The story of King David begins in 1 Samuel 16. At this time, Israel already had a king named Saul. But Saul was disobedient to God and ultimately was rejected as king. This was disappointing because Saul had been king for 42 years and the prophet Samuel had invested SO much time and energy into Saul. Sadly, we often find out too late that our time, effort, and energy went into someone that didn't truly appreciate it. Samuel went into mourning for a very long time. There is talk that Samuel mourned for Saul 10 years.
One day, the Lord said to Samuel, "You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king." 1 Samuel 16:1
God was telling Samuel that it was time for him to get up and move on with his life. He couldn't stay in mourning for the rest of his life. He had a divine destiny to fulfill. Sometimes our divine destiny doesn't include the people we started off with. God knew that Saul's heart wasn't pure and that ultimately it would lead to disaster which is why He allowed Saul to break Samuel's heart like he did. When a treasured relationship "suddenly" turns ugly, it's super heartbreaking. It's worse when the fallout is public or caused by a third party causing trouble. As a result, we mourn over the person. We mourn what we thought we had. We mourn over who we thought the person was. We mourn over what could have been and what should have been. We cry thinking about the good times and wonder if somehow the relationship can be restored again. We find ourselves angry at the person for not remaining the person they were in the beginning. It's hurtful.
Samuel probably felt all of that. He might have even wondered if a third party was responsible for the negative changes that occurred in Saul. But the reality is Saul was the only one responsible for his own actions and words. He made the decision to stay in his pride and disobey God. Saul was the one who caused problems for Samuel and it was on purpose.
Samuel asked, "How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." "Take a heifer with you," the Lord replied, "and say that you have come to make a sacrifice to the Lord." Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you which of his sons to anoint for me." 1 Samuel 16:2-3
There comes a time where you need to accept that someone or something is dead. You can't continue to stay in that place of mourning. You have to get up and move forward. Joshua and the Israelites had to face this when Moses died. Joshua 1:1-3 says, after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.
" The Israelites were given 30 days to grieve, but then they had to move on. If the Israelites had stayed in mourning, they would have never moved into their destiny.
So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. "What's wrong?" they asked. "Do you come in peace?" "Yes" Samuel replied. "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice too." 1 Samuel 16:4-5
The elders had heard about Samuel executing King Agag (1 Samuel 15) and they were probably afraid judgment was coming to them.
