Saul has been rejected as king. He had disobeyed the express command of God in regard to the Amalekites. And though Samuel had to give him this strong message of judgment from God, he loved him much and wept much for him.

However, God now comes to Samuel.

• 1 Samuel 16:1-3
  1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. 3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee.
• God asks Samuel how long he will mourn for Saul. He had rejected him already and no amount of mourning for him would change God’s decision.
• So God now comes to send him on a different mission. He is to anoint the next king of Israel. And this time it would be someone of God’s choosing and not man’s. God had chosen Saul because He knew that that was who the people wanted at the beginning when they asked for a king. He was a head taller than everyone else. He had a good build for a man. He had the physical qualities of a king! But he lacked the essential characteristics needed to lead as a wise and good king.

God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse from Bethlehem. God has specified whose family it is, but He has not told Samuel who the exact person is.

• Yes, even the prophet of God was left wondering. Sometimes God gives only half the instruction and waits for us to obey before He will give us more details.
• When God called Abraham, he called him to leave, but he only had enough details for him to start to move forward in faith.
  • Hebrews 11:8
    By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
• Many times we like to know the end from the beginning before we will step out in faith and obey God. But even the prophet Samuel only had half the information.
• He was to go to Jesse’s house and sacrifice to the Lord so that it would not arouse suspicion of Saul. But who would be chosen? He had no idea.

However, Samuel would obey.

• 1 Samuel 16:4-5
  4 And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.
• Obviously it was not often that Samuel would go to a particular town or house and sacrifice to the Lord as everyone was a bit suspicious when he arrived.
• Jesse and his sons were called to the sacrifice for reasons known only to Samuel and God.

What would happen next?

• 1 Samuel 16:6
  And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.
• The oldest son of Jesse passes by Samuel. How does Samuel react?
• Immediately Samuel is pleased. He must have looked noble looking. He must have acted in such a way that was bearing of a king. Samuel says in his heart, “SURELY the Lord’s anointed is before him.”
• He was so sure that Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse was to be crowned the next king just by looking at him!
• However, what is God’s reaction?
• 1 Samuel 16:7
  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.
• Samuel has made the same mistake that the children of Israel made at the beginning. They only looked on the outward appearance.
• God cares more about what is in our hearts, our characters. He doesn’t care how we look. Whether we are short or tall. Of course we should be clean. We should comb our hair and shower. But the character is what God is looking at. That is the true measure of a man. And Eliab is not that person.
• How important it is for us to be careful how we look at others as well. It is true that we can only judge by what we see. But we should not judge people by how they dress, or how they look. Actions should be judged, but not appearances. Often the appearances are deceitful. And this is how the world judges. They care about your clothes, the style of your hair, the bag that you carry. But not so with us and definitely not with God. God judges the heart. He looks on the inside.
• So how should we judge that then? We should wait to see how they act before we make a judgment on them, not how they look. Samuel made that mistake with Eliab.

1 Samuel 16:8-9
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.

• Abinadab was the second son. He passed by and maybe Samuel had the same thoughts of the second boy. But maybe this time he didn’t think in his heart like the first – SURELY this must be the person! Just maybe he was more careful in his thoughts.
• He prays a quick prayer to God and asks Him this time. “God, is this the one?”
• God answers Samuel. Abinadab was not the one that God had chosen as well.

Let’s keep reading.

• 1 Samuel 16:10
  Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.
• By and by, all seven sons of Jesse walk past Samuel and each time God says the same thing. None of them are the one that have been chosen by God.
• As the last boy passes before Samuel, he must have been perplexed. God had told him that he would find a king to anoint here in Bethlehem and specifically from the house of Jesse.
• So now he turns to the father.
• 1 Samuel 16:11
  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.
• Thankfully there is one more. He is outside taking care of the sheep. The father had not cared to call him in to come and pass by before the prophet. Obviously he had thought just like Samuel and the children of Israel. He had looked on the outward and it must have seemed that surely any of the first seven brothers would have been chosen before him! Surely he wouldn’t have to go to all the trouble to have his youngest son come to the sacrifice.

1 Samuel 16:12
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

• As soon as David came in, God spoke to Samuel and told him that he was the one.
• We’re not sure why David was not thought of. The Bible describes him as of a beautiful countenance and good looking. Maybe it was because he was the youngest in the family so surely his brothers that were older would be chosen before him. Or someone had to stay home to take care of the sheep and so it just fell to the youngest.
• In the olden times, the birthright fell to the oldest. So it was natural to have the youngest be the least prominent in the whole family. Especially if there were 7 other brothers ahead of you.
• Nonetheless, he was called in right at the end at the request of Samuel the prophet.

