1 Samuel 16:1-13--David Anointed King

1 Samuel 16:1-13
English Standard Version

David Anointed King
16 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 provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.” 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD's anointed is before him.” 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10 And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11 Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

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We ended the last chapter with Samuel returning home and never speaking to Saul again though he grieved for him that the LORD had rejected Saul as king.  Now the LORD speaks to Samuel to ask how long Samuel would mourn the LORD's decision when the question should have been, "Okay, LORD.  If not Saul, then who?"  The people needed a leader and Saul was what the people needed now as a military commander, but he was not the one to model for the people what the coming Messiah, the King of Kings would be like.

The LORD tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil for it is time for him to go anoint another to be king in Saul's place.  He sends Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem, for the LORD had chosen one of his sons to be the next king.  Samuel fears the wrath of Saul, for is Saul hears that Samuel is going to anoint another king, then he will likely kill Samuel and the one who he sees as a threat.

The LORD tells Samuel to take a heifer with him so that he could offer a sacrifice and to tell anyone that asked only that he was on his way to offer a sacrifice and to withhold the information that he was going to anoint another king.  Furthermore, Samuel should be trusting in the LORD to keep him safe if he is being obedient to the LORD's command--the LORD is more than able to deal with Saul and his men.  Even though they are strong warriors, they are no match for the LORD.

When Samuel got to the city of Bethlehem, the elders of the city greeted him, but they wanted to know if he had come in peace.  He told them he had come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD and he invited all the elders of the city there to be witnesses and invited Jesse and all of his sons as well.  Samuel then inspected all of Jesse's sons who were standing before him at first looking on them in the same way the people had looked at Saul--looking for someone tall, strong, and handsome as if these were qualifications for a king.  The LORD had to correct Samuel and say that he needed to forget about outward appearances, because the LORD had already rejected Eliab (we'll get some sense of Eliab's heart in some later stories and understand why he would be a poor choice).  One by one, the LORD rejected all of the sons of Jesse that were standing before him, and so Samuel is a bit confused wondering why the LORD sent him to the house of Jesse if He had rejected all of Jesse's sons.  Samuel asks Jesse if these are all of his sons, and Jesse says there is one more that he left with the sheep.  Samuel reminds Jesse that the invitation was for him and all of his sons and that they would not sit down to eat until all of Jesse's sons had arrived, including the one they had thought unimportant and left out in the field to watch the sheep.

​When David arrives, the LORD speaks and says, "Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”  So Samuel anointed David in front of his father and brothers and all the elders of the city of Bethlehem.  The text tells us that the Spirit rushed upon David from that day forward, suggesting that it was more permanent than when the Spirit came upon Saul, and Samuel went back to his home in Ramah.  We'll see next time that not only did the Spirit come upon David, but the Spirit of the LORD left Saul and instead Saul was allowed to be tormented by an evil spirit.  David will end up serving Saul to play music for him to try to calm his spirit, so David will be there in the midst of the palace as the rightful king, and yet, he will continue to serve the current administration until the LORD orchestrates the change in leadership.  He will trust and wait upon the LORD.