Samuel 16 - Selection of a New King

Samuel 16 - Selection of a New King


 v1-5: Moving Forward

Samuel was mourning over the failure of Saul, thinking all is lost. However, God cannot be disabled by the weakness of men. He even knows we will fail, and have other means to bring His ultimate plan to realization. 

The Lord told Samuel to stop mourning and go forward. When we fail, while we can be depressed, we should not give up but continue on with the next step. The Lord asked Samuel to find Jesse who lives in Bethlehem. Jesse was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz. His mission is to identify the next king. 

Samuel was fearful that Saul may find out. God told him that he is there to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. While this is true, it is not the full story. While we should never lie, there are times when we hold back the truth when people are unable to accept it. 


v6-13: Chosen for a Purpose

Samuel asked Jesse to bring all his sons to him to consecrate them and to invite them to join the sacrifice. When Samuel saw the eldest son, Eliab, he thought to himself that this is the man that God has chosen. For he looked handsome and tall, just like Saul. 

However the Lord corrected Samuel: ""Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." (v7)

The Lord similarly rejected the rest of the 6 sons that were present. Samuel asked Jesse if he has other sons, and Jesse said he has one son who is keeping the sheep. This is his youngest son and he was deemed so insignificant that he did not even mentioned his to Samuel earlier. He was just an ordinary boy doing an humble work of sheep keeping. His name was David, and Samuel asked them to bring him. 

When David appeared, God said to Samuel: "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" (v12). David was described as "ruddy, with bright eyes and good-looking". While he looks pleasant, he is the not the strongest or tallest or the most handsome. He was probably the least of all the sons Samuel would have chosen. But God looked into his heart and spirit, something only He can truly see. 

The Holy Spirit of the Lord came upon David after Samuel anointed him. It was not written that Samuel called him a "king" or "future king", so no one knows what was the true purpose of the anointing. David himself did not know what was happening and went back to his usual work, keeping sheep. 

At that time David was just a young teenager, probably 12 to 15 years old. He became the king at 30 years, reigned 7.5 years over part of the country, and then another 33 years over whole of Israel.  

God had chosen David in advance for a purpose. While David did become one of the greatest man in Middle East, that is not his ultimate purpose. When he was crowned, there was no fan fare about him, but to honor God by lifting up the Ark. 


v14 - 23: Training and Testing

After the Holy Spirit came to David, it left Saul to be tormented by a distressing spirit. He was probably in depression and in panic attack. Saul's advisors told him that music will help to give him peace. They found David, for God has given David a talent for playing the lyre. Whenever Saul was mentally unwell, David would play the lyre and the evil spirits will leave Saul. Saul loved David and made him his armor-bearer.

This is the way God brought David into Saul's service. It was His way to initiate the testing and training of David for his eventual mission.  David had to go through many challenges, painful and life-threatening experiences because of Saul, before he became king.

 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Introduction to 1st Samuel: God Uses the Humble and Overlooked

Introduction to 1st Samuel :  God Uses the Humble and Overlooked Collin Leong. August 4, 2025 A. Historical Summary 1. Title and Authorship Title Origin : In the Hebrew Bible, 1 and 2 Samuel form a single book named after the prophet Samuel , a central figure in both. Traditional Authorship : Samuel is believed to have written the early portions (up to his death in 1 Samuel 25). Nathan and Gad , two prophets active during David’s reign, are traditionally credited with completing the narrative, as suggested by 1 Chronicles 29:29 . Modern Scholarship : Some scholars view the book as a compilation of prophetic records, royal archives, and oral traditions, later edited into its final form during or after the exile. 2. Audience and Background Primary Audience : The Israelite community , especially those living during or shortly after the early monarchy period (around 1050–970 BC), including the reigns of Saul and David. Secondary Audience : Later generations of Israelites who needed to...
Read more

1 Samuel Chapter 13 - Presumptions and Impatience

 1 Samuel Chapter 13 - Presumptions and Impatience v1-7: Jonathan's Victory Verse one may have missed out the age of Saul before he become king. It just said "lived for one year", but some commentaries said he was probably 30 to 40 years old. In his second year as king, he planned to go to war with the Philistines with 3000 soldiers.  Jonathan and 1000 soldiers were sent to Geba to attack a Philistine garrison and had a great victory. However Saul, being insecure, gave the credit to himself.  In reaction, the Philistines sent a huge reinforcement to Michmash (over a gorge from Geba), with 6,000 horsemen and uncountable troops. The number of chariots were assumed to be 3,000, rather than the written 30,000.  At that time, Saul's company of 2,000 soldiers were also at Michmash and they all were afraid and hid themselves in the caves and tombs. Saul and some soldiers escaped to Gilgal to meet Samuel.  v8-14: Saul's Disobedience  Samuel had asked Saul to w...
Read more

Samuel 17 - David and Goliath

 Samuel 17 - David and Goliath v1-12: Israel Paralyzed Under Fear Once again, the Philistines invaded Israel. Saul brought his army to the Valley of Elah, which was in between Sochoh and Azekah, where the Philistines were. As usual, they encamped at the opposite mountain with the valley in between, as it is disadvantage for the an army to attack up hill. The Philistines came up with a strategy, for they have soldiers who have the stature of giants. One of them was Goliath, who was about 9 feet tall. Goliath was equipped with full armor, which was estimated to be 70 to 90 kg He had an advance iron spearhead weighing 7 kg at the end of his spear.  Goliath demanded for a one-to-one battle with the Israelites. The team that loses will become the slave to the winning team. Unfortunately, no one in Israelites army had the courage to take up the challenge. Saul himself was probably the tallest man in Israel's army (1 Samuel 9:2), but even he do not have the confidence in himself...
Read more