I am so excited about this study. David is such an interesting person to challenge us in our own personal walk with Christ. People always like to ask the question at parties and dinners, "If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?" Of course I have thought about Jesus, or Queen Esther, but King David is also always on that list. How interesting it would be to have a conversation with him! David the boy, David the musician, David the fugitive, David the King, David the fallen, David the husband, David the father, David, the man after God's own heart! We may not be able to have dinner with him, but we can study his life and learn.
Question of the day: If you could have dinner with anyone who is in the bible, who would it be? (I'm sure you saw that coming!)
We start this study about half way through 1 Samuel. I would love for us to dive into the history leading up to David, but to do that we would really have to start at creation. So, we will just start where we first hear about David, and we may refer to the history as needed throughout this study.
READ: 1 Samuel 16: 1-3
Samuel Anoints David
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
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 to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
So right off we hear God asking Samuel a question and then giving him orders. What is the question? It is extremely important to note that Samuel was mourning. We are supposed to mourn. To mourn loss, disappointment, hurts. It is an important thing to do. We need to be careful to let each other mourn.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Romans 12:15
Is there something you should mourn that you haven't? Is there something that you have stuffed or ignored that is becoming a problem? If we don't mourn, but we just stuff our feelings, the loss or hurt can affect our life. Mourning is important for a time...
"a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance," Ecclesiastes 3:4
I think you could say that in this passage we see that this was not the time for Samuel to be mourning. He had already been doing that. Now was the time for him to get to work for God.
Have you ever heard God asking you how long you are going to mourn something?
Remember this is not about instructing others but listening to what God is telling you personally. To know how long and how to mourn a loss, or disappointment, or hurt is a very personal experience, but there is a time. There is a time when God wants us to move forward. There is a time when we need to stop sitting in our ick and get up and go do what He is calling us to do.
So God asks Samuel how long will you mourn and then tells him to get up get his oil and go because He has chosen someone for Samuel to anoint.
I think it is important to note that God didn't just tell Samuel to get over it but replaced the mourning with a job. He replaced it with something that required forward movement.
God doesn't want to just leave us where we are. If you have felt stuck in your grief or hurt look for how He wants you to move forward. There maybe a task or ministry He is asking you to get involved in. Maybe he wants to use your experience to serve others. Maybe what He is asking is completely unrelated, but He will ask you to do something. God wants us to move, He created us to move.
What was Samuel's response to God's command?
An excuse. A arguably legitimate fear, but an excuse non the less.
What is God calling you to do that you have been giving him excuses or reasons as to why you can't?
How did that work out for Samuel?
God had the answer. God always has the answer. If He is asking you to do something He has an answer! He will direct you and guide you and clear the way. Our fears and excuses will get in the way if we listen to them instead of trusting the One who is calling us!
READ: 1 Samuel 1:4-13
4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.”10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
God is getting reading to do something great. He is getting ready to use Samuel in a mighty way. Samuel first had to do as God was asking him.
It is great to ask God for instruction, to listen to God but most importantly we have to be willing to act. We have to do... to do what He asks.
1.We must stop mourning
2. We must let go of our excuses.
3. We must act.
4. We must not look with our eyes.
This passage that where God warns Samuel to not look on the outward appearance is perhaps the most familiar verse in this chapter. We have all heard it and memorized it. But is it possible that we have made it just about not looking at someones appearance.
If you read farther down we see that when David came David was handsome, glowing with health and fine features. So David had the looks. This isn't just about looks. What God was saying here was don't trust your opinion. You are limited by the exterior but I see it all.
No matter the situation, the challenge, the choices that we are trying to navigate, when we have God walking with us, helping us make decisions, His opinion is far better than ours. More complete because He sees more! He sees it all!
Many times in the bible, God chooses to work in ways that don't make sense to us. Why? One reason is because He sees ALL!
This was not that David didn't look as good as his brothers. He was the youngest, the youngest whose place was as a servant, to take care of sheep. He was the son, over looked by his father and not even considered good enough to be there. He wasn't an obvious choice to man. To God however who knew His heart, He was the chosen one!
Don't let self get in the way of "God's plan.
Don't let our vision limit us. Let God's telescopic view be the only one we use.
5. Samuel wasn't going to go on until God's request to have his see all the son's was complete. He stood firm. When you God has asked you to do something stand firm. Listen to Him and do what He has asked! You won't regret it! Imagine if Samuel had not been willing to wait and had not listened to God.
6. Remember that God's timing is often not understandable to us. David was anointed as King and then the Spirit of the Lord was with him. From that day forward, and He moved into the palace as King. NO! Not even close. He went back to tending his sheep.
Wait seriously. Hadn't God called him and hadn't he been chosen, and wasn't the spirit of God with him? Yep and he went back to his sheep.
What is God calling you to? Is there anything that is holding you back? Is there something you need to stop mourning and fill up your oil and head out on the road that God has called you? Are you letting your ideas get in the way of His view? If you have listened, acted, been anointed, called, chosen, and you are still taking care of the sheep, rest in knowing that there may still be a palace for you, it just isn't time yet. Trust Him to help you stop mourning, trust His plan, trust His vision, trust His timing.
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