The Shepherd King 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Oh how the stars swarm in the sky. And hear the hush as night birds call. It is a symphony from God on high, The King of glory, Lord of all. I need no angel serenade Or invitation just for me, As shepherds such as I were bade To come and meet the Majesty And glory in His grace sublime. I watch my sheep and sheath my sling, For I know that in God s own time I shall do more for Him than sing. These psalms of praise to sleeping sheep. Until that time, I ll hold His hand And trust each day that He will keep Me close to Heaven s borderland. When Samuel first met him, Saul was a big, overgrown farm boy, searching for his father s lost donkeys. And from the first, the prophet loved Saul like a son. But he was not an obedient son. From the very first, Saul seemed to flash hot and cold. The day Samuel anointed him, the big farm boy prophesied. But when his countrymen came to make him king, he ran and hid. And so it was. One day Saul was courageous, the next cowardly. But through it all God s prophet indulged him. The first serious problem came at Gilgal. Philistia s forces had amassed for an attack. And with a sea of chariots and horse cavalry, they were a fearsome foe. So Saul was eager to attack them. But burnt offerings had to be made to God first. And Samuel was nowhere to be found. By the seventh day the king was tired of waiting. So he built an altar, put on a borrowed priest s robe and offered the sacrifice himself. He was barely finished when the old prophet arrived. It seems like a small infraction. But Saul knew he was violating God s clear commandment. More than that, he revealed the offering meant little or nothing to him. It was merely a formality. The final straw came at Carmel. Saul was told to utterly destroy the Amalekites: both people and property. So that is what Saul did. But his obedience was not quite complete. When Agag, king of Amalek, offered Saul a rich bribe, the former farm boy let him live. He also spared the best of Amalek s flocks and herds.
Do not be misled. Saul did not spare Agag out of mercy. He did so out of greed, plain and simple. So even Samuel had to admit Saul was not God s man. And that broke the old man s heart. Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. 1 Samuel 15:35 (ESV) There is a time to grieve over fallen friends. But that time is not forever. God put our eyes on the front of our head, not the back. He wants us to look to the future not the past. The Mission Ramah was Samuel s family home. His mother, Hannah, lived there. Samuel was raised at Shiloh by Eli, an old tabernacle priest. But when he was grown, he made Ramah his home. At Ramah, Samuel laid awake at night. His heart was so heavy he could not sleep. At the beginning, he had high hopes for Saul. But Saul was only strong on the outside. Inside, he was a leaf in a gale, driven by the wind of whatever pressure happened to blow over his life. And that broke the old prophet s heart. But Samuel was not the only one who was stricken with sorrow. Saul s downfall grieved God every bit as much as it did His prophet. However, the Lord knows there is a line grief and sorrow must not be allowed to cross. The apostle Paul put it best. Writing to newborn saints at Thessalonica, Paul taught them about the great and glorious hope every Christian treasures....we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 That was Samuel s problem. He was grieving as those who have no hope. So the Lord who loved the old prophet, confronted him. Now the Lord said to Samuel, How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons. Verse 1 While Saul still sat on the throne as king of Israel, he was no longer God s man. His selfish sin and crass carnality was more than God was willing to endure. So the same Lord who chose Saul at Zuph now rejected him. That means Israel was without a God ordained ruler. So the Lord sent His prophet to anoint a new king. After Samuel anointed Saul, he presented the big farm boy to the God s people for their approval. But this time, the people of Israel would have no say in the matter at all. And for good reason God s prophet was not sent to Bethlehem to find a king. Our omniscient Lord had already chosen a man to sit on Israel s throne. Some things never change. God is still the One who chooses those who will serve Him. And now as then, the Lord of all creation searches for men, women and children He can used to work wonders in His Name....the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NKJV) And in the parched pastures of Bethlehem, the Lord found just such a person. So we would expect Samuel to be excited. But he was not. He was afraid.
