Once we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, and as we come to know the Lord by spending time with Him, we will reach a point in our life where our love will overflow in a desire for service. It’s at this place that many believers come to a screeching halt. They look at themselves and think, “How can God use me when I’ve made so many mistakes?” Perhaps, other people will become critical and tell us, “There’s no way that God can use you, for you are spiritually immature.”
We might look upon ourselves as being insignificant or useless, and others might hold our past against us; however, the Lord sees our significance. By His grace our mistakes and failures have been cast into the very depths of the sea (Mi 7:19); and the Bible says that as far as the east is from the west, so the Lord has removed our transgressions (Ps 103:12). God can and will use us despite how we feel about ourselves, or how others perceive us. Why? Because the Lord knows our heart (1 Sm 16:7), and He knows what He is able to accomplish in and through us by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
There is the story of a man in the 1800’s who would have been considered a failure by many of his peers. He had less than three years of formal education in his life. In 1831 he failed in business; in 1832 he ran for the legislature and was defeated; [and] in 1833 he failed again in business.
In 1834 he was elected to the legislature; in 1838 he was defeated for speaker; in 1840 he was defeated for elector; in 1843 he was defeated for Congress; in 1846 he was elected to Congress and again defeated in 1848; he was defeated for Senate in 1855; defeated for the Vice Presidency in 1856; and he was defeated for the Senate in 1858. His name was Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States.(1)
Lincoln is a prime example of how failures and mistakes do not always determine a negative outcome and future. I wish to share another illustration:
In 1879, a child was born to a poor Jewish merchant. In early life the boy suffered a haunting sense of inferiority because of the anti-Semitic feelings he encountered on every hand. Shy and introspective, the boy was so slow in learning that his parents had him examined by specialists to see if he was normal.
In 1895, he failed his entrance examination at the Polytechnicum in Zurich, Switzerland, though a year later he tried again and succeeded. Later he received a doctorate from the University of Zurich, yet obtained only an obscure job as a patent examiner in the Berne patent office. Who was he? The man who formulated the theory of relativity, Albert Einstein, one of the greatest geniuses who ever lived!(2)
Many times those who are underestimated and considered failures go on to accomplish great things in society. The same principle is true in the kingdom of God. The Lord oftentimes uses people who are rejected to bring glory to the kingdom and to Himself. Jesus Christ was rejected by many, and yet He became the Savior of the world. The Bible says of Him, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone” (Lk 20:17).
In our message today we will examine the account of David’s anointing to understand exactly why the Lord chooses to work through unexpected people for His kingdom purposes.
The Former Candidate Is Disqualified (v. 1)
Life appears to be a popularity contest. Human beings tend to choose others based on superficial factors, such as looks and personality, and this can oftentimes lead to trouble. Israel had to learn this lesson the hard way, as the chosen and elected king made such a grave mistake that it cost him his throne. When we pick up the account, Samuel had been commanded to find a new king to replace the former one:
Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).
We read here that Saul was rejected as king of Israel. How did this come about? Well, the answer is found back in 1 Samuel chapter fifteen. We read that God had commanded Saul to destroy the Amalekites because they had formerly ambushed Israel when the people were making their exodus from Egypt (1 Sm 15:1-3). Saul was supposed to have killed all the Amalekites and destroyed their property and livestock, but he was disobedient to God’s command.
Saul took the king of the Amalekites alive as a trophy and he kept the best of the livestock for himself (1 Sm 15:8-9). He tried to excuse his disobedience by saying that he had kept the animals as a sacrifice to the Lord (15:15), but God told him that He desired obedience from him and not sacrifice (15:22). The Lord then informed Saul that he had been rejected as king because of his disobedience (15:23).
Samuel mourned for Saul, likely because he felt somewhat responsible for anointing him as king (cf. 1 Sm 9:17; 10:1, 24), but Samuel had anointed him at the Lord’s command (9:16). Not only did Samuel do what God had asked, but he also did what the people wanted. The Israelites demanded a king to rule over them instead of a judge, because they reasoned how they had to appear mighty and glorious like all the other nations in order to be seen as powerful by their enemies (8:5).
Human beings tend to equate success with worldly glory and achievement, but many times God’s the only One who will see, and is supposed to see our spiritual victories. We do not have to appear glorious to be victorious, for according to the Bible, “We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Rom 8:37). Worldly glory is often achieved through human methods; and like Saul, to obtain this kind of glory a believer might have to become disobedient and take matters into his own hands.
