Even though Samuel had told the
people that making Saul king would be a mistake, he is still sad to see Saul
fail, be rejected by God, and the people suffer for it. I imagine he was
feeling similar to a parent who sees a child make bad decisions and then suffer
the consequences. On the one hand they deserve the pain that has come their way,
but on the other you love them and don’t want to see them suffer. Perhaps
Samuel even feels partially responsible, wondering if there was anything more
he could have done. God doesn’t let him continue to wallow in his grief and self-pity
however. God has chosen another to be anointed king and tells Samuel where and which
family he needs to go pursue.
The tricky thing about anointing
another king at this point is that Saul is still king. As you might imagine, he
and his supporters would not be too happy about a potential usurper of their throne.
Samuel makes sure God understands this predicament (as if He didn’t know) and
then, at least publicly, claims he is going to the city of Bethlehem to “make
sacrifices to the Lord”. This isn’t a lie because he will do this, but his
primary mission is to anoint the king to be.
When Samuel gets to Bethlehem the
elders of the city are scared and come out to meet him, wondering why in the
world he has come so unexpectedly. Remember, in these days, Samuel still often
acted as a judge, so when he showed up in your town, especially unexpectedly,
he might very well be there to exact God’s judgment for some wrong you had
done. You know that feeling when your Mom or Dad unexpectedly opens the door to
your room? Ya. Samuel calms their fears though
and heads on to the house of Jessie.
This next section sums up the major
theme of the entire book. Samuel doesn’t know at this point which of Jessie’s
sons that God has chosen. He naturally assumes that the firstborn, strong and
able bodied will be the choice…but God says no. The narrator continues to walk
us through this process, slowly moving from son to son in order to make a
point. God’s chosen king will not be like the one the people have chosen. God’s chosen king will not be for the
people’s glory or for the king’s glory but for God’s glory alone.
Often in eastern storytelling traditions,
the center of the story is the most important part. Well, the center of 1st
Samuel is this story here, and the center of this story is the following quote
from God:
“For the Lord sees
not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the
heart.”
This is the center of 1st Samuel and the center
of what God wants to communicate to us through this narrative. There are
certainly many other things we can learn, but this is the central idea. God
chooses the least son of Jessie, so insignificant that he wasn’t even invited
to the party. They go and get David from the fields; he is anointed as the
future king (God’s choice) and God’s Spirit rushes upon him. He will be
successful not because of who he is but because he is God’s choice, because he has
God’s Spirit, because he will rely on God and give God the glory. Get the picture?
Lessons:
The overarching lesson here and of
the whole book is that God chooses people and things that will give Him glory. We
are best used by God when we seek his glory and not other’s or our own. God
uses those who know they are nothing without him. Sometimes he even puts us in
situations where we have no other choice but to turn to him so that He can show
us and others His glory.
So, are you seeking God’s glory? This
can be a tricky one sometimes for pastors (and bloggers) because it’s easy for
us to fall in the trap of wanting others to like us and thus basing our value
on other’s praise instead of God’s. No matter who you are you need to seek God
first in all things. God looks on the heart, so take a heart check. What do you
see?
God is not necessarily looking for
the best and the brightest. He is looking for those who will serve Him and give
Him glory. If you can do that, you can be great in the kingdom of God.
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