David is anointed King to replace Saul- 1 Sam 15-16
In 1887, Lord Acton once wrote to an Anglican Bishop saying,
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men…”
There is truth to this. … But, I prefer the way Dallas Willard corrects this. He prefers to say that ‘power exposes corruption’. The more powerful you are, the more likely it will be that the corruption within you will be exposed to the world and negatively influence the people around you. To hold great power you have to have great character. This is an important teaching to understanding when we look at Saul.
Last week we looked at how the people rejected God’s leadership and asked to have a king like the other nations, and how wanting to be like the other nations was never a good thing. God was not pleased by this, but permitted it. The king that God chose, through Samuel was Saul. Saul seemed to start out okay. He was tall and handsome (1 Sam 9:2), but he has reasons to be humble. When the prophet Samuel approaches Saul, he was looking for his father’s donkeys, who had run off. When he seems to be getting a lot of attention, Saul replies to Samuel,
Last week we looked at how the people rejected God’s leadership and asked to have a king like the other nations, and how wanting to be like the other nations was never a good thing. God was not pleased by this, but permitted it. The king that God chose, through Samuel was Saul. Saul seemed to start out okay. He was tall and handsome (1 Sam 9:2), but he has reasons to be humble. When the prophet Samuel approaches Saul, he was looking for his father’s donkeys, who had run off. When he seems to be getting a lot of attention, Saul replies to Samuel,
“I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?” (1 Sam 9:21).
Saul is a nobody, from nowhere. … When he was to be presented before the people, they couldn’t find him. Eventually they found him hiding among the bags (1 Sam 10:21-22). This could be seen as a sign of humility or maybe fear, but certainly not arrogance or a thirst for power. … This is not unlike the image of Saint Augustine being dragged before the bishop against his will to be ordained a priest and then consecrated a bishop. He was not seeking glory, or power. It was thrust upon him. … So, it seems that Saul starts out well.
However, power would test Saul’s character. … He defends the people and leads them in a successful battle, and showed mercy to his critics (1 Sam 11). However, while preparing for a battle against the Philistines, Saul offers a sacrifice improperly out of his desire to deal with the impatience of his soldiers, who were tired of waiting for Samuel to arrive. It wasn’t the sacrifice that matters as much as his unwillingness to follow the direction of God (1 Sam 13). He cared more about what his soldiers were thinking, than about how God was thinking. And this was the character trait, the corruption, that would be exposed by the power he held. … The point of Saul’s story is that he was not obedient. He found ways to wiggle around God’s commands, or to fulfill them most of the way, but not all the way. The prophet Samuel says,
However, power would test Saul’s character. … He defends the people and leads them in a successful battle, and showed mercy to his critics (1 Sam 11). However, while preparing for a battle against the Philistines, Saul offers a sacrifice improperly out of his desire to deal with the impatience of his soldiers, who were tired of waiting for Samuel to arrive. It wasn’t the sacrifice that matters as much as his unwillingness to follow the direction of God (1 Sam 13). He cared more about what his soldiers were thinking, than about how God was thinking. And this was the character trait, the corruption, that would be exposed by the power he held. … The point of Saul’s story is that he was not obedient. He found ways to wiggle around God’s commands, or to fulfill them most of the way, but not all the way. The prophet Samuel says,
“…to obey is better than sacrifice… Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king” (1 Sam 15:22,23).
Saul responds to Samuel saying,
“I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice” (1 Sam 15:24).
Here is the idol that Saul worships- he fears the people, more than he fears God. He cares what people think, more than he cares about what God thinks.
The first king of Israel has failed. But God guides him to anoint a new king to succeed after Saul. The monarchy will not carry on through Saul’s family line. He gets his oil and sets out for Bethlehem. He is careful not to raise suspicion, so he takes an animal for sacrifice. As far as anyone is concerned, he’s just doing his rounds- caring for the people’s spiritual lives. If Saul found out what God was planning, he might try to kill Samuel and anyone who looked like they were helping him.
