The Anointed

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Immanuel – 5/28/23

Last week we saw the stage set for a king to rule in Israel. The elders of the land gathered around Samuel’s home – Israel’s prophet and judge – and demanded that he anoint a king for them. Samuel was immediately angered, for he understood that this was a rejection of Yahweh. From its very beginning, Adonai was King over Israel: the divine King who reigned through relational covenant rather than power and privilege.

Regarding this demand for a king, God spoke to Samuel:

“Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” -1 Samuel 8:7

Thus God allowed Saul to become the first king of Israel. And to the eyes of the Israelites, Saul was impressive. In chapter 9 we read that he came from a wealthy family, he was a head taller and more handsome than all the other people. By all human standards, he was an impressive specimen.

But it didn’t take long until King Saul began to lose his footing. In arrogance he abused his power (1 Samuel 14:24-46), treating his troops poorly. He assumed he had reason to disobey God’s command and publicly made an unlawful sacrifice (1 Samuel 13:8-15).

Then, in yet another incident (1 Samuel 15), Saul failed to obey God and destroy the spoils of war, allowing the soldiers to take them instead. Once again, Saul had rejected the word of the Lord. So, Saul prepared to make another unlawful sacrifice, vainly hoping God would find favor with him. But God was not appeased. Instead, Saul received these condemning words from Samuel:

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has also rejected you from being king.

-1 Samuel 15:22-23

Saul had only been king for about three years1, and already Yahweh had rejected his kingship. God gave the people what they wanted, and what they wanted failed. It’s remarkable that God did not immediately dissolve the possibility of a king, for the proof of its covenantal failure was now obvious to all.

No. For as we saw last week, God had been preparing Israel for a king: it was just a king of another sort.

The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people. -1 Samuel 13:14

God wanted a man that loved Him, whose passions were in line with His own, not a man that embodied the heart of a sinful nation.

This did not mean that Saul’s throne was immediately taken. In fact, Saul would continue to reign for the rest of his life, until he died in battle some 13 years later. God’s rejection would mean that He no longer supported Saul. It meant Saul’s sons would not inherit the throne. When God chose another king, Saul was just a “lame duck” ruler.

Purpose

1. Follow Samuel’s journey to God’s anointed.

2. Look through the shadows to see God’s Anointed.

Read vs 1

The Hope of a King

Chapter 15 ended with Samuel telling Saul that God had rejected him. Samuel then returns home and grieves. The Hebrew language is the same sort of language as grieving the death of a loved one: deep, mournful grief.

Remember, Samuel was quite upset that Israel demanded a human king. His was the repeating voice of rebuke after Saul’s covenantal blunders. So why in the world was he grieving the Lord’s rejection of Saul?

Though the text does not make it entirely clear, it is likely linked to something Samuel had spoken to Israel some years earlier.

If you will fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well. But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord…then the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king.

-1 Samuel 12:14-15

Now that Israel had a king, one man represented the entire nation. One man’s covenantal faithfulness now had national consequences. Saul was rejected because he had first rejected God. I think Samuel was so grieved because Saul’s rejection should have meant Israel’s rejection: as goes the king, so goes the nation.

Like a figurehead of his own sort, Samuel’s grief was the grief of a nation, grieving a king with no promise and a country with no apparent royal future. Sooner or later, the Canaanite tide would rise and sweep God’s chosen people forever away.

But despite the king’s failures, despite the fact that Saul had stirred God’s anger, despite God’s warning that when this day comes He would not listen (1 Samuel 8:18), still through them all God remains true to the covenant: He remembers His promises to Abraham. God’s patience and mercy abounds. It is like the future King of Israel would one day say:

“Blessed are you when you weep now, for you shall laugh.”

-Matthew 6:21

In the midst of Samuel’s grave sorrow, God springs hope to life. A horn filled with oil only meant one thing: a king needed to be anointed.

And all the following words spoken by God establish an immediate contrast.

First, Saul was the people’s choice. This new king would be God’s choice. Second, Saul was the fulfillment of the people’s pragmatism. The new king would be the fulfillment of prophecy.

The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; He will give strength to His king and exalt the horn of His anointed. -1 Samuel 2:10

The third contrast – and this will become more apparent as we go – Saul came from a wealthy and powerful family; the family of Jesse was a near unknown quantity. Fourth, Bethlehem was located outside of anything significant in Israel at the time.

Mizpah was where Israel repeatedly gathered to hear from the Lord and worship. The Ark of the Covenant was in Kiriath-jearim. Samuel lived in Ramah. Saul set up his throne in Gibeah. Up to this point, Saul led Israel into battle north of Jerusalem: from the hills west of Bethel to the Jordan Valley. Virtually all of Israel’s activities had been north of Jerusalem. Bethlehem was an obscure, insignificant village.

