1st Samuel 16:1-23

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1^st Samuel 16:1-23

“And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him. 7 But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. 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 brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. 16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. 18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. 19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. 20 And Jesse took an ass, laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. 21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. 23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED655]

Introduction

“Chapter 16, related to the beginning of the record of the life of David the king of Israel [and he’s going to be the future king of Israel as well, alongside of Yeshua haMeschiach, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, as King of kings and Lord of lords, the King of the whole world (Ezekiel 37:21-24)]. David is mentioned over a thousand times in the Bible, more than Moses, more than Abraham, more than any human, ah, David brought before us in many facets, but more than any other human in the Scripture, remarkably. Samuel, in this chapter is sent forth to anoint him. It seems that he has given no previous attention or acknowledgment of this young individual. I think Josephus says he’s ten years old, David at this point in time, many of the ancient rabbis say he’s 15, somewhere young, we’re not certain. Samuel had already told Saul that God was going to take the kingdom from him, previous to chapter 15, and said there was another man that he was preparing. David was not yet born when Samuel said that. Jonathan had already enacted some valour on the battlefield, David was not yet born, David was much, much younger than Jonathan, and yet their hearts would be knit together. Saul would be fond of Jonathan, the nation would love Jonathan, the women would sing ‘Saul hath slain his thousands, David his ten thousands,’ Michal, Saul’s daughter would love David, so many would love David, David had so many facets, such a remarkable young man. And this evening we’re kind of introduced to him. His name is mentioned in the end of Ruth, there as his genealogy is brought before us and given, but the first time the man is named is in our study this evening. In the end of Ruth it says “There is a son born to Naomi, and they called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, and Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, and Salmon began Boaz, and Boaz [and Ruth] begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.” (Ruth 4:17b-22) it’s naming the generations, they called his name Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth, he’s the father of Jesse the father of David. It says in verse 18, “Now these are the generations…” and it goes through them, and once again, it comes back to Obed, he begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. So his name is mentioned twice, but the first time we see the man named this evening, Daveed, you know, all we know about David, this is the first time in the Bible. We’ve been through all of these books of the Bible [up until now], and the name has never been used [except in Ruth and here in 1^st Samuel 16], this is the first time in Scripture we come to an individual with this name, Daveed, David, the beloved, that’s what his name means, ‘the beloved, the one who is loved, David, interesting.

Samuel Is Mourning At God’s Rejection Of Saul

Chapter 16 says “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.” (verse 1) I’m always amazed at the discourse that goes on between Samuel and the LORD. Samuel’s mourning, he loved Saul. Saul in the natural had every advantage, in so many ways seemed like a king, head and shoulders taller than all the men of Israel. Was he 6’ 9”, 6’ 10”, 6’ 11”? We don’t know, a huge man, a man that looked like a king, and he had had a remarkable victory over the Amorites up in the area of Jabesh Gilead, God had granted victory to him. At one point the Spirit of the LORD had come on him in a very specific way when he was amongst the Prophets and so forth. And I think Samuel had loved him, and God has rejected him, and he’s an old man. You know, he had had a very prominent figure in his life earlier named Eli, and God had given to Samuel as a young boy a prophecy to give to Eli, and say basically ‘The LORD is done with you, he’s done with your house, your lineage will no longer be priests in Israel.’ No doubt that was hard for Samuel, he’s a human, and here he is, these many, many years later, and to another man he loves so deeply I believe, he had to say ‘God has ripped the kingdom away from you, you will no longer be king in Israel, your lineage will not sit on the throne, God’s going to give it to another.’ And we’re told that this man, and that’s the kind of heart we should have towards God’s people, he’s warning, he’s broken, he’s not rejoicing, he finds no joy, saying ‘Saul’s a pain, somebody’s big old fat-head, about time somebody knocked him down off his high horse,’ there’s none of that in Samuel. In fact the LORD has to rebuke him and say ‘Look, Samuel, how long are you gonna mourn for this guy, I’m the one whose rejected him, I’m God, you’re working for me, how long are you going to go on doing this? I’m the one whose gotten rid of him.’ And he’s bringing Samuel, and little does Samuel know it, to the most significant act in his entire career, the most significant thing that Samuel will do in his entire career is dump this horn of oil on the head of a young shepherd boy, while he’s done some incredible things along the way, shaken the mountains of Israel, great victories over the Philistines, great prayer leverage with God, because God loved this man, this man was so upright, so righteous. But in this chapter, the most significant act of his life will take place, because this is the line of the Messiah, this will be the Christ in type, the anointed of Israel, king David. This will be the one whose throne the Messiah will come and sit on forever, this will be the greatest physical, natural king, human king Israel will ever have. And Samuel does not sense that. And I’m amazed because, listen, the LORD just talks to him. You have to hear the LORD really clear for the LORD to say to you, ‘Quit whining, you got the whine flu here or something Samuel? What’s your problem, I’ve rejected this guy. What I want you to do, is I want you to fill your horn with oil, and I want you to go to Jesse’s house, he’s got this brood of sons there, and I want you to dump out your horn of oil on one of their heads.’ Now you don’t do that to somebody unless you’re really hearing the LORD. This is not like putting a little oil on your thumb and put it on his forehead and pray for him, this is you take the horn of oil and dump it, you ruin all of his clothing, you dump the whole thing on somebody’s head. And before you do that, don’t you do that, before you do that, you have to really hear from the LORD. It’s amazing the intimacy, and I’m envious of it, that Samuel has with the LORD, I’m sure he would be envious of my relationship with Jesus Christ [although the LORD, Yahweh, was the pre-incarnate Jesus Christ].