But Samuel said, How can I go? When Saul hears of it, he will kill me. Verse 2 Samuel was not afraid of men. During his life, he stood strong before powerful kings and savage enemies. But this time, the old prophet had good reason to be afraid. Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. 1 Samuel 16:14 When Samuel first anointed Saul, the Spirit of God came upon the big farm boy. But when he sinned, something happened that can never happen to a sincere saint. God s Spirit abruptly abandoned Saul. Because we are cleansed by our Savior s blood and declared righteous by His resurrection, the Holy Spirit is not merely upon us. He is within us. And Jesus promised that He will never, ever leave us. I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, John 14:16 (ESV) Saul did not have that promise. So when the Spirit was grieved, He left Israel s king. And when He did, He left a spiritual vacuum. Then, with God s permission, Satan sent a savage demon to dominate Saul. And soon the spiritual darkness within the king was so great, Samuel knew Saul was filled with hatred for God and anyone who served Him. So the old prophet was wise to be wary. We should be wise and wary of our eternal enemy, too. But we should not be so terrorized we are afraid to serve our Savior. God was prepared to protect Samuel, just as He is us. All we have to do is what our Lord demanded of his prophet. Simply, believe and obey our Creator s commands. The Mistake As God s prophet, Samuel was not only the Lord s spokesman. He was also Israel s spiritual teacher. So to help God s people keep close to the Lord who loved them, he traveled to cities, farm towns and crossroads communities. And at each place, he led the Lord s people in sacrifices and celebrations. That, the Lord told Samuel, is precisely what he should do at Bethlehem. And the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you. So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem. Verses 2-4 With a rope for a halter, Samuel led a calf down the dusty road past the city of the Jebusites and across the parched plain to where Bethlehem was a collection of khaki cubes clustered on a little hill. Bethlehem s elders were worried when they saw Samuel stride up the hill into town. As God s prophet, he also delivered decrees concerning God s judgements upon His people. But Samuel assured the Bethlehemites that was not the case. He simply came to offer a sacrifice to the Lord with them. So the people of Bethlehem consecrated themselves as the Law of Moses demanded. And Samuel made doubly sure that Jesse and his sons did so, too. After the sacrifice, Bethlehem s shepherds and shopkeepers returned to their homes. And
Samuel invited Jesse and his sons to a private celebration. There in the privacy of Jesse s home, Samuel set about to complete God s mission. Jesse had a houseful of strong, strapping sons. And Samuel smiled at the Lord s wisdom. He knew the man God had chosen to sit on the throne of all Israel was among them. So he started by examining the eldest. When they entered, he looked at Eliab and thought, Surely the Lord s anointed is before Him. Verse 6 Years ago at Zuph, even Samuel was impressed when he saw how tall and strong Saul was. (Kish) had a son whose name was Saul, a choice and handsome man, and there was not a more handsome person than he among the sons of Israel; from his shoulders and up he was taller than any of the people. 1 Samuel 9:2 That is what excited Samuel at Bethlehem. Eliab was every bit as tall and strong as Saul. That was Samuel s mistake when he anointed Saul. He did not walk by faith. He walked by sight, by the appearance of the man. This time, the Lord was determined that the prophet should not repeat that error. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Verse 7 The Lord did not send Samuel to Bethlehem to select a man to serve as Israel s new king, but to anoint the one God had chosen....you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you. Verse 3 But to do that, Samuel had to look upon men as God does. And the Lord never pays attention to the outward appearance or apparent abilities of the men and women He would choose to serve Him. Eliab did look like he had been sent over by central casting. He seemed to be every inch as if he was meant to sit on a throne. And we might think someone is a striking, sterling candidate to serve our Savior. But we cannot help but be misled. At Jerusalem, the eleven remaining disciples were not content to simply sit and wait for the Holy Spirit to come. So while they waited, they tried to select a man to fill Judas place as an apostle. I have no doubt that both of the finalists in that selection process were good and godly men. But they were not the man our Savior s Spirit chose. He chose a short, bald headed little man. With fire in his eyes and a volcanic rage, Saul of Tarsus was the last man anyone in the community of Christ s company would have chosen. But he was indeed the man God chose. And in that there is a wonderful lesson. We must never assume we are not qualified to serve the Lord Jesus. He does not consider outward qualifications. He looks for a heart that is completely His. The Man Samuel thought he had consecrated all of Jesse s sons for the sacrifice. But he was wrong. Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, The Lord has not chosen this one either. Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, The Lord has not chosen this one either. Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, The Lord has not chosen these. Verses 8-10
Samuel was stumped. God had clearly communicated to him that He had already chosen one of Jesse s sons as the new king. And God cannot possibly be mistaken. So only one logical conclusion remained. There simply had to be another son. And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the children? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep. Verse 11 Sometime, Samuel must have whispered to Jesse that he had come to anoint a man to serve as Israel s new king. And Jesse was confident that he knew his sons better than anyone else ever could. So Jesse decided to help the prophet in the selection process. He did so by leaving his youngest son out of the running. There can be no other reason why Jesse did not ask a servant or a neighbor to watch his sheep on this special occasion. Instead, Jesse sent his youngest son was out to watch what his brothers would later call a little flock of sheep. So when the rest of Jesse s sons were consecrated, David was not. Like the rest of Israel, Samuel was impressed with Saul s outward appearance. But now he knew he dare not make the same mistake again. He knew God had chosen one of Jesse s sons. And since only one son was left, he had to be God s man. So he commanded that David be called in from the sheep pasture. Then Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here. So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he. Verses 11-12 David s brothers were astounded. They watched in wonder as the prophet of all Israel emptied out a ram s horn full of anointing oil on their youngest brother s head. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah. Verse 13 Yes, God does look upon the hearts of men. But just what did He see in David that made the Lord of the universe choose a teenage shepherd to serve as king? At Pisidian Antioch, the apostle Paul stood up in the city synagogue to preach. And in his message he spoke about David. He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, I have found David, a man after My heart, who will do all My will. Acts 13:22 It is an astounding yet glorious truth that the infinite God of all creation chooses normal people like you and me to serve His eternal kingdom. And He chooses people that no one in all the world would ever dream He would. Without a doubt, even David himself was surprised that the Lord he loved chose him to sit on Israel s throne. There is an important lesson in that for each and every person who trusts in the Lord Jesus as Savior and King. We must never assume that we are out of the running and God would never call and commission us to serve Him. We are not too old. Moses was eighty when God called him. And we are not too young. Samuel was a little boy when God called him. Neither are we disqualified because we are not strong enough or intelligent enough. We have not made too many mistakes, either. We must remember that we are not the ones who do the choosing. And neither are our family or friends. God called David. And He still calls men and women today. But if we are to be worthy of
Christ s call, we must do what David did. Out in the pasture with his father s flock of sheep, he worshiped and praised the Lord he loved. And he trusted God to empower him to solve his everyday problems. That is how we must prepare. We must make our heart completely His.