1 Samuel 16:13
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

• So David was anointed to be king immediately right there in the midst of his brothers and family. God had not only chosen that was of beautiful countenance, but that his character was different.

What do we know about David?

• 1 Samuel 13:14
  But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.
• He was a man after God’s own heart. It’s not that God simply chose him. But it can be read in such a way that the man that God would choose was very much in heart and character like God Himself. David definitely was not perfect, but his character was the most like God’s.

What are some important lessons that we can learn from this story about the anointing of David as king? Lesson number 1:

• 1 Samuel 16:19
  Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
• David was a shepherd boy. He took care of the sheep in his father’s house. Yet it was from this obscurity tending the flocks of sheep that God could shape his character to be like Christ’s.
• We have many people in the Bible that would come from humble beginnings to be exalted to be great leaders for God or even for the world.
• Exodus 3:1
  Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
  • Moses took care of sheep for forty years. He had to unlearn everything that he had learnt from Egypt and only then God could use him.
• Genesis 39:1, 20
  1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 20 And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.
  • Joseph was sold as a slave in Egypt and eventually he would be put in prison because of a false accusation. But it was here that he learnt how to be a manager and how to lead. And eventually he would be promoted to prime minister of Egypt.
• It is in the small things of life that our characters are shaped. It is in the insignificant moments which others don’t see that God sees whether we are faithful and whether He can trust us with greater things or not.

No matter how small or insignificant we think we are, God looks at the heart.

• David was the youngest. He wasn’t even called to the feast and sacrifice. Yet God had chosen him, and only him, to be the next king of Israel.
• God doesn’t look for the most talented or the most handsome or beautiful. That is the worlds way of working. God looks inside at the character.
• Matthew 13:31-32
  31 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
  • Even though the mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds, it grows to one of the biggest trees.
• When Jesus fed the five thousand, there was a little boy that was willing to give to Jesus what he had.
  • John 6:9
    There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?
  • Andrew could not believe that it would amount to anything. But because this boy was willing to sacrifice his whole lunch for Jesus, He made it into one of the greatest miracles recorded in the gospels.
• God uses the small and insignificant because when surrendered to God, He can use it as a great power for good in this world.

Lesson number 2:

• 1 Samuel 16:13
  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
• When Samuel anointed David with oil, the Holy Spirit came upon him.
• Why is it so important to receive the Holy Spirit?
• 1 Peter 1:2
  Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
  • It is the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us and separates us to the work that God has assigned to us.
• Acts 1:8
  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you…
  • It is the Holy Spirit that gives us power to will and to do and work for God.
• Exodus 31:3
  And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.
  • It is the Holy Spirit that gives us wisdom and understanding and knowledge.
• When God anoints us and sets us apart for a certain work, He doesn’t call us because we are talented or someone special. It is God that empowers us and qualifies us for the work. And it is through the Holy Spirit that God does this.
• Remember, David was just a young boy when Samuel anointed him to be king. He was just tending the flock. What a shock it must have been to just come into the house and being immediately anointed and prayed over to be the next king of Israel. David must have felt inadequate.
• But God, through His Spirit, gave the assurance to David that He would be with Him and help him.

And the last lesson:

• God’s timing is perfect.
• Even though God anoints David to be king through Samuel, he does not immediately take the throne. He is anointed, but Saul still sits as king of Israel.
• David waits many years and through many trials before God opens the way for him to actually take the throne and rule as king of Israel.
• David even cried out:
  • Psalms 13:1
    How long wilt thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me?
  • He was wondering how long he would have to run as a fugitive or how long before his anointing as king came to fruition.
• Sometimes it is easy to be impatient with delay. God’s ways are not our ways.
  • Isaiah 55:9
    For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
• We need faith, trust and patience in God’s perfect timing. Especially we live in an impatient culture now. We want things done now, right away. We want our food fast. Everything is at our fingertips with our phones. We can get answers right away by just using Google.
• Let us learn to trust God, even though our prayers may not be answered for years. Even though it makes no sense. God still has His timing and His perfect plan for us. It will take faith to see His plan fulfilled in our lives.

Praise God that He looks on our hearts and not on the outward appearances. God sees not as human eyes do. He doesn’t judge us by how we look, but he cares about our inward characters. Even though we may be insignificant in the eyes of others, God sees differently.

And when God calls us, He not only calls but also empowers us for a great work. But often that call requires patience, trust and faith in Him who called.

God ways truly are not our ways. But we can have assurance in God and in His word:

1 Thessalonians 5:24
Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.