Stop Whining, Stop Mourning, I Have Provided

But you think of that intimacy, and the LORD says ‘Stop whining, stop mourning, I have provided.’ And that always has to be, I believe, in some way or another, the answer to our mourning. God is saying ‘I’m not at a loss, I understand how you feel, an individual has been set aside. I have provided.’ It should be an encouragement to us, as we look at the world we live in, it seems that everything is falling apart, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom [and it is in 2022, with the war in Ukraine, between the Russian Federation and the Ukraine]. The truth is, God could have somebody working in a hosiery mill, could have somebody sitting at a computer, somebody driving a truck, somebody taking care of sheep that can change the course of the world. God is never lacking. And he has to say it to the Prophet, one of the greatest Prophets that ever lived. ‘Samuel, stop, I’ve rejected the man, I want you now to go and anoint one of the sons of Jesse.’ And he says ‘How shall I go?’ God says ‘Go.’ And Samuel says ‘How shall I go?’ Listen, let’s start over, let’s read down here. “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.” (verse 1) a godly family in Bethlehem, no doubt living on the parcel of land that belonged to Boaz, and a spiritual heritage to some degree involved in this family. Now he’s being sent. And look in verse 2, “And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me.” ‘he’s in a bad mood, he’s 7-foot tall, and he’s not the kind of king that likes you anointing another king in his kingdom. Did you ever think of that?’ “And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.” Now you read that, and you think, ‘Is the LORD saying, Look, we got an angle around it, we’ll tell a little white lie here,’ it’s a white lie, a divine lie here, it’s a divine fib, ‘Just say you came to sacrifice here, you don’t have to worry.’ That’s not what happened at all, Samuel, is he talking out loud to the LORD? Does he just hear the LORD in his heart [mind], is he responding in his heart. You know, look, if you’ve been married any length of time. It never happens in my house, ‘Honey,’ if you’ve been married for any length of time, your spouse knows you so well, sometime you’re halfway through a sentence, and they’re already answering. They’re anticipating, they’re smarter than you, so they know the end of your sentence before you get there, and they, and they’re already beginning to answer. Your kids might do that, or somebody whose a good friend. You know, Samuel’s in this concourse with the LORD continually. And the LORD says ‘I want you to do this…’ Now let’s look at it this way, look at verse 1, let’s read to the end of verse 1, let’s skip the beginning of verse 2, and let’s step right in like Samuel never said anything, he says ‘I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ You know, it’s almost like the LORD is telling Samuel what to do, and Samuel says ‘But, but, but,’ and he interrupts God, and God just goes ‘and take an heifer with you,’ I have to do this, sometimes your kids, ‘Do what I’m telling you,’ and it’s that kind of thing. Did God know that Samuel is going to say that? Of course he knew that Samuel was going to say that. Is God saying ‘Go anoint one of Jesse’s sons,’ and he says ‘Well Saul’s gonna get mad and kill me,’ and the LORD said ‘Oh, that one slipped by, I should have thought of that, he’s been in a bad mood lately, he’s a big guy, well let’s do this then.’ No, none of that, the LORD knows all, he knows David, he knew David before David was born, and said he was going to be anointed, there’s no problem here. It’s Samuel, and I think, ‘How often do we do that?’ We have to cultivate sensitivity when the Holy Spirit speaks to our heart, you know. When I sit alone with my Bible, if I just study for church, I dry up. I can’t just study. I have a Bible at home, and it’s a pure Bible, doesn’t have any notes in it, you know, it’s not the divorced person’s Bible, the single person’s Bible, the businessmen’s Bible, the woman’s Bible or the men’s Bible, or the abducted by aliens Bible, it’s just a Bible-Bible, it’s a pure Bible, it’s God’s Word, and I just sit and read that one, and it talks to me. Not all the time, but if it happens two or three times a week, where all of a sudden something’s rising off the page, tears in my eyes, it develops a sensitivity to hear the Lord’s voice. And Samuel is so sensitive in regards to the LORD’s voice, and the LORD’s saying this, and he’s thinking ‘Saul’s going to kill,’ and the LORD says, ‘No, no, just go, do what I’m telling you to do. I want you to just move forward in this, Samuel, I’ve already thought all of this through, take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD,’ that is just 100 percent true, that is what God wanted him to do, “And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.” (verse 3) He gives him much information, you go, and you get step B when you get there [and that is so much like the way God deals with all of us, one step at a time, step A, step B, step C, you never get step ABC all at once]. “and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee” ‘that’s a very important part of the day’s lesson, you’ll anoint unto me who I point out to you.’ Now to anoint with oil, nothing happened except you got oily, it was a picture, a symbol of the Holy Spirit coming on the person’s life, the oil didn’t put the Holy Spirit on you, the oil was a picture of the Spirit of God. He says ‘I want you to go, and the one I show you, that’s the one I want you to anoint.’ “And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?” (verse 4) and he’s got this heifer with him, this young calf, stumbling and dragging along with. “And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably?” Now this is understandable. You know, Samuel’s the guy who prays and the mountains shake, Samuel’s the guy who gets on his knees and cuts the throat of a lamb and the Philistines are falling down around him and he doesn’t pay attention, Samuel’s the guy who just hacked Agag to pieces, little pieces. So here comes Samuel dragging this calf, and they say “Is there a problem, Sam, are you come peaceably?’ “And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.” (verse 5) now he says to Jesse ‘Get your sons,’ Jesse has eight sons, David is the youngest of the eight, Jesse gets seven of them, the older ones, and David’s not even invited, his family is not even thinking of him, and he brings these seven sons. And you wonder, ‘ok, what’s the anticipation,’ ‘Samuel just showed up, Hey, Jesse, Samuel wants you and your boys down at the sacrifice, you guys, he’s here peaceably with us, we’re not sure what he wants with you.’ I imagine there’s a level of anticipation as Jesse calls the boys together, ‘Samuel’s here, and Samuel wants to see us.’ So, they move with him. ‘And Samuel says, Sanctify your sons and call them to the sacrifice.’ Now we’re going to find out this is not a burnt offering or a sin offering, this is a fellowship offering, a peace offering, because part of its going to be offered, and part of its going to become a feast that they’re going to partake of, so there’s an offering to be offered, there’s going to be a feast attached to it.

