LIFE OF DAVID: GOD’S CHOICE
1 SAMUEL 16:1-13
INTRODUCTION...Choices and Responsibility, Little House on the Freeway, Tim Kimmel, p. 143
The words of Eleanor Roosevelt ring true:
One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.
We are all faced with choices each and everyday. Eleanor Roosevelt would say that it is the choices that we make that define who we are and what we are all about. We can use whatever words we want, but in the end it is our actions and our choices that tell the tale of us.
1 Samuel chapter 16 presents one of the first episodes in Scripture of the life of David. David would eventually become King of Israel and was a great leader for his people, but he did not begin life as a prince, but as a shepherd. Israel already had a king. His name was Saul and Saul had lost his way. Saul had chosen to disobey God and so God rejected him as king and sent the prophet Samuel to find a new king (1 Samuel 15). 1 Samuel chapter 16 records for us the choice that God makes when choosing a king for Israel.
READ 1 SAMUEL 16:1-13
I look at this passage from several different perspectives as I read and study it. I look at this passage first from the perspective of Jesse. I then see the passager from the perspective of Samuel. Thirdly, I try and see this passage from the perspective of the God Almighty.
I. THE CHOICE FROM JESSE’S PERSPECTIVE
God sends the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to the house of a man named Jesse. Technically we already have heard about Jesse because in the Book of Ruth, Boaz and Ruth have a son named Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse and Jesse is the father of David (Ruth 4:17-22).
When Samuel arrives, the elders of the town are scared stiff! What in the world is the prophet of the Lord doing in our town?! It has to be bad! Samuel was given sort of a pretense by God to gather those needed to choose the next king. Saul was still in power and Samuel wished to be careful... for his sake and the new anointed’s sake as well. Samuel says he is there to sacrifice and gathers the elders and the family of Jesse.
It doesn’t say, but I have to wonder if Jesse knew what was going on. He had to have seen that Samuel was looking for something or someone in particular. I think that Jesse knew because in verses 8, 9, and 10 Samuel says to Jesse that "the Lord has not chosen him." Jesse was having his family line up before the prophet of the Lord. Jesse offered his oldest and probably his most impressive son first. Eliab (whose name means "God is my Father") must have been a handsome, strong, and impressive young man because Samuel thought he was it. But God said no. Jesse offered Abinadab and Shammah. These would not do. Jesse had seven of his sons pass by, but God did not choose any of them.
By now, I would be pretty frustrated and impatient with Samuel and with God as well. Samuel comes and says he is looking for the next king... I present you my fine boys... and you reject them all? I would think that maybe Samuel had made a mistake or maybe God was making a mistake.
Have you ever felt like that... impatient with God? Have you ever felt like perhaps God made a mistake in what He was doing and the choices that He has made for your life? I know that I have. We pray honestly that God’s will would be done, but we sure would like it if He would hurry Himself up!
The people of Israel often became impatient with God. Numbers 21:1-9 records that while the people were moving through the desert they became impatient with Moses and God. They complained about the lack of food and water and the desert life. Verse 6 tells us that God sent venomous snakes among the people and many Israelites died. Eventually the people repented and asked Moses and God for help. God delivered them. Yet, the lesson remains for us, does it not? We will get bit if we become impatient with God and the choices He makes for us.
II. THE CHOICE FROM SAMUEL’S PERSPECTIVE
Samuel is on a secret mission for God. Samuel expresses his fears about King Saul to God and God sends Samuel anyway. Samuel is to anoint the next King of Israel. Samuel is sent to the house of Jesse in a little town named Bethlehem. He tells the elders that he comes in peace and he certainly has. He has come to this little town to give a great honor to the house of Jesse and to the town as well.
Samuel sees Eliab, the oldest of Jesse, and has no doubt that this is the next king. Samuel says to himself in verse 6, ‘surely’ which tells me that he has no reservations about this young man. Yet, God speaks to Samuel in verse 7 and says, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." If you mark or highlight your Bibles, make sure you mark verse 7, it is the key to the whole passage. God was looking for a heart that would serve Him and not himself. God was looking for a heart of a king. Samuel could not see their heart.
