Insights from the Life of David – Part 1:
Our Last Choice – God’s First Choice: David the Shepherd Boy
I Samuel 16:1-13
I’ll never forget the feeling. It haunts me to this day. I know that some of you can relate because you too where there. You’re standing on the sideline of the basketball court or the baseball field or the playground as teams are chosen. You never get the chance to be the captain and so you try to play it cool as you stand in line with the rest of your peers. But today is no different than any other day. This game is no different than the last. You know who will be chosen first. He’s the biggest guy here not to mention the fact that his team always wins! As the teams are chosen, members are picked according to their appearance and ability. The biggest and fastest kids are chosen first and then come the kids that no one really wants but someone will take. Somewhere down the line you know you’ll be picked, you just hope it won’t be last… again.
It’s this childhood practice of choosing teams that implants within our minds the idea that appearance and ability are everything! And while it would certainly be nice to grow up and realize how false that notion is, the reality is our culture does everything to reinforce that image. Why is that American icons, superstars, those who are the wealthiest and most well known, are almost exclusively those with the best appearance or most ability?
Gone are the days when character and lifestyle were valued above all else. Heroism today is all about who others think we are and has very little to do with who we really are.
And yet in the emptiness of our appearance driven society people are hungering for something deeper. We’re looking for someone who stands out not because of their ability to act or play ball or sing well. Recent American Idol Reject William Hung is a case in point. This young man auditioned for the reality television show “American Idol” and was kicked out of the audition after his horrendous rendition of one of pop star Ricky Martin’s songs. Despite his horrific voice, or perhaps because of it, he has quickly become an American Idol of another sort. He’s got his own website now and has made appearances on the Tonight Show and Good Morning America. An album is being released and this less than attractive little guy is receiving marriage proposals from all over the country! Why? Because people see in him something we all desire: sincerity and authenticity.
The reality is people are looking for someone to look up to. Someone who stands out as being different than the rest of the crowd not because of their glitz and glamour but because of what’s on the inside. We’re looking for someone who stands heads and shoulders above the crowd not because of their appearance but because of their heart.
It’s with that need in mind that I was convicted to preach this sermon series. Over the years the lives of great Biblical characters have been taught from pulpits and Sunday School rooms across the country. But somewhere along the line many of these “saints” have been elevated to such a point that they are untouchable. What we all to frequently fail to realize is just how human they were. Rather than their humanity and faults being a discouragement or a deterrent from emulating them they should in fact be an inspiration to us allowing us to recognize how much like ourselves they are.
I want to spend the next several weeks looking at the life of one of the most well known Biblical characters. It’s a story of heartbreak, grief, murder, adultery, friendship and betrayal. It’s the story of a man we know as David.
Before we can really get into the life of David I felt that it was important that we step back and set the stage for what will be taking place in our scripture readings in the week to come. Understand that the Israelite people lived in a day and age in which they were governed directly by God. They had prophets who served as God’s mouth piece to the people and priests who made sacrifices for the people. But they had no great ruler, as we know, at least not on this earth.
As they looked around at neighboring countries they became envious of them because they all had kings that they could see and they could approach but the Israelites’ King was in the Heavens. If you’re following along in your outlines you’ll see that the people wanted a king.
In spite of their prophet Samuel’s warnings about all the problems a King would cause them, the people insisted and so God gave them Saul. Saul was what you would expect in a King. The scriptures tell us that he stood heads and shoulders above everyone else. He was a handsome man and very strong. He was the kind of person who demanded your attention and your respect. He was an obvious choice and the people were excited to have him. We’ll learn more about Saul in the weeks to come but in order to understand our scripture reading today the next point in setting the stage is that…
Saul failed. It didn’t take long for Saul to begin screwing up. He stopped seeking God’s direction and began taking things into his own hands. The very last verse of I Samuel 15 says that “The Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king.” God literally regretted his choice. And so the final point as we set the stage is that…
God chose a replacement. That’s where our story picks up today. We’re told that god spoke to Samuel, the very prophet who had anointed Saul as King and told him to get up and go to the house of Jesse in the town of Bethlehem. If you’re listening you’ll immediately recognize the name of that town because it’s where Jesus was born. Later on in the Bible we discover that Jesus was a descendant of David. File that piece of information for use later on. Imagine Samuel’s fear. What if Saul heard that he was anointing the next King? So God works out a plan whereby it will appear that the reason for his visit is to worship and offer a sacrifice. Samuel gets up and fills his horn with oil which he would use to anoint the new king (the same thing the prophet had done for King Saul) and heads to Bethlehem where he’s greeted by the town fathers who are worried because the visit of the prophet often brought a word of admonition or punishment from the Lord. But Samuel assures them that he’s come in peace. And invites Jesse and his sons to worship with him.
We’re not told exactly where this worship occurred or even if Samuel told Jesse and his sons why he was really there but there’s a strong possibility that he at least told Jesse because he had Jesse present his sons one at a time to him. The text tells us that the Samuel was sure that first boy that was presented, Eliab, was the one. But God said, “Don’t look at his appearance or his height, because I’ve rejected him. For I don’t see as mortals see, you look on the outward appearance, but I look on the heart.” One by one Jesse presented his other six sons and somehow God communicates the same message to Samuel about every one. I can only imagine Samuel’s confusion as the last was presented and God said “no”. He turned to Jesse and said, “Is this all?” There was one more; he was out in the fields taking care of the sheep. Notice that Jesse hadn’t even thought to bring him in. He certainly wasn’t king material. His dad and brothers knew that. But Samuel was insistent and so he was brought into the house and suddenly this young nobody became somebody.