“For The LORD Seeth Not As A Man Seeth”--The Anointing Of Young David As King Of Israel

“And it came to pass, when they were come, and he” Samuel, “looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” (verse 6) Now look, back in verse 3 the LORD had said to him, “Thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.” It’s hard to believe in the same chapter, Samuel already forgot what the LORD told him. But it’s a great encouragement to me, because I forget half the chapter. He looked on him, and he said “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” So Sam’s ready to choose already, he’s ready to make a choice, ready to dump out the oil. Because Eliab is the oldest, no doubt he was a guy with an incredible stature, appearance, the older of seven sons. Saul was that kind of a man, was big, it says he was handsome, he looks at Eliab and he says ‘This has gotta be the guy.’ Now I’m glad that Samuel’s a human being here, and he’s making a mistake. Does he lift up the horn of oil, we’re not told. “But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (verse 7) But the LORD looketh on the heart, now ok the most important point in the history of the nation, as the LORD closes the Bible he will identify himself, the last identification of himself as “the root and the offspring of David.” ‘I’m the root of David, David’s life came through the nation, David’s life came through the tribe of Judah, David’s life came through Ruth and Boaz, I’m the root of David and the offspring of David.” That’s remarkable, ‘I am the reason for his existence, and yet physically in the Incarnation I existed through him, I’m the root and offspring of David,’ not the root and offspring of Eliab. And Samuel here is ready to make this decision. Listen to me, it encourages me, because we live in the middle of an idolatrous culture, and that idolatry is strictly his mistake here, “don’t look on his countenance or the height of his stature.” We live in an idolatrous culture that worships what someone’s countenance looks like, and how tall they are, how lean and mean they are, what color hair they have, how fit they are, how handsome they are, how beautiful they are, I mean, plastic surgeons are cleaning up because we worship at this altar. We live in a culture that always wants to judge someone by what they look like, how tall they are, by how handsome they are, how athletic they are, by those standards. And it’s remarkable to me so see Samuel almost make that mistake. And it tells us spiritual people, that we can make that mistake sometimes. Tell the truth, I mean, how often are we more gracious or more inclined to talk to someone if they look more inviting, if they give us a particular, you know, ‘this looks like a great person, a normal person,’ we’re much more inclined than when we look to somebody that looks a little knarly of funky, you know [I did that once in my early days of conversion, in the Worldwide Church of God as a new believer in Jesus, there was this wonderful guy named Bill, who had a wondering eye, and initially I steered clear of him, but when I got to know him, we became close brothers in Christ, and I still love him dearly]. Sometimes we’re not as inclined to be open to that person, spend time with that person, and we can worship at the same altar. The LORD says ‘Samuel, what are you doing, I didn’t tell you to do this, your basis of choice here has nothing to do with spirituality, you’re making a choice based on countenance, outward appearance, on the height of his stature,’ and he says ‘I don’t look at things that way, man looks on the outward appearance, God looks upon the heart.’ People are tortured in our culture, sometimes Christian people, ‘I hate myself, I hate my hair, I hate myself because of the way I look, I hate myself because of my complexion, I hate myself because I’m fat, I hate myself because I’m skinny, I hate myself because I’m bald [can identify with that one 😊],’ you do not, if you hated yourself you’d be glad you were bald, you would be glad you’re ugly. The problem is you love yourself, you’d be glad you’re ugly. The problem is you love yourself, you don’t hate yourself, you don’t hate yourself. And you buy into the whole cultural thing that’s around us. And what happens with humans, it’s more tangible, it’s more easily read and measured, and the Lord’s bringing us to the place where we find something in his presence, where we learn to sit before him, where we find something alone with Jesus that matters, that weighs, that weighs more than the opinion of man. The fear of man bringeth a snare, and God is looking down from heaven, and as he looks down from heaven, there’s a boy, in a field, taking care of sheep, unacknowledged by his family, by neighbours, by man. And he is a boy whose heard the voice of God, he’s a boy that God was able to speak to his heart, and the seeds have already been planted to say ‘Oh LORD, Our LORD, how excellent is thy name in all the earth, that sets thy glory above the heavens, yet out of the mouths of babes and sucklings you’ve perfected praise, when I consider the sun, the moon, the stars, the work of thy fingers, what is man, that thou art mindful of him, the Son of man, that thou visiteth him. The heavens declare the glory of the LORD, the earth sheweth forth his handywork, day after day they utter their speech, there is no language where they’re not heard. One thing have I desired LORD, that will I seek after.’ The seeds of all of these things are already in the heart of this individual, unseen by man, unknown by man. Maybe to his mother, I don’t know. He’s the youngest of eight sons, that’s a tough place to be. And he is disregarded because of it. We don’t know much about Jesse and David’s mother, but twice he refers to his mother as “the handmaid of the LORD.” And when he refers to his mother “as the handmaid of the LORD” I get the sense she’s the one who named him Daveed, Beloved, that’s all you need to be named Beloved by your mom with seven older brothers. I think he was happier in the field. But listen, the point is, maybe in your family you’re the one that’s been disregarded, maybe siblings have not even taken note of you, maybe neighbours, maybe your peers. You have to understand, there’s a beauty to that lonely place [ya, but it hurts], where the Lord sees you and the Lord sees your heart, and the Lord is able to get ahold of it. If he has your heart, he has all of you. He had Saul’s body, but he didn’t have Saul’s heart. If he gets your heart he gets everything, because we’re told “Guard your heart with all diligence, because from it flow the issues of life,” not from your intellect, not you’re your physical frame, the heart is the seat of desire, it’s the seat of the spirit [I think he’s referring to the spirit-in-man, not the Holy Spirit, although it can also be the seat where the Holy Spirit can reside in a believer (cf. 1^st Corinthians 2:9-13)], it’s the seat of perception, it’s the seat of deeper things than intellect and physicality, and if the Lord gets the heart he gets the whole individual. And his eyes, and he never changes, go to and fro throughout the earth, looking for those whose heart is perfect. He’s going to put his Spirit on [and in] David. He doesn’t just pick some scoundrel whose out watching pornography and doing this and doing that. The Spirit of God comes into our lives in measure, to augment the things that are taking place there between us and the Lord, you know, a love for the Scripture, a love for God, a love for worship, a love to sing his praises, a love to keep our heart before him, and he augments that, he puts his Spirit on that, he blesses that, he enhances that [cf. Romans 8:4-17, God’s Spirit does all that Pastor Joe said here, as well as giving you a love for God’s law, instead of enmity against it, that is something David said throughout Psalm 119]. And Samuel comes in and Eliab, the oldest one is brought before him, and he looks at Eliab, he said ‘Surely, look at this guy, he’s good looking, he’s tall,’ and the LORD says to him ‘What are you doing, Sam? Don’t look at his countenance, don’t look at the height of his stature, I’ve refused him,’ “for the LORD seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (verse 7) He says this in the Psalms, it says in Psalm 78, “He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds, from following the ewes great with young.” David gave particular care to the ewes that were great with young, “He brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance,” the LORD’s inheritance, “so he fed them according to the integrity of his heart, and he guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” He chose David. David is being trained by God. He was communing with God, he was worshipping, he was writing those Psalms that probably only his mother, early on, heard the words to. And David was learning to take care of the ewes that were great with young, David was willing to go after a lion or a bear to take a lamb out of their mouth, this is quite a kid. And no doubt he has great confidence in his God as he does those things. So, you know, God had chosen him. And the LORD says here ‘I don’t look the way man does, I look at the heart.’ You know, look, I’m concerned here sometimes as people come forward for the invitation on Sunday, because I don’t want anybody to think just because they walk down that they’re saved, because the heart’s gotta be there. I don’t want anybody to think because they’re sitting and don’t come down that they can’t be saved, because God looks on the heart. In fact, I didn’t start the whole thing. I remember a number of years ago, people started walking down without being asked, and I’d say ‘What are you doing here?’ ‘You here to be saved?’ ‘Uh-huh,’ ‘OK,’ then the next week it happens again, then you go and pray and say ‘Lord, I’m a pastor-teacher, I’m not an evangelist, it’s not part of our original contract, what’s happening here?’ and now all the Reformed Church people who come to church are mad at me, because people are predestined, and they’re not asked down, and I’m getting beat from both sides here, I need a little help, so, ah. The LORD looks on the heart. Look, that’s a great consolation--it’s a double-edged sword, isn’t it? Because sometimes you’re talking to somebody, and they say “You know, does this aggravate you? You know this person has been doing this to me,” and you’re saying “No, you need to love them, you need to pray for them,” and you’re thinking ‘I know how you feel, I’d like to strangle that guy myself.’ And the LORD looks on the heart. Sometimes you’re caught up in it, and you’re jammed up with something, and your heart is saying ‘Lord, I would love to be alone with you, man, I wish I wasn’t so busy, man, I would just love to be alone somewhere with you, on an island,’ and he knows that, he hears it, he looks on the heart. ‘I haven’t chosen him, I’ve rejected him.’ Verse 8 says “Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.” so Jesse knows what’s happening by now. We don’t know exactly how that was communicated, “And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.” (verses 8-10) not a single one, listen, nobody’s thinking about David. You can be completely confident that the LORD knows who you are, if nobody in your family ever pays attention, nobody amongst your friends ever thinks God has anything going on in your life, you need to know in the solitude of your life, that God speaks to you, he loves you, and that he has a plan for your life, because no human may ever acknowledge that, initially at least [glad he added that last part, had me worried for a moment—i.e. it all comes out in the end, God vindicates his own!].

