1 Samuel 15:35-16:13
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Introduction
Introduction
When we last left Saul in chapter 13 last week, we saw that he had failed the test God had given him
and Samuel told him that his kingdom will not continue
and that the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart to be king
a king we get to meet this week
and this happened in the midst of crisis for Saul
when it seemed that defeat by the Philistines was inevitable
they were outmatched and the people of Israel were scattering
by failing the test of waiting for Samuel to come and make the sacrifice,
he revealed that his own heart failed to truly trust the Lord
and we see in the rest of chapter 13 and chapter 14, that the Lord miraculously delivers Israel, through the actions of Jonathan, Saul’s son
and through throwing the Philistine camp into confusion
And through this victory, we see
Saul making foolish vows and Jonathan acting wisely
Then we get a summary of what Saul does against Israel’s enemies at the end of Chapter 14
whoever he fights against, he defeats
so throughout his reign, Israel becomes increasingly unified and stable as a nation
the Lord is still helping him, and Israel is being elevated in a worldly sense as a nation
In chapter 15, Saul’s failure and rejection by the Lord as king is restated
Saul is told by Samuel to destroy the Amalekites
to finish the job that Israel had failed to do when they first entered the land 300 to 400 years prior
and so Saul is called to do what Israel was called to do then
devote everything to destruction, which includes not taking any spoil and killing the king
so Saul goes against the Amalekites and scores a great victory
but then we see his failure to follow the Lord not just in the midst of crisis as in Chapter 13
but now in the middle of victory
he spares the king and allows himself and the people to take some of the best animals as spoil
So then Samuel tells Saul, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king
and Samuel kills the Amalekite king in front of Saul and leaves
this brings us to our passage today, starting in the last verse of chapter 15 to 16:13:
35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel. 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.
There’s a phrase going around today
“I see you, I hear you”
and it’s followed by I feel you, or I love you, or I stand with you
It’s supposed to convey empathy and understanding
these are good things, we should seek to understand and empathize with one another
but to see someone or to hear them is just looking at the external
I see what you allow me to see, what you show me
I hear only what you say
Do we realize that God doesn’t have to see or hear us to understand
he knows us, not just know about us because he knows everything in some far off way
he knows us personally, he understands us better than we understand ourselves
And on top of that, he loves us
God knows us, not just now, he knows who we used to be and who we will be
he knows how we’re all going to sin tomorrow
how we’ll fail to love him, to love each other
and he still says, I know you, I love you
and it doesn’t stop there
because he knows us, and because he loves us, he provides for us
he knows what we need and he provides it
And what is that?
the right king, illustrated in our passage by David
but shown ultimately in Jesus
who knows us, loves us, who experienced all of the brokenness of the world we experience and more
and then gave himself for us to provide our way to God
our King can empathize with us better than we can empathize with one another
As we go to our passage today, let’s think about how God orchestrated all of this
how he authored history so we can have a greater understanding of him
he has to demonstrated over and over again that he knows us, that he loves us, and that he provides for us
Let’s go to our passage today
starting in verse 35:
35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
So to set things up for the rest of our passage, let’s talk about Samuel’s grief here
What does it mean?
Is this grief just directed at Saul?
as in Samuel was the one who anointed Saul, and Saul has failed
and this grief is over some attachment he feels towards Saul
lamenting over Saul’s failure as king, but kind of keeping it on a personal level
there may be some of that, but there is something much larger going on having to do not just with Saul, but with all of God’s people
remember, the people’s fate is tied to their king,
the people will only experience true life and blessing if there King leads them in following the Lord
and Saul does note do that, he is a failure
the people are now tied to someone who is unfaithful
remember, that’s ultimately how Israel and Judah’s kings are judged
and as long as this continues, the people are headed towards disaster
they are headed towards ruin
that’s bad enough
but, on top of that, the people are probably mostly unaware of this
on a worldly level, Saul has been successful
Israel is growing in terms of power, influence, security
things are going well in so many ways
it’s difficult to convince someone that they need something else
when they think all of their needs are met
one of the worst things that anyone can experience
is prosperity apart from the Lord
because it can blind us to our need for him
this is where Israel is headed right now with Saul
he is leading the people to be like all of the other nations
to be like everyone else, not who God has called them to be
Samuel is grieving not just Saul’s failure, but what it means for God’s people
Do we grieve enough, not just for those who are hurting in the world
but for all those who need Jesus, even those who don’t seem to know it
people who have completely bought into worldly ideas of life and prosperity
who are living their best life now
and are completely blind to the life that Jesus gives
Our fates are tied to our king:
is that King Jesus, or something else?