It’s hard for us to understand exactly why David would have been an unlikely candidate for king, but let me give you three reasons to help paint the picture. First of all, David had an undistinguished family tree. His grandmother was an immigrant and among his ancestors was a woman almost executed for adultery and a prostitute. What kind of kingly lineage was that? His bloodline just wasn’t right.
The second thing that made him such an unlikely candidate was that he was in the wrong place in the birth order. He was the youngest son. How many youngest children do we have here? You know what it’s like to live in the shadow of your older siblings. Realize that in David’s day and age your birth order determined your lot in life. The youngest child was a very unlikely prospect for success.
And finally, David already had a job. The oldest son when he was of age would begin working with his father on the farm as soon as his younger brother was old enough to tend the sheep. This succession would continue until the last son would ultimately become the family’s shepherd. David’s place in life was already determined. He had a job and apparently was good at that job from what we’re told later on in his life.
The fact is if we had been living in the farmhouse next door to David’s family on the Judean hillside, we probably wouldn’t have even known the name of David’s youngest son. His dad didn’t even think of including him until Samuel asked him if there were any more. Jesse rubbed his beard and said, “Oh, yeah, there’s my youngest. Almost forgot about him.”
The story of David is a story of right seeing. It’s a story which challenges us to look beyond outward appearances to a person’s heart and character. God saw something in David that no one else had seen. The Hebrew word that is used when the text tells us that Samuel looked at Jesse’s sons implies that he looked but didn’t really see. There’s a difference you know? Samuel, Jesse, and Saul all missed what was ultimately important to God.
Unlike the qualifications we look for when we choose teams on the playground or in the gymnasium God looks for something completely different.
God looks at character not appearance. The text tells us that God doesn’t see as we do but God looks right through our facades and our pretense to see our heart. That should both inspire and frighten us. It should inspire us when we feel that we are judged by others according to our abilities or our appearance to remember that it’s what’s on the inside that counts. And it should frighten those of us who have survived by pretense when we know that what’s on the inside doesn’t match what we claim to be.
God also chooses certain people for certain tasks because God values the will not ability. God isn’t interested in how much you can accomplish, in how talented you are, what God’s most interested in is whether you’re willing to do whatever it takes to serve him.
I heard part of a very inspiring story on Thursday and Friday on Focus on the Family. It was the story about a young boy who was born with cerebral palsy and how his handicaps and limitations caused those around him to seriously doubt his ability to do the littlest things in life, things like riding a bike. Allan Oggs shared the story of how he had fought each of these battles because he wanted to. Eventually he applied for a scholarship and was told that he could go to any school in the country and would receive full tuition room and board. What he told the official interviewing him was that he wanted to be a preacher. The official couldn’t believe it and tried to talk him out of it. But in spite of everyone who told him that he couldn’t more than thirty years later he’s been a traveling evangelist, preacher, and motivational speaker, and formerly served as an administrator and instructor at his alma mater, Jackson College of Ministries in Jackson, Mississippi. If you heard Rev. Oggs speak you would hear a man with a serious speech impairment whose love for God and determination speak loudly.
The truth is, God delights in taking those who have the will, but lack the ability in and of themselves, and using them to bring about the miraculous because, finally…
God sees possibilities when others do not because we confuse appearance with reality.
I don’t watch a lot of television but as I flip through the channels now and then I’m amazed at the number of “makeover” shows there are. From day time talk shows to reality TV shows like “The Swan” everyone wants to get a new identity by having their physical appearance changed. What’s even more alarming are those who have idolized others to such an extent that they’re having surgery to look like them. I even heard of one man who was having plastic surgery so that he could look like Michael Jackson, or should I say several plastic surgeries?
The sad reality is we confuse appearance with reality. We don’t see what really counts because we don’t take the time to look beyond the beauty or lack there of that is skin deep.
But we serve a God who sees possibility in us when everyone around us tells us we can’t!
As David was in the fields tending the sheep I’m sure he had no idea what his future would bring. The reality is the same for us: The future is seldom clear to us. If it were life wouldn’t be any fun, would it? If I knew what next month would bring then I’d have to worry about it today, and I have enough to worry about today.
The story of David, I believe, points to the truth that God has a plan for our life no matter your (You fill in the blank). You know what it is that is preventing you from being the person that God wants you to be or fulfilling the dream that God has given you. It maybe your family. Perhaps it’s your past. Or maybe it’s the way you’re living now. If you’ll place yourself in God’s hands God can and will do great things through you.
The Key to fulfillment and contentment in life is being who God wants you to be. The key to fulfillment is not money or possessions or good looks. It’s what’s on the inside that counts. When we realize that and open ourselves to what God wants to do in and through us we can find the abundant life that Jesus promised us.
Next week we’re going to look at a very familiar story, the story of David & Goliath and talk about overcoming the giants in our life.