Samuel Anoints David, A Kid Nobody Paid Any Attention To

He says, “And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.” (verse 11) ‘Are all your children here? Is this all you’ve got? God told me to anoint one of your sons, is this the brood?’ he said, ‘Well, there remains the youngest, but if you don’t like any of these, you ain’t gonna like that one. He’s a Hippie out there with his guitar singing to the sheep, and we don’t know what to do with him, he’s so heavenly minded he’s no earthly good, if you don’t like the big strong handsome ones, you ain’t gonna like that one, but.’ He says, “There remaineth yet the youngest,” the Hebrew is “There remaineth the least,” “and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.” We think of shepherds today, it’s kind of romantic, it isn’t in this culture, that was the bottom rung on the ladder. [Comment: To see what is involved in real shepherding, read this article, there’s a lot involved, see https://unityinchrist.com/pom/AShepherdLooks.htm. And David wrote Psalm 23, which that article explains fully.] “And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him:” he gives Jesse a little motivation, “for we will not sit down till he come hither.” they sent for David immediately, I’m sure. “And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” (verse 12) Now, the Holy Spirit tells us “he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.” He was “ruddy.” What does that mean? When God says you’re “ruddy” that could mean lots of things. God said “that kid is ruddy.” Does he got tire marks around his forehead? What does that mean? Some say it means that he was fair-complected, I don’t know if that’s true. The idea is “red,” some say it meant that he has red hair. So go to Israel, so many have hair as black as a raven, once in awhile you see one that has those streaks, and they didn’t do it with chemicals, just red highlighted, mixed in, it’s beautiful, that he was ruddy. It says that he was “of a beautiful countenance, it’s “weak-eyed,” or “light eyed.” So instead of having those dark eyes that look through you, he either had green or blue, his eyes were lighter. It says he was a good looking young kid, he was ruddy, he was light-eyed, he looked different. His older brothers looked like princes, no doubt, with black raven hair and black eyes, and here’s this kid, comes in, he looks different. God says, ‘from heaven’s perspective, he was good to look at, I like the way he looked, I made him that way,’ before he was born, it’s going to tell us in Psalm 139, ‘When you woke in the secret parts, when you put everything together, you’re ingenious’ you give my brothers that black hair and dark eyes, and you give me this red hair and funny colored eyes, it’s in your wisdom LORD.’ He was goodly to look upon. “And the LORD said,” to Samuel now, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” And Samuel takes the horn of oil. David just got there, he hasn’t heard anything, he hadn’t been part of the sacrifice, he hasn’t heard the spiel, he comes in, and here’s old Samuel with white hair, and Samuel looks at him, David doesn’t, the brothers don’t hear the LORD say ‘That’s the one.’ Only Samuel hears that. And he comes in, and the old man takes the horn of oil and just drenches him, pours the whole thing. And you can see the older brothers and their dad standing around with their mouths hanging open. They’re going to have, they have little regard for him, when we get to chapter 17 next week, and we’re looking at David and Goliath, his older brothers say ‘What are you doing here, you’re just here because you want to watch the battle, you’re a punky kid, you’re always causing trouble, you’re no good for nothing,’ their attitude doesn’t change much, they don’t realize the significance of what’s taking place, they don’t fall back and say ‘Oh little bubby, he’s the new king of Israel,’ there’s none of that. Samuel hears it in his heart, they don’t hear it. ‘This is the one.’ “Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.” (verse 13) I’m sure David is stunned, as he’s standing there and this oil is running down across his face, down his back, down through his hair. We’re not sure exactly what he is thinking. Look, to David, this is a day just like any other day, it was a day to take care of sheep, and he was faithful in that. It was a day to take care of the ewes that were going to give birth, and not let the wolves and the bears and lions near them. It was a day to take care of the flock, in a pretty rough terrain. It was a day like any other day to give praise to God, to watch the sun, the moon and the stars, to sing, to write a new verse or a new chorus, to lift his heart to his God. Never did he expect this. You could see the oil running down on this kid as he’s standing there. Josephus tells us this, we don’t know, it’s conjecture, but he says the ancient rabbis said at this point, Samuel pours the oil over David’s head, he reaches his hand and moves the hair away from his ear, and he leans over, and he whispers “Thou art the king of Israel.” Is he ten, is he fifteen? ‘Thou art the king of Israel,’ unregarded by his brethren, unregarded, how many kings and queens are sitting amongst us? You’re all joint heirs with Jesus Christ [cf. Revelation 5:10, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth”]. The King of kings and Lord of lords is your brother, and the Sovereign of Heaven is your Father, and his Spirit is in your heart crying Abba. Do we conduct ourselves as though we’re royalty, when people are watching? What about when we’re out with the sheep and nobody’s there, and no human eyes are upon us? That’s when God looks upon the heart. Look, is it easier for me to fail when I’m not in Pastor Joe mode and nobody’s watching me? If I’m alone with my wife, and she irritates me, she did once in 197--, you know, I may say something I wouldn’t say if I had a microphone in front of me and you’re all watching us. But what you are when you’re alone, that’s what integrity is and that’s what character is, and that’s what David was. How old, I don’t know, but listen, you need to know in your heart, he [God] loves you, he watches you [Psalm 139], no human may pay any regard to you, you may be the younger brother or the youngest brother or the youngest sister or the younger sister, he’s watching, he sees you, he loves you, he has an anointing in your life, he has a calling for your life. And to the degree you disregard that and you belittle that, is to the degree that, is to the degree that the world may not change at your hand. And like Esther, if you’re not going to be willing, he’ll raise up someone else in another quarter. But again, the world has yet to see what God might do with a man or a woman that is completely given over to him. And there is a lesson here in this world. It’s written in these details for that reason, they speak to us. One not regarded at all, who would be the greatest king of Israel, no regard from anyone, except God.

