The Lord’s Anointed One
Notes
Transcript
The Lord’s Anointed One
Introduction
We are in the second Sunday of what is known as After Pentecost season, but that sounds funny doesn’t it? This is the longest season but months as it goes all the way through till Advent which starts November 28. This season is also known as the common or ordinary time as well. Unlike other season in the Christian calendar, the ordinary time does not have a common theme or event that it centers around. The common period takes a lot of familiar passages and revisits them every so often. Today’s passage is a familiar story that is worth hearing every so often to remind you of how God chooses special ones. Listen to the story of David’s anointing to become king of Israel after Saul is rejected by God. Listen now to 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.
35 Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of 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 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name 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 He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified 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 now before the Lord.”
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 does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. 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 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
A few points to raise about this story. The first point is Saul being rejected by God and Samuel. Saul was the tall handsome fellow who stood much taller than others. Saul had a fierceness within him that commanded the people to gather in an army and defeat their enemies that had plagued them for years. Yet after being chosen, Saul made some poor choices as their king and in the end, he was rejected for failing to be obedient to God. Saul’s rejection here should make us all pause. When you are chosen, it is for God’s purpose and that is the only purpose. It is easy to become conflicted when in a leadership role or set apart as special and you start to listen to others influence. This can lead you away from God’s purpose in your calling. Saul’s story is a warning to stay focused on God and listening to God’s instructions for your life and purpose. Continue to find purpose and direction from God.
The second point to raise on this story is how Samuel went about choosing another king of Israel. In verse 16:1 - God tells Samuel its time to move on from Saul, though technically Saul is still the king. God has other plans and Samuel is to carry those out or set those in motion. While the anointing of Saul was not going against any existing king, anointing another king while Saul was still king was a prickly situation. Samuel himself had been the one to anoint Saul and now God instructed Samuel to anoint someone else.
Moving on from one plan to another can be scary or difficult to see as possible. Often times in our lives, we have things moving in a certain direction, or routines that we carry out that are just part of who we are. We are good with life and the way it is going. Yet, God may ask you to change that plan you have or that routine. Change always carries risk. Maybe it will be something easy to change and you won’t miss it. Maybe what you are asked to do now feels like the next step in your life that you are excited over.
Perhaps though what God has asked you to do is not so easy or goes against other people in your life. God had told Samuel to go anoint someone else as king. Samuel had poured forth great effort in building up and making Saul king and now God has told him to abandon that plan and effort. Samuel had been told by God to give up on Saul as king. In the same way you may be told by God to give up people in your life that you have tried hard to change or be there for. This is not so easy and can seem like the opposite of what you should do, right?
You have to read the whole story of Saul and David to understand how much more was at work there. We sometimes only have part of the story and we don’t know God’s full plan. In our passage today, David is a young boy who is anointed to be king of Israel but it is several years later that this happens. Saul and David spend years together and unfortunately, Saul’s bad behavior towards David the latter half, influences David on how to be a good king to all. God takes both the good and the bad and uses all of David’s life and Saul’s life to bring about Israel’s greatest king. David is still considered to be Israel’s greatest king.
The last point I wanted to raise up in the contrast between how Saul was chosen, being the tall handsome, kingly looking and acting person. David was the opposite of this. He was a simple small boy, a sheepherder from a common family, not a rich family like Saul. In some ways I think God had known this all along even when he called Saul out to be king. God used every bit of both Saul, Samuel, and David’s callings to carve this important piece of Israel’s history.
We too can be chosen for carving out an important part of history. The two things to learn from Saul and David’s calling is that it is God who chooses and not Samuel. The way we look at and see people is different from the way God sees and knows people. In some ways you could say God looks at and sees all of your past, present, and future at the same time. Another way of saying it is that while God can see all of your mistakes, these are not outweighed by all of the good you can do and the purpose you can fulfill with God’s direction. God is the best judge of character when it comes to choosing and anointing people for service.
Today, ask God if you don’t know what purpose you serve. When asking God, be prepared to listen and respond. Do not look at yourself and thinking you can’t serve any purpose of God. Simply step forward into whatever calling God lays on your heart. Spend time in the word which helps to confirm your calling. Spend time in prayer seeking guidance. Spend time in worship praising God.