and our verse also says the Lord regretted that he made Samuel
so is God saying, I made a mistake?
but I thought God didn’t make mistakes and that he was completely in control
chapter 15 is helpful in explaining what’s going on, because just a couple of verses ago:
Samuel told Saul
29 And also the Glory of Israel will not lie or have regret, for he is not a man, that he should have regret.”
In Scripture, there are two aspects of God that are at play and portrayed at various times
God is sovereign, he is in control, he is over all, he does not change, he is transcendent, he is greater than we can fathom
that’s an aspect that is always present, and is in focus in verse 29
back to verse 35:
35 And Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.
God is also personal, and he condescends to us to interact with us on a personal level
that’s the focus here in verse 35
God is personal, he laments and grieves with us, he celebrates with us, he interacts with us
and again, it’s because he knows us, and he loves us, and he knows what or who we need
so both of these aspects are always true
God is both transcendent and personal at the same time
How? it goes back tot he first aspect
he is greater than we can fathom,
if our view of God is simple enough to where we can put him in a box and feel like we understand him completely, then our view is wrong
both of these realities are front and center in our passage today
God regrets Saul and the state of his people
but at the same time, this was part of the story to get us to David
this was the plan all along, because by giving us Saul, he is showing us our need for David
it is just another way God shows us our need for Jesus
going to verse 1:
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.”
The Lord is telling Samuel that the time for grieving is over
God is acting out of this situation
God’s people will not be left with a King that does not follow him
He has provided the right king
God didn’t find him
God made him
He will give the people who they need, even if they don’t realize yet that they need him
The center of our passage and the center of Scripture involves what God is doing
how he is acting to save his people
he is the main character in all of this
verse 2:
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.’
So Samuel recognizes
Saul and I are on the outs and I’ve told him that the kingdom is being taken from him
so if I do anything out of the ordinary, if I go anywhere that’s not on my normal route, Saul will come after me
So God gives him a cover story
the practice of sacrificing a heifer for certain sins in an area was normal and would have been above suspicion
So, God is telling Samuel, do not tell the whole truth of what your are doing if people ask
so, is God telling Samuel to sin by not being completely honest with everyone about what he is doing?
of course not
this is God’s way of protecting him
remember, the commandment is not do not lie, it is not to bear false witness against your neighbor
to say that omitting information or even lying is always a sin is an oversimplification
the Bible has several examples of people telling untruths that aren’t sin
a big example is Rahab lying to protect Israelite spies in Joshua
a question to ask is, what is the heart behind this?
Am I merely protecting myself in a selfish way by trying to cover up my own sin or someone else’s
or does it come from a place of loving God and neighbor
I do want to clarify that 99% of the time, lying is a sin
kids, you should never lie to your parents
but there is some nuance in some situations
think of all of the missionaries trying to bring the gospel to hostile cultures and countries
who have a cover story like Samuel
I’m thinking specifically of friends who served in China teaching English as a second language
that wasn’t the main reason they were there
verse 3:
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.”
So not only does this cover story help to protect Samuel
it is also a means for him to meet Jesse and his family
there are some obvious contrasts here with Chapters 9 and 10
where Saul is anointed
in that passage, Samuel is a lot more in control and in the know of what’s going on
but here, God is revealing things just one step at a time
to help demonstrate the contrast between Saul and David
we get to experience this through Samuel’s eyes
What’s also an interesting part of this cover story, is that the King is revealed in the midst of a sacrifice
just as the gospel is revealed to the world through sacrifice
just as Jesus is made known to the world, to all the nations
through his death and resurrection
Jesus is the true sacrifice for our sins
all of these sacrifices in the Old Testament aren’t really effective
they just point ahead to the sacrifice
dying for not just our failures in thought, word and deed
but the failure of our heart
a heart that, left to itself, is never pointed towards him
that we constantly choose anything but the King
God sees our hearts, he knows our hearts and the fact we fail to love him
but he chooses to love and provide for us
In our assurance passage today from Romans 5, Paul doesn’t say , that while we were doing our best, or while we were trying
he says that while we were sinners Christ died for us,
while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son
and Jesus is revealed to be King of creation in his resurrection
that all authority in heaven and earth is given to him
and because of that reality, we praise God that our fate is tied to our king
a king who loves us enough to die for us
he knows us, he loves us, he provides the way for us to experience the relationship with God we were created to experience
a relationship that we experience now
going back to Paul, how much more, now that we are reconciled, will we be saved by his life
the King is revealing himself through his people everyday
those who are trusting in him, who have turned to Jesus in faith and repentance
those who have a heart that has been born again, born from above, the result of Jesus’ work in our lives
verses 4-5:
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.