What You Have Here, It’s Very Important, Is The Transfer Of Power.

Samuel took that horn of oil, he dumped it on his head in the midst of his brethren, and it says this, “and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.” The Spirit of the LORD came on him from that day forward, “So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.” (verse 13b) Listen, isn’t it an interesting thing? There’s no publicity here, it’s not in the Bethlehem Post. Saul was anointed in front of all of the people, he was acknowledged in front of everyone, the people wanted that king, he was big, he was handsome, he was head and shoulders above everyone. This is now God’s king, and it happens privately, alone with Jesse and his sons. No one knows, there’s no announcements, it doesn’t go in the papers or on the radio. I think maybe that’s for David’s safety because of how crazy Saul is at this point in time. Samuel anoints him, and he leaves, he goes back to Ramah. How blown must Samuel’s mind be. I mean on the way home is Samuel saying ‘LORD, are you sure, the little one? the ruddy one?’ And is the LORD saying to Samuel ‘Samuel, the kingdoms of this world today, are hinging on the life of that young boy, the Messiah is in his loins.’ The world will change to his life, he will be the greatest king that this nation ever sees, the greatest human king until the Christ himself comes. Because Samuel heard so clearly from the LORD. It doesn’t tell us, I wonder what the rest of that day was like for him. Look at verse 14, “But” in contrast, it says “the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD” everyone wants to argue about that, “troubled him.” Look, what you have here, it’s very important, in verses 13 and 14, is the transfer of power. The Spirit of the LORD comes upon David from that day forward, and the Spirit of the LORD is taken from Saul. Nobody sees that, nobody can measure that, that is political, it is spiritual, it is in regards to Divine dominion, and the kingdom, in those two verses, you have the transfer of power from one king to another, because the only power there really is, is of God. Promotion doesn’t come from the north or the south or the east, it comes from the LORD. And behind the scenes, quietly, without human notice, the Spirit of the LORD comes upon David from that day forward, and the Spirit of the LORD left Saul. No doubt David comes to understand this, that’s why when he sins with Bathsheba, he writes and asks the LORD, ‘LORD, take not your Holy Spirit from me,’ you know, Psalm 51, he’ll write that, he’ll say ‘LORD, cast me not away from your presence, and take not thy Holy Spirit from me,’ no doubt thinking what happened in the life of Saul. Understand this, as Christians, once you’re born-again of the Spirit, he does not take his Spirit from you [now that’s a Calvary Chapel doctrine, not sure if it’s true, as I think the Prophets and David were truly born-again in the sense we are, that’s my take at least, we’ll find out later at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb], he may whup you, you may need a whupping, but he doesn’t take his Spirit from us. And an evil spirit doesn’t come. If you’re a believer, you do not get demon possessed [they don’t want to get near the Holy Spirit or someone who has the Holy Spirit indwelling them]. Christians who think Christians can be demon possessed are Biblically weak, because if you understand what it means to be indwelt by the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost being God, the Holy Ghost being the power of the Highest, the Holy Ghost having created the world, the Holy Ghost having offered Christ, the Holy Ghost having raised Christ, the Holy Ghost being God himself having inspired the Scripture, the Holy Ghost is not into time-sharing with demons. It’s a naïve and poperish view of both the Scripture and of the Lord. So as we read this, it’s not a message for you and I as Christians that we need to worry that God’s gonna get mad and take his Holy Spirit and some evil spirit’s going to come, that’s not what it’s talking about. It’s telling us what happened here. Listen, the Holy Spirit was never in Saul, never indwelt him, he never said ‘Abba, Father,’ the Holy Spirit was upon him, upon his life. And in that sense the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from him. An evil spirit came, and I believe that’s just God being passive now. That spirit never would have bothered him if God’s anointing was on his life, now he’s fair game, because the Spirit of God has been taken off of his life. Look, Paul talks about a man in 1^st Corinthians chapter 5, who was in sexual sin with his stepmother, and Paul says you take such an one, you bind him over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, put him under discipline, and I don’t understand all of the dynamics of that, but Paul says you let him be put out of the church, once out of the church’s covering he’s fair game for the enemy, not to possess, but to beat the tar out of him until he says ‘Uncle,’ till he says ‘Uncle.’ Paul says in 2^nd Corinthians chapter 12, that God had given him such incredible revelations, he said so that he wouldn’t be lifted up, God gave him a thorn in the flesh and a messenger from Satan to buffet him. Those are two different things in the Greek, they’re not the same thing. The thorn in the flesh some illness, some thing that was in Paul’s life, and as if that wasn’t bad enough, he said there was a demon saying ‘Well if God loves you, how come your eye’s so ugly and running all day? If God loves you, how come you got that crooked back? If God loves you, how come you got that knee replacement?’ whatever. And Paul says, God allowed that to happen so I wouldn’t be lifted up in pride relative to the revelations he had given me. Look, we see Job chapter 1, Job was not in sin, Job was not doing anything wrong, and Satan comes amongst the angels, and God says ‘Have you observed my servant Job,’ and Satan says ‘Ya, because you bless him, everything’s going his way, let me touch him, and you’ll see what he’s made of,’ and God said ‘Alright, you can touch him, but don’t take his life.’ And there’s a Divine contest behind the scenes. I don’t pretend to understand all of that. But we have something like that here. The Spirit of God is removed in regards to God’s anointing on Saul’s life, and God in a passive sense, then he’s fair game, he’s troubled by another spirit that comes to trouble him. This is a man who is self-confident, this is a man whose rebellious against God, this is a man with a lot of trouble in his life.

David Is Being Trained In Ignorance--He Is Serving An Internship For King Of Israel