When he arrives in Bethlehem he invites a man named Jesse and his sons to the ceremony. A prophet doesn’t come to town for no reason. They know something is up. The prophet has Jesse present his eldest son to him. He is tall, attractive and strong. Samuel gets out his oil, but God stops him saying,
Samuel turns to Jesse, “Are these all your sons?”
Jesse looks confused, “well there’s the youngest- he’s looking after the sheep”. He basically says, “there isn’t anything special about him though. If you rejected my other sons, I don’t understand why he would be the one.” Samuel tells Jesse to go get him him.
David finally arrives, he is anointed the next king of Israel, and God’s Spirit comes upon him- The little shepherd boy that Jesse didn’t even think to bring with him to the ceremony.
David, this young and relatively unimpressive boy- a nobody, is anointed the new King of Israel. He was chosen for his heart, and not his outward appearance. David will be the King of God’s people. Both books of Samuel are really all about David, he is the central figure. David is the one who establishes Jerusalem (otherwise known as the City of David) as the capital of Israel, and solidifies the country. David is the one who plans to build the temple that would become the center of Judaism, though his son would do the actually building. The songbook of the Bible- the Psalms- are traditionally said to have been written by or for David. David is the king against whom all other kings will be judged. … The awaited messiah, called the “Son of David”, is from David’s family. The little shepherd boy changes his people and becomes a pivotal figure in his religion. God uses the humble, unexpectedly.
God has this thing with using the unassuming, the humble. Abraham and Sara, an elderly couple with no children, would give birth to a nation. … Even though Moses had a speech problem God sent him to negotiate with Pharaoh and communicate God’s Law. … Jesus, a carpenter’s son, was from Nazareth. A joke about the place made it into our Scriptures- “can anything good come from Nazareth”. … Who thought that a tax collector and bunch of fishermen would make good disciples to spread God’s good news to the world about the Kingdom of God?
Wouldn’t it have been better to pick someone who had a university degree? Someone who had experience speaking in public? … But, no, God chooses the unassuming. Maybe it is because there isn’t as much of an ego to deal with. Maybe it is so that people will know that it is God, because otherwise it wouldn’t make sense. The credit goes to God in all these cases. Who would have believed that fishermen could preach and teach like that? … Or maybe what they do, and the skills they have, matter less than the quality of their character. Maybe they need a character that is able to hold the weight of great power. … They are not perfect people, of course, and we will see that with David.
Jesus preached that a kingdom had arrived- God’s kingdom. In this Kingdom everything was upside down. The first will be last. The fishermen will teach the religious experts. The blind will be the ones that see. The tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom before the priests and religious. The greatest among them will be a servant. Their king will save them by dying, not killing.
I guess the point is that we should be ready to be surprised by what God does, and who God chooses to work through. We should keep ourselves open and beware of our prejudices. We need to be willing to “not consider appearances”, and look as God looks, at the heart. A person’s heart- their character- is not obvious by outward appearances. … A tiny mustard seed, barely a meal for a tiny bird, can become a great bush and house birds in its branches. … We also need to be willing to be a little upside down from the world from time to time. … We should also beware of saying, “God would never use me to do something in the world” because it seems like that is exactly who God does use to make a difference in the world. David, the little shepherd boy, was so unexpected to be in line for the throne they didn’t even bring him to the ceremony. A person’s heart- their character- is not obvious by outward appearances. AMEN
The first king of Israel has failed. But God guides him to anoint a new king to succeed after Saul. The monarchy will not carry on through Saul’s family line. He gets his oil and sets out for Bethlehem. He is careful not to raise suspicion, so he takes an animal for sacrifice. As far as anyone is concerned, he’s just doing his rounds- caring for the people’s spiritual lives. If Saul found out what God was planning, he might try to kill Samuel and anyone who looked like they were helping him.
