samuel was not sent to David, he was sent to Jesse. If you watch the NFL you will discover that they will draft 8 players from one college team and no players from another. They have learned that certain coaches and certain programs prepare players very well and others do not. Smart players go to teams that have great coaches not just to win championships but even more to be prepared so that they will get drafted. That is what Jesse is, all of his sons look like kings.
Suppose you were in Jesse’s shoes, being the good Christian that you are, you want to be one with the Lord. If Samuel represents the Lord then I want to stand with him, on the other hand if he has truly become rebellious I don’t want to be tarnished with his rebellion. Now being the great coach that you are, do you really think you are not aware of how good Michael Jordan is? So my hypothesis is that holding back David was a way in which Jesse is testing Samuel. If God is speaking to him then he will know about David, if he is out here on his own, then he won’t. This is a high stakes poker game and Jesse is holding an ace in the hole. Also, compare Jesse with Israel (Jacob). Israel made a big deal over one of his youngest sons, Joseph. How did that work out? We learn later there is a lot of competition in Jesse’s household between David and the older brothers. None of them can complain later, their father gave them the very best chance to get picked.
“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.”
Look what Jesse did! Samuel has to play his hand. The entire town has this big sacrifice and they won’t start until David comes? At this point only a fool like Saul would not understand what is going on.
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.
There is a lot of superstitious teachings about this that I absolutely hate. So let’s try and illustrate this with a modern example. Tom Brady was not regarded as anything by anyone. He was a back up quarterback to Drew Bledsoe, but one day Drew got hurt, Tom was sent in, and from that day on the rest was history. Being sent in to play was being “anointed” in front of the brothers. The Spirit coming powerfully upon him was going to 10 super bowls and winning 7 of them. But that does not mean that saying “Tom, go in, you are playing” is what made him into that. His father, his training, his preparation, his faith in the Lord, his hope, his love. That is what made him. Now it is possible that he could have been cut from the team the first year (he barely made it) and if that had happened he never would have been “anointed” and you never would have seen the “Spirit of the Lord come powerfully upon him”. He told people beforehand that if ever gets a chance to play that will be that, he won’t be on the bench any more. If Samuel could just create a David by pouring oil on him then Saul would be a David, or one of David’s older brothers would be a David.
I like this, I am not sending you to David, I am sending you to Jesse. He didn’t choose David, he chose one of Jesse’s sons. Spoiler alert -- I have a very different reading of this chapter than you often hear. Generally you hear about how biased Jesse was towards David. But up to this point what have we learned. Kings have to be able to deal with bullies. That is what older brothers teach you. I think it is instructive that Michael Jordan learned to play by playing his older brother who was better than him at the time. Whatever doesn’t destroy you makes you stronger. When you are smaller, weaker, slower then your only chance is to be smarter. I think this is what we see with Tom Brady. This is also what we see with David.
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
This verse sets the stage. Samuel, the Mike Tyson of the Priesthood, knows that King Saul is now much more powerful than he is and is watching him. But God is not just all powerful, He is also the one in whom all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.
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.”
A lot of people complained about how mean Michael Jordan was but his response was “I never asked anyone to do anything that I didn’t do myself”. Saul was told to follow God’s instructions and Samuel is also told this.
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?”
The elders of the town trembled, this is the context. Saul was deceitful in asking Samuel to honor him before the elders. He was able to frame the narrative, “Samuel is trying to get power back for himself”, “Samuel is involved in insurrection”. No one wants to believe it but who are you going to believe? Obviously Saul must have some secret information to say this. Saul has just had some victories, maybe Samuel is jealous.
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.
Whoa, what? The elders are trembling, knowing that they could be accused of insurrection by Saul, so what is Jesse thinking when he is invited by name?
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.”
Do you realize we all need to learn from Samuel. NFL teams who let Brady get picked 199th need to learn from Samuel. People who let Hitler, Lenin, or Mao take power need to learn from this. We all make choices all the time, and these choices are all about choosing people. When you buy a stock you are really investing in people, leaders. Success or failure has a great deal to do with your ability to select the right people. It can be very difficult. I can definitely understand the “never trumpers” attitude, the choice was not easy to make. But being able to discern the heart, that is the key.
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?”
The general interpretation points to this to show how Jesse was biased against David. But let’s consider what we know, Jesse has a small business, it is his flock of sheep. He has left David in charge so he surely has a certain level of trust in him. Second we see that Jesse is presenting his seven oldest sons to Samuel so surely Jesse knows what is going on. Third we know that everyone in Israel including the people here know there is a rift between Saul and Samuel and that they could be accused of insurrection for just eating with Samuel. We also know something else, Samuel was not sent to David, he was sent to Jesse. If you watch the NFL you will discover that they will draft 8 players from one college team and no players from another. They have learned that certain coaches and certain programs prepare players very well and others do not. Smart players go to teams that have great coaches not just to win championships but even more to be prepared so that they will get drafted. That is what Jesse is, all of his sons look like kings.
Suppose you were in Jesse’s shoes, being the good Christian that you are, you want to be one with the Lord. If Samuel represents the Lord then I want to stand with him, on the other hand if he has truly become rebellious I don’t want to be tarnished with his rebellion. Now being the great coach that you are, do you really think you are not aware of how good Michael Jordan is? So my hypothesis is that holding back David was a way in which Jesse is testing Samuel. If God is speaking to him then he will know about David, if he is out here on his own, then he won’t. This is a high stakes poker game and Jesse is holding an ace in the hole. Also, compare Jesse with Israel (Jacob). Israel made a big deal over one of his youngest sons, Joseph. How did that work out? We learn later there is a lot of competition in Jesse’s household between David and the older brothers. None of them can complain later, their father gave them the very best chance to get picked.
“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.”
Look what Jesse did! Samuel has to play his hand. The entire town has this big sacrifice and they won’t start until David comes? At this point only a fool like Saul would not understand what is going on.
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.
There is a lot of superstitious teachings about this that I absolutely hate. So let’s try and illustrate this with a modern example. Tom Brady was not regarded as anything by anyone. He was a back up quarterback to Drew Bledsoe, but one day Drew got hurt, Tom was sent in, and from that day on the rest was history. Being sent in to play was being “anointed” in front of the brothers. The Spirit coming powerfully upon him was going to 10 super bowls and winning 7 of them. But that does not mean that saying “Tom, go in, you are playing” is what made him into that. His father, his training, his preparation, his faith in the Lord, his hope, his love. That is what made him. Now it is possible that he could have been cut from the team the first year (he barely made it) and if that had happened he never would have been “anointed” and you never would have seen the “Spirit of the Lord come powerfully upon him”. He told people beforehand that if ever gets a chance to play that will be that, he won’t be on the bench any more. If Samuel could just create a David by pouring oil on him then Saul would be a David, or one of David’s older brothers would be a David.