So Samuel shows up with this heifer
and the elders are concerned
it probably feels a little like being called into the principal’s office
there’s almost always something you could be in trouble for
these elders are probably all convicted of their own sin
thinking, Samuel, God’s prophet, is coming to condemn me for something
the heifer sacrifice often pointed to an unresolved murder in the area
so they might be asking, why is he here?
was someone murdered?
when we are reminded of the Lord, it might feel like there’s always sin in the way
It’s funny, and maybe it’s me reading into things
but there are people that I’ve known for years
that suddenly seemed to view or treat me a little differently when they found out I’m now a pastor
that same kind of thing can happen to any of us when people find out we follow Christ
being reminded of God’s presence, being reminded that he is there
can be a source of conviction, whether we know him or not, even if that’s not what we’re trying to do
here, though, the elders, probably including Jesse
are showing that they are taking Samuel’s presence seriously
their actions reflect a true fear of the Lord
that this town is marked by faith
so when the elders come out, Samuel tells them he comes in peace
and he tells them to set themselves apart
that’s what it means to consecrate, to set apart
to prepare for the sacrifice
and he sets apart Jesse and makes sure he brings his family
verses 6-7:
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.”
When Saul was anointed, the author of Samuel emphasized his family’s wealth, his height and how good looking he was
he’s a head taller than anyone else
he looks like a king
outwardly, he is everything the people would want in a king
so here, Samuel sees David’s oldest brother Eliab
and he judges him the same way he judged Saul
look at this guy, he looks like a king, he’s the oldest son
compared to everyone else here, he’s the one that makes the most sense
this is him
every external box was checked
physically and culturally, Eliab is the guy
and the Lord reveals in that moment
this is not him
all of those outward things don’t matter to me
I see the heart
we’re not going off of what you think, we’re going off of what I know
God has provided the king, and that king is a man after God’s own heart
We live in a world that is obsessed with what we see
we judge people by there appearance
what they look like, how they present themselves
we feel the need to prove ourselves with our actions
I need to show people who I am with what I do
and so often when we judge others this way, we are wrong
God does not judge us like that
he sees our heart, and the question is
do we love him, or not?
are we following him, or not?
are all of these external actions flowing from that, or somewhere else
and the only way to love him, to follow him, is through his king
You can have a believer and a non-believer living lives that look almost exactly the same on the outside
they could work the same job
they could engage in similar community activities
they could support the same charities
show kindness to their families and their neighbors
they might even both go to church
to the world, these people are the same
but to God, they look completely different
because God sees, that one loves me, that one really doesn’t
that one serves me out of a heart pointed to the King, pointed to Christ
that one is trusting what Christ has done
that one is serving himself
on one level, there’s a warning here for us
to examine our own hearts, to check our motives
to repent, to turn to the Lord and follow him
an action that we should be doing every day
but on the other level, there is such freedom
God knows his people
he knows those who belong to Christ
we don’t need to prove that to others for it to be true
there aren’t external boxes that we need to check for us to belong to Christ
it is a relationship of the heart and God sees your heart
he knows your heart, he knows you, past, present and future
Now, that can be scary, because we look at our past, and we fail to love him
we look at our present, and we are failing
and we look at the future, knowing we will fail
Remember God sees David’s heart in this scene
including all of his future failure
David is an adulterer, a murderer, and a bad parent
but God sees the same thing when he looks at David as when he looks at us
Jesus
Jesus is the king with the faithful past, present and future
his life was marked by perfect righteousness, by a heart that never failed in his love for the Father or for God’s people
externally, by worldly standards, Jesus is a failure
born poor, has an itinerant ministry, and dies a criminal’s death
by God’s standards, though, he is beautiful, he is perfect, and his heart never wavered
that is the King we are counted with if we just recognize it, turn to him and believe that it’s true
verses 8-10:
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.”