God had warned Israel that having a king, which was a worldly model for success, would only result in spiritual bondage (cf. 1 Sm 8:11-18), but the people refused to listen. God wanted Israel to realize that what looks good in the eyes of people is not always what’s best for His children; and so He allowed the Israelites to learn this lesson through the best teacher in the world, which is experience. The Lord allowed Israel to have her king, in order to show the people that a king is not what they really needed.
The king that the people chose certainly looked good in the eyes of the world, for the Bible says that Saul was very handsome and from a wealthy family (1 Sm 9:2-3), but what appeared good on the outside turned out to be rotten on the inside. So, when Samuel went to find another king among the sons of Jesse, would the people of Israel have learned their lesson on what to look for in a man of God?
The New Candidate Is Unexpected (vv. 7-13)
People often look down on those who come from humble beginnings. For example, when Jesus returned to His hometown, people asked, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Mt 13:54b-55a). Those who are equated with poverty, meekness, failure or any other undesirable attribute can have the potential to rise to unexpected greatness and astound the world!
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah (1 Samuel 16:7-13).
The Lord let Samuel in on a little secret as to what to look for in the next king. He told him, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature . . . for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sm 16:7).
Jesse, who represented the Israelites, didn’t know what to look for in a king, for we see that he presented his oldest and strongest sons as candidates. Apparently the Israelites had not yet learned their lesson. These older brothers were presented first because they had qualities that look good to people, while their younger brother was left out in the field to tend the sheep because he was immature and small in stature.
David did not fit the typical image of a king. One of the Israelites might have asked, “Why in the world would the Lord want a young weakling for a king?” To answer this question, those who are weak are often more humble and more likely to rely on God for their strength instead of themselves.
His brothers were probably skilled in trades of brute force, whereas David was a shepherd, which was a trade that demanded much patience and gentleness. The world sees a leader as one who’s able to dominate and move people into action by force, but God views a leader as one who serves and places others before himself. The Lord chose David specifically because of his skills as a shepherd, for Psalm states:
He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands (Psalm 78:70-72).
David appeared weak and lacking skill, but his experience as a shepherd enabled him to understand how to lead. God’s people must learn to look past outward appearance and view the heart, for there’s more to an individual than meets the eye.
The singer Michael Card said that people who see “with and not through the eye” will always believe a lie. Too many times believers will judge Christian leadership by a person’s status in the world, or by how good they look to the eye. It’s perceived that if they do not have a certain amount of church or pastoral experience that God can’t use them, or if they are lacking a seminary degree that they’re unqualified to lead.
Consider how many leaders in the Bible would have been disqualified if they had been judged through the eyes of people. For example, Moses murdered a man (Ex 2:12) and he complained to God that he wasn’t a public speaker (4:10), and yet the Lord used him to deliver six hundred thousand men plus an untold number of women and children from Egypt.
David was a teenager when he was chosen as king and he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband (cf. 2 Sm 11), and yet he was considered a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22).(3) Jeremiah was called by God to preach to the kings of many nations when he was just a teenager (Jer 1:1-10); and the apostle Paul persecuted the church (Phil 3:6) and admitted that he wasn’t a public speaker (1 Cor 2:1-5), and yet he was a die-hard witness for Jesus Christ and he wrote two thirds of the New Testament.
Paul said, “For you see your calling brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, and not many noble are called” (1 Cor 1:26). If the Lord places an individual in our life who has a passion to serve in God’s kingdom, we shouldn’t crush that person’s enthusiasm by saying he doesn’t have enough experience or education. The qualification for kingdom service is willingness (cf. 2 Cor 8:12).
Those who are disqualified by human standards are likely candidates to be God’s next great leader. The Lord uses people who are unexpected because He wants to bring glory to His name by showing that He’s the One who’s in control. Paul shared this fact, saying that “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty . . . that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27, 29).
Time of Reflection
Think about a time that you felt God calling you to do something for Him. Did you refuse to serve Him because you felt insignificant? Did someone else tell you that you weren’t qualified enough to serve the Lord? God has granted you the grace to rise from obscurity to a life of fulfilling service in the kingdom. The question is this: “Will you allow His grace to work in your life despite your feelings of insignificance?”
You need to give your fear over to God, and you need to come to an understanding that the Lord can use you just as you are; that is, if you’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. God won’t judge you based on your performance or how good you look, because His love is unconditional and His grace is never-ending, and He looks only at your heart.
The same thing is true if you feel led to approach Jesus for salvation. The Bible says, “When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly . . . God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rm 5:6, 8). God knows we’re sinners, but He also knows our potential if we will surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) Michael P. Green, Illustrations for Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997), p. 264.
(2) Ibid., p. 132.
(3) Beth Moore, A Heart Like His (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 1999), p. 9.
