The Eighth Son
1 Samuel 16:1-14
One of Ancient Israel’s greatest backslidings was when the people of Israel came to the Prophet Samuel and asked for a king “just like all the other nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). The anarchy which characterized Israel during the reign of the judges was still in the memory of some of the leaders of Israel. Samuel had been a gift from God to the nation. Things had turned around for them as they had returned to the God of their fathers. But a problem came up as Samuel grew old. Samuel’s sons grew up to pervert judgment. The people did not want them to succeed Samuel lest they lead the nation back to what had happened before Samuel. Their request was in one way an honorable request, However, they had made a great miscalculation. It was always the intention of the LORD that He would be Israel’s king. The other nations were ruled by fallible and mortal men. If Israel were to settle for an earthly king, then they would eventually fail, just like all the nations eventually rot and fail. Samuel was offended at the request, not because Israel had rejected Samuel’s sons, but rather because they had rejected the kingship of Yahweh over them.
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The people prevailed over the objections, and the LORD told Samuel to get them an earthly king. At the same time, Israel was warned of the consequences of their wrong-headed decision. Saul was selected to be Israel’s first king. We must remember that it was the LORD who made Saul king and not the people. He was the Lord’s anointed, something which David respected all the days in which Saul lived and reigned (1 Samuel 24:6). Israel was to obey Saul. What made Saul attractive to men was that he was tall and good looking. By being head and shoulders taller than the people, this meant he must have been about six-and-a-half feet tall or so. He was no Goliath, but in a day where size and physical strength were important in leading armies into battle, he seemed like the perfect choice. But another trait needed in a good king was courage. When it became manifest by the casting of lots that Saul was selected, he could not be found as he was hiding (1 Samuel 10:22). But the Spirit of the LORD came upon Saul and made up for his want of courage. As long as Saul was obedient, the LORD brought victory to Israel over the Philistines and her other enemies. But then the most disqualifying of faults led to Saul’s downfall. He did not obey the LORD’s commands concerning sacrifices and in not finishing the slaughter of the Amalekites. Saul was rejected, and the LORD went to select one after his own heart.
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This morning’s text begins with Samuel mourning the rejection of Saul as king. Even though Samuel was personally opposed to Israel having an earthly king, he still was sad that Saul had so grievously failed. But the LORD told him to stop grieving and get up to anoint another king. He was told to go to the small village of Bethlehem of Judaea and anoint the new king from the sons of Jesse. Jesse was the grandson of Ruth the Moabitess and Boaz. What is interesting to note here is the text from Deuteronomy 23:3 which explicitly states than no descendant of a Moabite will ever enter the congregation of the LORD. So this would on the surface seem to disqualify Jesse and his sons from even being Israelites, no less being candidates to be Israel’s king. So we have to deal with what seems to be a contradiction. It is only if we have a different understanding of what makes one an Israelite other than physical descent. When Ruth makes her confession to her mother-in law, Naomi that the God of Israel was her God and Israel her people that she was no longer a Moabitess but a true Israelite, just like the harlot Rahab became a true Israelite. One becomes an Israelite by faith and not by physical descent. The LORD in Deuteronomy had cursed Moab and Ammon because they did not show hospitality to God’s chosen. This implies that if a physical descendant of Israel fails to show hospitality to His people that they would be accounted as a Moabite.
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God told Samuel that He had chosen a king from the sons of Jesse. But Samuel was afraid that if Saul heard about it, he would have his head. Samuel truly had nothing to fear, but the LORD accommodated to his fears and used it as the means of making things happen. He was to call for a public sacrifice at Bethlehem and specifically to call Jesse and his sons. As a sacrifice was a solemn occasion, there was the expectation that those who came would wash themselves and put on clean clothes, So Jesse came to the sacrifice with seven of his sons.
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the LORD had Samuel to call the seven sons of Jesse to pass before him, presumably from the oldest to the youngest. Samuel took one look upon Jesse’s son Eliab and felt that surely this was the one the LORD had chosen. But the LORD told Samuel that He had rejected Eliab. He added that He did not look at one’s countenance like people did. Perhaps Eliab looked too much like Saul. the LORD also rejected the next two sons, Abinadab and Shammah. Then the other four unnamed sons were also rejected. this must have caused some puzzlement to Samuel. So Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more children. Jesse replied that the youngest, David, was left behind to care for the sheep. I can imagine David in his dirty work clothes reeking of the sheep. Did he have time to clean up before coming to the sacrifice? Here you have several things which would have caused one to wonder why the LORD would choose David. He was the last-born son, the eighth son of Jesse. He was a shepherd, an occupation which was considered humble and unclean. Although he had a handsome face, his arms were leathery and red from the hard outside work exposed to the elements. Bethlehem was a small and insignificant village at the end of the desert. Finally, if he came dressed as he was, it must have made for quite an appearance for the sacrifice.
