The Eighth Son -- An Exposition Of 1 Samuel 16:1-14

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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.