Jesse parades seven sons in front of Samuel. Samuel may see that Jesse is getting impatient or frustrated. I can imagine that Samuel is starting to doubt. Samuel was so very sure in verse 6 and in verse 10 he has rejected all of the sons that have come. All of them were great, but God said no. In between verses 10 and 11, I see Samuel wondering what in the world is going on. In between verses 10 and 11, I see Samuel doubting what God had sent him there to do.
Samuel asks in verse 11 if there are any more sons. There is one more... the youngest... David. He’s out watching the sheep. David comes and he is the anointed one.
Have you ever felt like Samuel... doubting God? Doubt is the nagging voice in the back of your mind, calling into question the very core of your beliefs. Samuel may have been doubting why God called him to Bethlehem in the first place. We also may have doubts about the Bible or the promises of God. We may have doubt about a direction God is sending us or not sending us in our lives. Doubt has been whispering in the back of our minds since Satan uttered the words, "Did God really say..." in Genesis 3. The Bible is full of people who became uncertain of God in their lives: Gideon (Judges 6-7), Peter (Matthew 14), and the disciple Thomas (John 20) all experienced doubt--to name just a few.
ILLUSTRATION... Where does doubt come from? (www.billygraham.org/MyAnswer_article.asp?ArticleID=1992)
When asked where doubt comes from, Billy Graham gave the following answer:
The very first question in the Bible came from the mouth of Satan, and it had only one purpose: to sow the seeds of doubt in the minds of Adam and Eve and make them disbelieve what God had told them (see Genesis 3:1-4). It’s no wonder Jesus called the devil "the father of lies" (John 8:44).
Does this mean the devil is directly responsible for every doubt we have? Not necessarily; often doubts come from within our own hearts and minds. But in reality it doesn’t matter where our doubts come from; the important thing is what we do with them.
Some people, for example, savor their doubts and enjoy having them (although they may not even realize it). They aren’t really interested in finding answers to their questions or having their faith grow; their doubts are simply an excuse to keep away from God. But others grow through their doubts. T hey take seriously Jesus’ promise to His disciples: "Seek and you will find" (Luke 11:9).
How should you deal with your doubts? First, face them honestly—and then commit them to God. Then saturate your mind and heart with the truth of God’s Word, the Bible. I often say that the seed of faith grows best in the soil of God’s Word. In addition, seek answers to your questions from wise and godly people.
Jesus says in Matthew 21:21-22, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ’Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
III. THE CHOICE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
The last perspective that we cannot overlook in this passage is the perspective of God. The perspective of God is one that is colored with his attributes and Who He is. God is all-knowing and so nothing is hidden from Him (Psalm 69:5). God is all-powerful and so nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). God is the Creator and knows how life in His creation should be lived (Deuteronomy 32:6).
Verse 1 tells us that God has decided to make a change. God knows that Samuel is mourning because of the changes that will take place. Yet, new earthly leadership needs to be chosen and it is God’s choice to make. God tells Samuel exactly where to go and who to see.
God knows each of Jesse’s sons intimately. Does God know that Eliab is not the one? Does God know that Abinadab is not the one? Does God know that all seven of the sons that Samuel saw were not the one? Sure He does. Verse 7 tells us so clearly that God looks into the heart and knows all. God’s perspective is a heavenly and complete perspective. God sees the future and the "could be" scenarios. God knows that the man He needs is the youngest boy in the hills watching sheep. Verse 12 and 13 show us that David arrived and Samuel anointed him the next King over Israel.
Now we are faced with a serious question about the choice that God made. It is a serious question because it directly affects our lives. Did God make the right choice? Did God choose correctly when He chose David as the next King after Saul?
I hope you answer that God did make the correct choice. For you see, God does not make mistakes and does not sin. He knew the heart of each of the brothers and knew that He would not choose them. Yet, He chose David.
APPLICATION AND CONCLUSION
Why is that question so important? Why is the question: "Did God make the right choice?" so important. It is important because most of the time we live with Jesse’s perspective or we live with Samuel’s perspective. Some of the time when it comes to the will of God and the choices God makes for us, we become impatient and irritated at God. Some of the time when it comes to the will of God and the choices God makes for us, we doubt and lose our way.
But you see, we need to rest and rely on the choices that God makes for He is the God of Creation and King of our lives. He knows what is best. He choses best. He knows which way to go and which way not to go. I invite you to rest in the knowledge that God’s will for your life and for your family is the ultimate best. I invite you to have peace instead of frustration and doubt that God’s Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Trust Him, He knows what He is doing.