When he arrives in Bethlehem he invites a man named Jesse and his sons to the ceremony. A prophet doesn’t come to town for no reason. They know something is up. The prophet has Jesse present his eldest son to him. He is tall, attractive and strong. Samuel gets out his oil, but God stops him saying,
“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7).I once heard the pastor Eugene Peterson describe how his mother told him this story. She said the eldest was presented and he was big and strong, just full of muscle. But he wasn’t chosen. … The next oldest brother was presented. He was very smart. He wore a tweed jacket and had 3 PhD’s. But he wasn’t chosen. … The next was very cool- like James Dean. Everyone wanted to be seen with this guy. But he wasn’t chosen. …. The next brother was very charismatic. He could really motivate people. But he wasn’t chosen. … Every brother who was presented had a good reason to be chosen based on their outward appearance, but they were ultimately not the chosen one. … Finally, all of his sons pass before Samuel, and all of them are rejected by God to be king.
Samuel turns to Jesse, “Are these all your sons?”
Jesse looks confused, “well there’s the youngest- he’s looking after the sheep”. He basically says, “there isn’t anything special about him though. If you rejected my other sons, I don’t understand why he would be the one.” Samuel tells Jesse to go get him him.
David finally arrives, he is anointed the next king of Israel, and God’s Spirit comes upon him- The little shepherd boy that Jesse didn’t even think to bring with him to the ceremony.
David, this young and relatively unimpressive boy- a nobody, is anointed the new King of Israel. He was chosen for his heart, and not his outward appearance. David will be the King of God’s people. Both books of Samuel are really all about David, he is the central figure. David is the one who establishes Jerusalem (otherwise known as the City of David) as the capital of Israel, and solidifies the country. David is the one who plans to build the temple that would become the center of Judaism, though his son would do the actually building. The songbook of the Bible- the Psalms- are traditionally said to have been written by or for David. David is the king against whom all other kings will be judged. … The awaited messiah, called the “Son of David”, is from David’s family. The little shepherd boy changes his people and becomes a pivotal figure in his religion. God uses the humble, unexpectedly.
God has this thing with using the unassuming, the humble. Abraham and Sara, an elderly couple with no children, would give birth to a nation. … Even though Moses had a speech problem God sent him to negotiate with Pharaoh and communicate God’s Law. … Jesus, a carpenter’s son, was from Nazareth. A joke about the place made it into our Scriptures- “can anything good come from Nazareth”. … Who thought that a tax collector and bunch of fishermen would make good disciples to spread God’s good news to the world about the Kingdom of God?
Wouldn’t it have been better to pick someone who had a university degree? Someone who had experience speaking in public? … But, no, God chooses the unassuming. Maybe it is because there isn’t as much of an ego to deal with. Maybe it is so that people will know that it is God, because otherwise it wouldn’t make sense. The credit goes to God in all these cases. Who would have believed that fishermen could preach and teach like that? … Or maybe what they do, and the skills they have, matter less than the quality of their character. Maybe they need a character that is able to hold the weight of great power. … They are not perfect people, of course, and we will see that with David.
Jesus preached that a kingdom had arrived- God’s kingdom. In this Kingdom everything was upside down. The first will be last. The fishermen will teach the religious experts. The blind will be the ones that see. The tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom before the priests and religious. The greatest among them will be a servant. Their king will save them by dying, not killing.
I guess the point is that we should be ready to be surprised by what God does, and who God chooses to work through. We should keep ourselves open and beware of our prejudices. We need to be willing to “not consider appearances”, and look as God looks, at the heart. A person’s heart- their character- is not obvious by outward appearances. … A tiny mustard seed, barely a meal for a tiny bird, can become a great bush and house birds in its branches. … We also need to be willing to be a little upside down from the world from time to time. … We should also beware of saying, “God would never use me to do something in the world” because it seems like that is exactly who God does use to make a difference in the world. David, the little shepherd boy, was so unexpected to be in line for the throne they didn’t even bring him to the ceremony. A person’s heart- their character- is not obvious by outward appearances. AMEN
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