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But as soon as David came, the LORD told Samuel to anoint him, as he was the one He had chosen to replace Saul as king of Israel. Truly the LORD does not look at people at the surface level as men do. This David who was seven times disqualified to be king would become the king of Israel. Samuel anointed him, and immediately the Holy Spirit came upon David. Verse fourteen says at the same time, the Holy Spirit left Saul. It would still be several difficult years before David would replace Saul on the throne, but God’s mind was made up. David was a man after His own heart.
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David would later become Israel’s greatest king, as far as earthly influence is concerned. He would gain notoriety while still a boy by slaying the giant Goliath. It should have been Saul who should have been Israel’s champion as he was tall and strong. He also had one of the only iron suits of armor in Israel. Imagine the irony of Saul telling David to put on his armor which was probably several times too big for him. It was David’s faith and the Holy Spirit which led David to prevail over Goliath.
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David was a man of many exploits for the LORD. Yet it became apparent that he failed miserably at times such as murdering Uriah to cover and affair with Bathsheba as well as numbering the people of war as though Israel’s security depended upon the number of fighting men it had. We learn that the LORD when He chose David had his posterity in mind. David wanted to build the LORD a Temple just like the gods of the other nations but was prevented because he had shed much blood. His descendant would build the Temple. (2 Samuel 7). But is turns out that although his son Solomon built the first Temple in Jerusalem, He wasn’t the one whom the LORD had in mind. Another descendant of David was needed.
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We come today to the last day in the Christian year, which is Christ the King Sunday in which we remember that Jesus, the Son of David and Son of God rules eternally in heaven and earth. This is the One whom God chose to be king over Israel. As an earthly man, he must have been very ordinary looking as the priests needed Judas as a guide to identify Him. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53:2:
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Isaiah 53:2 NKJV
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
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This Jesus by divine decree and appointment was born in humble Bethlehem where His ancestor David was born (Micah 5:2). The birth was announced to humble and dirty shepherds who came to see the newborn Jesus as directed by the Angel of the LORD. they came in haste. They reeked of the sheep. Their clothes were dirty. They came to see the LORD’s sacrifice, to see Jesus wrapped in strips of cloth, arms crossed and put into a stone manger, looking like an Egyptian royal mummy. The LORD did not choose the priests in their fine garments to come and greet Jesus. surely God sees things differently.
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Luke and Matthew give a few details of the early life of Jesus. But for the most part, Jesus’ earthly life seemed ordinary. He entered Joseph’s trade which could have been a carpenter or perhaps even a day laborer. The people of Israel who saw Jesus saw some potential in Him, but little did they know just how great Jesus was. Like David, Jesus’ early life was probably pretty harsh. He had to wait for the proper time the Father had appointed to make his public appearance which happened at His baptism. Although he was eternally chosen by the Father, the Father spoke the word of approval as the Holy Spirit descended upon Him, the proof of His anointing. Like David, his taking the scepter of the Kingdom of Israel would not take place for some time. Instead of struggling with Saul, Jesus wrestled with Satan who kept trying to kill Him.
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At the right time, Jesus became the sacrifice for our sin. He was rejected by his own, turned over to the Romans who crucified Him. This seemed by earthly appearance to be the end of His Kingdom. But God sees things differently than the jubilant Sanhedrin or the crestfallen disciples. This same Jesus rose from the dead on the third day and ascended to the Father on the 40th. He shall soon come again, crowned as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Next week, we will start the observance of Advent which starts the new Christian year, a time in which we prepare for His return.
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In conclusion. we should take especial note that God is sovereign. Even though we may seem to be in difficult, humble, and even dangerous circumstances in this world as Christians, we must remember the LORD just as David did in all the years of his dangers, toils, and snares before the final fulfillment His promise to David and his enthronement as king. We, too, shall prevail if we don’t lose heart. We also learn that God can use the gifted like Paul the Apostle, a man of great learning. Or he can use ordinary smelly fishermen to proclaim His Kingdom. Let us be thankful that the Lord sees us differently than men.