“And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.” (verse 15) Evidently it was visible, you don’t want to see a guy seven foot tall growling like a mad dog, they said ‘We can see that you get troubled,’ “Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.” (verse 16) ‘you’ll feel better.’ Now look, this is really not good counsel, because Saul needs to repent is what he needs to do. But Samuel had said ‘If Saul finds out I’m going to do this, he’s going to kill me,’ so Saul’s not of the mood that his servants can say ‘Well the reason you’re so messed up man, is you need to repent,’ because that guy’s name will be Mud after that, ‘You don’t need to feel better, you need to repent.’ It doesn’t say go to I-Toons and download your favorite, or go to YouTube, no, no, they didn’t have any of that. ‘Go through the kingdom, let’s find somebody.’ They’re smart enough to know this, when there’s spiritual warfare, you should be smart enough to know it, prayer and praise are important things. If’ you’re getting hassled by the enemy, don’t listen to Black Sabbath on the way to work, ok. If you’re getting hassled by the enemy, put on a Praise album, put on Praise music, get one of the Communion services from church, fill your life with spiritual music, with Praise music. You know, we’re told to be filled with the Spirit, singing hymns and spiritual songs with all of our heart, not to be intoxicated by the things of this world. Somehow here they’re smart enough to know, look, ‘What to do when you’re going crazy like this, we’ll find somebody whose really good and cunning and can play really well, and we’ll bring that guy in and see if it soothes you.’ “And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.” this is remarkable, “Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.” (verses 17-18) that’s quite a reputation for a shepherd boy. We’re not sure exactly how much time has transpired since the time he was anointed to be king over Israel, and Samuel whispered in his ear and said ‘You’re the king of Israel,’ and he’s out taking care of the sheep again. He’s not saying ‘Hey, take care of your own sheep, I’m king, I’m your king, take care of my sheep,’ there’s none of that in him, very much of Philippians chapter 2, ‘let this mind be in you, that was also in Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, thought it not robbery, but took upon himself the role of a servant,’ you go through that, there’s very much that spirit in David here. And the servant says ‘We’ve heard, there’s this kid, he’s a great player, but he’s also a valiant man, he’s a man of war,’ maybe the stories of the bear and the lion have crept out, this kid’s been years alone with God, and no doubt that’s been greatly enhanced since he was anointed. “Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.” (verse 19) the real king, coming to the nut-king. Isn’t it interesting, he goes to his father, so much regard for the family, he doesn’t just send for David, he sends to David’s father and says ‘Send your son to me.’ “And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.” (verses 20-21) Now the way that this reads, it’s not Saul loved him greatly, it’s David loved him greatly, there’s a “he” throughout this in the Hebrew, “David came to Saul, and he, David, stood before him, and he, David, loved him greatly, and he became his armourbearer.” “And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.” (verse 22) ‘I borrowed him to play music, but I like him so much, let me keep him.’ He doesn’t just take him, there’s still that regard, and I think it’s so important, even Saul with his trouble, there’s such a regard for family. We’ve lost it in our culture. There’s such an acknowledgment of the place of a father, David is considered a man no doubt to some degree by this time, but he sends back to Jesse and says ‘Could he stay? He’s ministered so much to me.’ And it says David loved him greatly. No doubt, he was attuned to the fact that when Saul became melancholy and was troubled, and David ministered to him, and David became his armourbearer. And what’s happening here, your armourbearer was often killed in battle, your armourbearer goes with you to battle, always by your side, and what’s happening here is David, unbeknownst to himself is being trained in ignorance, he is serving an internship as king of Israel. And he stands in the court of Saul, and he gets to see the treachery of government, he gets to see the worth of government, he gets to hear the complaint of the people that are being governed, he gets to hear the things they complain about, the things that they’re pleased about, he gets to be in the counsels of government, he gets to see why decisions are made, poor decisions, good decisions, he gets brought to the side of Saul, and God no doubt is using this in a great way to train David. Look, wherever you are in life, open your eyes. Most of our training is in ignorance, we’re not aware of what God’s doing, he’s always preparing us for something else. And where you’re at now, whatever it is, open-your-eyes 101, 102, you don’t have to understand all of that, you just need to be a steward of the things that God has placed in your life this evening. To be faithful in a day of small things, and the day of small beginnings, it’s so important. Because God has a plan for our lives, he has an eternity for us, he has a plan for our lives. Look, he has an eternity for us, “an inheritance, uncorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away.” God’s given his best for us, he gives us all things freely. He has a plan for our lives. And it doesn’t matter what our age is, whether we’re young, or we’re old, keep your eyes open, tomorrow, where you are, where you’re employed. Don’t say ‘I hate it here, I hate my boss, I hate where I work,’ well hopefully you’re going to get transferred out of there, but for now, learn the lessons you can only learn there so you don’t have to go back there, because there’s a thousand men like your boss, or a thousand women like your boss, there’s thousands of people like the ones who are driving you nuts. And if you escape that before God’s done with you, he’ll find somebody else to drive you nuts. Open your eyes, ‘Lord, your hand is on my life, you know this day before it began, I don’t like it here, I’m praying that you put through a Divine transfer for me, but as long as you have me here, I will be yours in this situation, help me to see, help me to hear, help me to be attentive.’ David was standing in the court of Saul, little does he know all that is transpiring in regards to the future. “And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.” (verses 22-23) now doubt this was the Word of God set to music. Whatever this spirit is, here you got David, the Holy Ghost is all over him, he starts playing his guitar and singing praise songs, that’s like fingernails on a chalk board to a demon, ‘Agghhh! he can’t stay around listening to that for very long, he’s outa there, he’s outa there. So, interesting picture as we move now towards the Valley of Ela, and I encourage you to read ahead, as we go. I’m going to ask Rob, and I’m glad we have Rob and our musicians, we have those men and women that are filled with the Spirit, so that as we sing God’s praise, we can bring our hearts into his presence. Aren’t you thankful for that? [applause] And listen, as we worship, I want you to say ‘Lord, let your Spirit come on my life,’ I want you to say ‘Lord, I’ve been jerking around here, I’ve been doing this, I know it’s stupid, Lord I’ve been underestimating the place that you have me in, Lord I have been attentive, Lord, I’ve been sitting in the field, all of my brothers and sisters, they get this, they get the kudo’s, Lord, you never notice me, I feel so alone, I love you, but no man, Lord, pays any regard to me.’ But I want you to say ‘Praise you, Lord, because you see me, you love me, you sent your Son to die for me, you know my heart, you have a calling on me, you know my loneliness, you know my sorrow, you know my joy, you know my hope, you know my weaknesses, you know my strength, and Lord I am yours, with all of my faults, and all of my imperfections.’ David’s heart was not perfect in the sense that he’s never going to make a mistake, he’s going to make some whoppers, but his heart was towards God his entire life, it was always towards God, and so can our hearts be, so can our hearts be…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on 1^st Samuel 16:1-23, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]