David - A Man After God's Own Heart

Grace in the Old Testament - David: A Man After God's Own Heart 1 Samuel 16 | February 11, 2024 It's the final week in our sermon series on God's grace in the Old Testament. This morning we'll be in the book of 1 Samuel, chapter 16, and we'll be looking at the example of God's grace with David. I think we've done a good job in this series defining grace and what that means, but in case we have not, I want to share this illustration that I've come across multiple times this week: "an entire police force ... mobilized to catch a car thief who had stolen an old, beat-up Volkswagen bug. They even broadcast radio bulletins to find this suspect. These great efforts were made to catch this thief because the owner of the car informed the authorities that there was a box of crackers in the front seat that he had laced with rat-poison to kill some rodents in his house. So the police desperately searched for the man, not to lock him up, but to save his life. And that's how the grace of God operates." We see this in the life of David. David's story begins here in 1 Samuel, but we read about his life in 1-2 Samuel, 1 Kings and 1 Chronicles. Of course, he is also credited with 73 of the 150 Psalms. As we alluded to last week, Israel became a monarchy. We specifically see, in 1 Samuel 8, the call of the people for a king, and despite the warnings from God through the prophet Samuel, they still begged for a king. What's really telling is what is said in 1 Samuel 8:5 where the elders go to Samuel and said: "BEHOLD, YOU ARE OLD AND YOUR SONS DO NOT WALK IN YOUR WAYS. NOW APPOINT FOR US A KING TO JUDGE US LIKE ALL THE NATIONS." If you were here last week, you may remember that has called Israel to be a nation set apart, not like the other nations. In 1 Samuel 9-10, Saul is selected to be the king, then in chapter 13, Saul makes an unlawful sacrifice, and God reveals through Samuel, that He desired to put a man after God's heart over His people. Finally, in chapter 15, we see the Lord's rejection of Saul and Samuel's grieving over this, bringing us to our passage this morning from 1 Samuel 16. Please follow along as I read: 1 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. 14 NOW THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD DEPARTED FROM SAUL, AND A HARMFUL SPIRIT FROM THE LORD TORMENTED HIM. 15 AND SAUL'S SERVANTS SAID TO HIM, "BEHOLD NOW, A HARMFUL SPIRIT FROM GOD IS TORMENTING YOU. 16 LET OUR LORD NOW COMMAND YOUR SERVANTS WHO ARE BEFORE YOU TO SEEK OUT A MAN WHO IS SKILLFUL IN PLAYING THE LYRE, AND WHEN THE HARMFUL SPIRIT FROM GOD IS UPON YOU, HE WILL PLAY IT, AND YOU WILL BE WELL." 17 SO SAUL SAID TO HIS SERVANTS, "PROVIDE FOR ME A MAN WHO CAN PLAY WELL AND BRING HIM TO ME." 18 ONE OF THE YOUNG MEN ANSWERED, "BEHOLD, I HAVE SEEN A SON OF JESSE THE BETHLEHEMITE, WHO IS SKILLFUL IN PLAYING, A MAN OF VALOR, A MAN OF WAR, PRUDENT IN SPEECH, AND A MAN OF GOOD PRESENCE, AND THE LORD IS WITH HIM." 19 THEREFORE SAUL SENT MESSENGERS TO JESSE AND SAID, "SEND ME DAVID YOUR SON, WHO IS WITH THE SHEEP." 20 AND JESSE TOOK A DONKEY LADEN WITH BREAD AND A SKIN OF WINE AND A YOUNG GOAT AND SENT THEM BY DAVID HIS SON TO SAUL. 21 AND DAVID CAME TO SAUL AND ENTERED HIS SERVICE. AND SAUL LOVED HIM GREATLY, AND HE BECAME HIS ARMOR-BEARER. 22 AND SAUL SENT TO JESSE, SAYING, "LET DAVID REMAIN IN MY SERVICE, FOR HE HAS FOUND FAVOR IN MY SIGHT." 23 AND WHENEVER THE HARMFUL SPIRIT FROM GOD WAS UPON SAUL, DAVID TOOK THE LYRE AND PLAYED IT WITH HIS HAND. SO SAUL WAS REFRESHED AND WAS WELL, AND THE HARMFUL SPIRIT DEPARTED FROM HIM. The first thing we see in this passage is Samuel's concern over Saul, and God's response. This is so instructive for us. Samuel already knew that God was going to choose someone else, as stated back in 1 Samuel 13:14, where Samuel tells Saul: BUT NOW YOUR KINGDOM SHALL NOT CONTINUE. THE LORD HAS SOUGHT OUT A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART, AND THE LORD HAS COMMANDED HIM TO BE PRINCE OVER HIS PEOPLE, BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT KEPT WHAT THE LORD COMMANDED YOU. So, here, in our passage, the Lord is rebuking Samuel for his grieving. He doesn't stop there, however, rather He reveals to Samuel that He already has someone in mind. The lesson for us from the opening verses of our text is twofold: * Fear no man. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10:28: AND DO NOT FEAR THOSE WHO KILL THE BODY BUT CANNOT KILL THE SOUL. RATHER FEAR HIM WHO CAN DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL. The Lord was reminding Samuel not to fear Saul. The second lesson feeds off of this, namely that: * The Lord will see His work to completion. You see, Samuel was afraid, and in his fear he didn't even want to send for Jesse, as directed by the Lord. But what did Paul say in Philippians 1:6? AND I AM SURE OF THIS, THAT HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN YOU WILL BRING IT TO COMPLETION AT THE DAY OF JESUS CHRIST. Finally, notice that David was chosen and as such given the designation of "a man after God's own heart." This was before David did anything, it was a designation from God before any of his great works, or even before his great sin. The reason for this is found in our main idea for the morning: My heart is changed because of God's grace. So, the natural question is: HOW DO I RESPOND TO A CHANGED HEART? I've identified at least four things from the text that help answer that question. First: * Trust God's process (vv.1-5) o Think about the process we've seen as we've studied God's grace from the Old Testament, and even when we go back to last year's series in Exodus: * God called the nation of Israel to be a holy nation. * Created the Law to rule over them. * You see, the original design from the Garden to the Law was a Theocracy, where the government of the land was governed by God's Law and His representatives. Instead, the people deserted Him, abandoned Him, and went after other gods. Because of this, which we saw last week, He ... * Sent judges to save them. Then, when that wasn't enough, as we saw earlier, God allowed them to ... * ... appoint kings to rule over them. As the nation continued this cycle that we were introduced to last week, He also ... * ... sent prophets to warn them, then finally, as all of the prophets looked forward to, God ... * ... sent Jesus, the Promised One, the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Savior of the World, to rescue us. o You see, this is the progression that we see from the Garden to present. And today, we get to look forward to the climax of God's plan in the Second Coming and in the ushering in of the New Heaven and the New Earth. o But ... David, the one who is called at a young age to be king, will fall, he will fail. Famously, the Scriptures record two major sins: * His adultery with Bathsheba, which led to the killing of her husband. That account is found in 2 Samuel 11. * The second was the census that David took in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. * On the surface, this does not seem to warrant a major sin, but it appears as though there was a heart issue that led David to taking the census. * That heart issue? Pride. David seemed to have placed his faith in his large army, instead of the Lord in that moment. o In these parallel accounts (2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21), you will see that God allowed David to go ahead with his desire, and we also see that Satan played a role in that desire. o Recall what James says about the origins of temptation. He says in James 1:14: BUT EACH PERSON IS TEMPTED WHEN HE IS LURED AND ENTICED BY HIS OWN DESIRE. o Which means we must guard our hearts. o It comes back to trusting in God's process, that will come with testing, and many failures. But, as we look forward to the promises of the Lord's return, we must trust God along the way. o The next response to God's grace is ... * Don't look at the outward appearance (vv.6-12) o We do this too. o Just a couple of weeks ago, we looked at the example of Rahab. And I introduced you to two unlikely recipients of God's grace. o What they look like doesn't disqualify them from God's kingdom. o When we look at the account here, Jesse was told to bring his sons for God to choose the king. * However, out of his 8 sons, he left David behind. * One commentator estimated that David was likely 10-15 years old at the time of him being anointed as king. * All of David's brothers, of course, were bigger, stronger, and seemingly better looking that David, but God says something wonderful in verse 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." * Being an not so good looking pastor, I'm so pleased to read this! o All joking aside, what the Lord