A Study in the Life of David: 1 Samuel 16:14-23

What did you want to be when you grew up?

What do you think David wanted to be when we grew up?

In his book, The Principle of the Path, Andy Stanley explains:

“Direction- not intention- determines our destination.”

“The direction you are currently traveling- relationally, financially, spiritually, and the list goes on and on- will determine where you end up in each of those respective arenas.”

Life is not a series of unrelated events. Every decision affects the next decision. The direction we take will determine where we go. If we follow God’s direction, things will go well, if we follow the worlds direction, life will be difficult.

The direction of David’s life changed when Samuel came to his house to anoint him as king over Israel. But when David was born, the idea of him amounting to more than a shepherd was slight. As the youngest child in the family, he was the last thought in the minds of his parents or family.

In a patriarchal society, the family focused on the father and the oldest son. While the other brothers had their place, it should have been Eliab who was the shining star of the family. All of this changed when the prophet Samuel came for a visit.

The town of Bethlehem was shocked when Samuel came to its gates. What does the prophet want with our little town, they had to wonder. Samuel went to the home of Jesse. He did not tell them he was looking for the next king.

It was not until he saw the oldest son that he announced, surely this is the Lord’s anointed. God explained He looks at the inside and not the outside. Finally, David was called in, oil was poured on him and he was anointed as the next king over Israel.

How do you think this event effected David?

What do you think David did next?

Background

The moment God’s Spirit came upon David, His Spirit left Saul. Saul was distressed because he was outside of God’s will and he was plagued with a future far from God.

What types of feelings and emotions accompany being far from God?

Saul committed three acts of severe disobedience that brought him to the place of torment.

First, he made an unlawful sacrifice, doing something only reserved for priests. ()

Second, he made an irrational vow that if anyone ate any food they would die. His son ate honey and he had to backtrack on his word. (1 Samuel 14)

Third, he openly disobeyed God in his battle with the Amelekites. ()

God moved on from Saul, determining to have David become the next king of Israel. The only problem is, Saul still reigned on the throne. He still led God’s people, yet he was distressed. He called his counselors together to come up with a solution.

Their answer to Saul’s problem was to find someone who was skilled at playing music. They believed that if soothing music was played, it would calm the nerves of Saul and everything would be better.

Who they did choose to play music before Saul?

Story

Of all the people in Israel who could have been hired for the job, it just so “happened” that David was the prime candidate. He had an impressive resume, he was a talented harp player, a braver warrior, a man of war, and had good judgment.

Saul wanted David to come immediately. Obviously Saul did not know that Samuel anointed David to be the next king of Israel.

Something important to note: where was David when Saul sent for him? He was back in the field with the sheep.

Surely he could have left that job and began training for his future. It was confirmed by the prophet that he would be Israel’s king because he was God’s choice. But David understood the value of being faithful in the present, knowing God will prepare the future.

Another important note, David became Saul’s armorbearer. An armorbearer was a person who carried the leader’s shield into battle. Their sole purpose was to preserve and protect the life of the king.

Why was it important for David to become Saul’s armorbearer when he was already selected as the next king of Israel?

God knew what He was doing in allowing David to serve Saul. He taught David the lesson. In fact, the next decade of David’s life would be lesson after lesson. If David was to be an effective king, he had to learn, he could never be in authority if he did not learn to come under and submit to authority.

Before he could become a leader, he ad to first become servant, which is what he did. While he served Saul, he received front row access on how to, or how not to, lead a kingdom. He was able to observe, listen, and learn all while he played his harp for a king he loved and respected.

Finally, whenever David would play his harp, peace would come to Saul. The Spirit of God that dwelled in David was stronger than the tormenting spirit that consumed Saul.

How did David have this ability? David was consistently faithful before God. Because David was faithful in the field tending the sheep, God promoted him to play before the king in his court. God’s plan for David was to become king, but first he had to go to school and learn valuable lessons that would eventually change his life.

Application

It can be difficult to know what we want to do and not be able to do it in our timeline. David’s exemplified the principle that our “direction, not intention, determines our destination.”

What would have happened if David would have went straight to reining as king?

Why did God make David wait for a long time before his destiny was fulfilled?

The longer David waited to become king, the more his trust in God and his confidence grew. These two attributes, trust and confidence, go hand-in-hand.

As we grow closer to the Lord, we trust Him more. The more we trust Him, the more confidence we have to do what God wants us to do. If God were to give us all the confidence we need too early, we risk becoming arrogant.

David shows us how to be content in the process of becoming who God wants us to be. Be it in our marriages, in our occupation, in our families, or in our church, we have to be faithful in our present assignment before God will promote us to our next assignment.

1 Peter 5:6 NKJV

6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

What should we do when we know we are more equipped and better qualified then the person who is leading us?

How can we grow in both trust and confidence?

In the meantime, as we go from knowing our destiny to fulfilling our destiny, we must be faithful in the present and committed to the process. We must be diligent to worship the Lord and be faithful to Him, knowing He is always faithful to us.

Challenge

Let’s take time this week thanking God for where He has us in our lives.

If we are discontent or in a hurry to get to the next best thing, ask the Lord to help us be faithful in the process.

In whatever season we are in, ask the Lord to teach us all we can as He prepares us for the next.

Look for ways to trust the Lord more, knowing that growing in trust helps us grow in confidence.

Remember, direction, not intention, determines our destination.

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