So all of Jesse’s sons who are present are brought to Samuel,
and none of them are who God has chosen
it is made clear that God has orchestrated all of this
David’s role in God’s story was there from the beginning
God’s not going to just pick from those who are present, he is choosing who he made for this
God didn’t audition, he didn’t scan the land looking for the next king after Saul failed
David was always God’s plan at this time
and David, Saul and all of Israel’s king are part of God’s story showing us how badly we need God to come do this for us, how badly we need Jesus
Verse 11:
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.”
So none of the sons present are who God has chosen
leading Samuel to ask: is this everybody?
And Jesse’s answer serves again to show our worldly focus on the external
there’s the youngest
this word could also mean smallest
contrasting again with Saul and Eliab’s height
the main lesson we need to take away from today is that short people are automatically more godly
not really
what Jesse is saying is, there’s the least important one, but we left him at home keeping the sheep, because we didn’t think he was important enough to be here
So here’s the great first impression contrast of Saul vs David
when we meet Saul in Chapter 9
the author tells us about his family’s wealth and his physical appearance
he’s been sent out to find his father’s lost donkeys
and the first thing Saul says in chapter 9 is basically, let’s go back
I give up, we can’t find them
here with David
we hear about how insignificant he is in his family
but also that he is keeping his father’s sheep
that even though having this sacrifice with Samuel was a big deal,
he’s doing what his father asked
and so a question from this is
who would you rather have for your King?
the one who gives up on his father’s lost donkeys
or the shepherd who is being faithful to his father’s sheep
Verse 12:
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.”
So David shows up
and the author comments that he’s handsome
so our take away from this is not
be suspicious of tall people, or attractive people
it’s that regardless of someone’s appearance
regardless of all of the information you can gather by looking at someone, by observing them
it doesn’t tell their whole story
it is not a true window into their heart
God can work through anyone
because he is the one doing the work
so when we’re put in a situation where maybe God calls us out of our comfort zone
we rest in the fact that he is working and can do anything
not in our feeble ability
sometimes, God might call us out of our comfort zone to fail at something
but we don’t know how he might use our failures or our successes to point others to him
how we are accomplishing God’s purposes
So Samuel sees the shepherd boy
and the Lord says, this is him, anoint him
verse 13:
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.
So Samuel anoints David
a few things about what this passage tells us and doesn’t tell us
when Saul is anointed, Samuel tells him plainly
God has chosen you to be king over his people
Here, Samuel does the anointing, but it’s not mentioned what, if anything, he says to them about it
he was anointed in front of his brothers
so they would recognize that this is significant in some way
that David has been set apart for something special
but they might not have any idea what that means
we don’t know what Jesse knows, or David
and in some way the author is telling us
it’s not really important what they know at this point
the important thing is to recognize that God is being intentional here
and he knows what he is doing
notice that throughout this passage, the author does not even mention David by name until the very end of the scene
the focus again, is on what God is doing in all of this
he is the one who is acting
there are many times when God leaves us in the dark over what is going on
over what he is doing
and we need to be ok with that
we live in an age obsessed with information
with answering every question
sometimes we need to ask, do I not have the answer to this, because I don’t need to know it
do I need to lean less on the false notion of security that comes with knowing things
and lean more on the real security that comes from knowing that God has a plan
that he is in control, that he always knows what he’s doing
and the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward
we get a sense of the Spirit’s permanence with David
which is contrasted with Saul, where the Spirit rushes on him at certain moments
but eventually leaves him
God will always be with his King
and he will remain with David
empowering and equipping him to lead, even when David is shown to fail at being the perfect king
when he is shown to be like us
someone who is need of the true king
and we know that because we have been given the Spirit of Christ
and Christ reigns forever, the Spirit will always be with us
empowering and equipping us to carry out God’s call on our lives
not because of anything in us
but because we have been provided with a new heart
God sees the heart, and when he looks at us, he sees Jesus
Do you know that God knows you, that he sees you better than you can see yourself?
Do you know that God loves you, that he loves you more than you can know?
And do you know that God provides everything for us in his King, in Christ?