is saying here, is that rich or poor, tall or short, good looking or otherwise, light skinned or dark skinned ... none of that matter to the Lord. Why? o Because God looks at the heart of man. * Of course, the heart of the natural man is wicked, but God knows whose heart will be changed through faith, by grace. o In the modern culture, we can be very influenced by the outward appearance of man. * In fact, many references in Daniel and Revelation show that the Antichrist will be a very charismatic person, one full of wisdom, intelligence, power, politically savvy and a great military leader. o Even in modern churches, you see many pastors who are more interested in their outward appearance, than in rightly dividing the Word of God o God is the only one who can change our hearts, and it is not based on our appearance, our wealth, or any other worldly measure. o When we look at others as God's creation, as God's image bearers, we too can look at the heart of man, and love them enough to share Jesus with them. o Next, we must ... * Serve the Lord until the appointed time (vv. 13-23) o David was not ready to be the king yet, so he patiently waited for his time. o How did he do that? * Humbly. * By being a servant. * But maybe one of the most telling things we see here is from verse 13 which reads: 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. o Did you catch that? The Spirit will lead His chosen and appointed ones. o In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit was very active, but as we see here in verses 13-14, the Spirit came upon David, and left Saul, seemingly at the same time. o We see that in other people too, like Samson. o But when Jesus was here, before He departed, He promised His disciples the Holy Spirit, and His permanent dwelling in His followers. o He guides us. He reminds us of His Word. He helps us pray the right Words. He interprets Scripture for us. o But, that only happens with a renewed heart. o There's one last thing. Very important. * I must repent from my sin. o I know, another message talking about repentance. o We noted earlier David's sin, but David turned from that sin, which is why Luke even affirmed David as a man after God's own heart in Acts 13. o Let's quickly take a look at Psalm 51:1-4: 1 HAVE MERCY ON ME, O GOD, ACCORDING TO YOUR STEADFAST LOVE; ACCORDING TO YOUR ABUNDANT MERCY BLOT OUT MY TRANSGRESSIONS. 2 WASH ME THOROUGHLY FROM MY INIQUITY, AND CLEANSE ME FROM MY SIN! 3 FOR I KNOW MY TRANSGRESSIONS, AND MY SIN IS EVER BEFORE ME.4 AGAINST YOU, YOU ONLY, HAVE I SINNED AND DONE WHAT IS EVIL IN YOUR SIGHT, SO THAT YOU MAY BE JUSTIFIED IN YOUR WORDS AND BLAMELESS IN YOUR JUDGMENT. o David confessed and repented of his sin. o Today, many are more concerned about hurting each other's feelings, and even though David's sin hurt others, his heart was on the fact that he sinned against God. o The motivation for how we treat others should always come back to honoring God. o A changed heart causes us to repent. And, as we said earlier: My heart is changed because of God's grace. God's grace is what caused God to be so gracious to a man like David. Like you. Like me. When we opened this series, we defined grace simply as "God's unmerited favor." We've seen through the examples of Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Joseph, Rahab, the nation of Israel, and now David, that God's grace is bigger than our sin. We've also seen that that grace must be extended to others. We don't have time to go there, but a great example of this in David's life is found in 2 Samuel 9, when David extends grace to his friend Jonathan's son. I want to close with a quote from CS Lewis: "I never had the experience of looking for God. It was the other way round: He was the hunter (or so it seemed to me) and I was the deer. He stalked me ... took unerring aim, and fired. And I am very thankful that this is how the first (conscious) meeting occurred. It forearms one against subsequent fears that the whole thing was only wish fulfillment. Something one didn't wish for can hardly be that." If you are this morning, and you have not placed your faith in Jesus. God is calling you today. If you are here this morning, and you need to repent. God is calling you today. If you are here this morning, and you need to extend God's grace to others. God is calling you today. How will you respond? Let's pray. 2