So when God said Samuel was to find Jesse the Bethlehemite, that one of Jesse’s sons was God’s chosen king, I wonder what Samuel knew. Did Samuel know that Jesse was the grandson of Boaz and Ruth (Ruth 4:17) – that Jesse was at least a quarter Moabite? Samuel would have known that Bethlehem belonged to the tribe of Judah. Did Samuel remember the ancient prophetic words of Jacob, that a scepter – a king – would come from Judah (Genesis 49:10)?

It’s unclear. But what is clear is that Samuel’s first reaction, to seeking Jesse the Bethlehemite, is one of fear.

Read vs 2-3

Tensions

Saul is fully aware that Yahweh has rejected him as king. Samuel knows that if Saul catches wind he’s headed down to Bethlehem, with a horn full of anointing oil, his life will be at risk. Saul might be rejected, but he is still king. Anointing someone else as king would certainly be perceived as an act of treason.

So, to avoid this kind of unwanted attention, Yahweh offers a prudent solution: he is to offer a sacrifice. In other words, Samuel is to lead the Bethlehemites in worship; making sure that Jesse gets an invitation to the ceremony. Somehow during the ceremony of sacrifice, God would reveal which of Jesse’s sons was to be king of Israel.

Read vs 4-5

Samuel obediently traveled the 10 miles, or so, from his home in Ramah to Bethlehem. As is standard in the ancient world, the elders sit in the courtyard just inside of the city gates. Likely word had already arrived that Samuel, God’s foremost prophet on earth, was headed their way; and they are terrified of his arrival.

Commentator Walter Brueggemann perfectly articulates why the elders fear Samuel.

“Surely this is not trembling before the prophetic office but because of political risk. They know that Samuel is a kingmaker and king breaker. Whenever the high officials of the court come to the village, there can be only trouble and risk. Such officials never come to give but always to take. Either Samuel is Saul’s man, come to forage in the unclaimed south, or he is not Saul’s man, which puts them at risk with Saul. The elders assume themselves to be in a no-win situation…Only the most naïve could imagine this great one from the north came south for a mere sacrifice.”2

The elders of Bethlehem fear the political consequences of Samuel’s presence.

But Samuel assures the elders of Bethlehem that he has come in peace and then appoints a time for the sacrifice. Once fears were assuaged, this would have been the most important and exciting event in Bethlehem’s living memory. For as far as the Biblical account goes, no prophet or king or judge has been to Bethlehem for over 100 years.

While they await the ceremony, the elders are to consecrate themselves. Meanwhile, Samuel tracks down Jesse and personally consecrates Jesse and his sons. It’s an important detail because it indicates Jesse is not one of Bethlehem’s elders. He is not powerful, he is not wealthy, he is not a man of influence. He’s just a hardworking, faithful father.

Samuel takes every step to make sure Jesse and his sons come to the sacrifice.

Read vs 6-7

When the sons of Jesse pass before Samuel, it is clearly not during the sacrificial ceremony. Additionally, since he alone knew he was about to anoint a new king over Israel, the last thing Samuel would want was publicity. It’s quite likely that after the ceremony’s main event, Samuel pulled Jesse and sons aside somewhere private.

Jesse’s oldest, Eliab, was the obvious choice. We can deduce from what God says in verse 7, that Eliab was both tall and handsome. He impressed the prophet.

Then God speaks the most profound statement in the entire passage. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, For the Lord sees not as a man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Not only are these words a significant revelation about God’s omniscience, but they are also spoken as a sharp rebuke to the prophet.

The Heart

For Samuel is drawn to Eliab for the exact same attributes that had excited the people about Saul: height and handsomeness. If these are the full measure of a man, they fall short in the kingdom of God. God will not choose His king based upon the features of a body.

How foolish when the people – especially the people of God – valuate others or themselves based upon the shape of a body, physical appearances, or other such superficial qualities. Oh, if only each one of us received Samuel’s rebuke as our own!

Clearly, foremost prophet though he is, Samuel’s understanding of God is colored by his own sinfulness. Does not Samuel remember the words of God that passed between his own lips?

The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over His people. -1 Samuel 13:14

This is a profound insight about God! If Yahweh will choose a man after His own heart, then He must be able to see into the deep recesses of the human soul, searching every hidden corner, knowing each past desire, all future thoughts. Such do His eyes exhaustively penetrate every human heart.

The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.

-Proverbs 20:27

Many things can be hidden from the eyes of men, but before God there is no such thing as private.

And what is it that God seeks in the hearts of people? To see if His law is written there.

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

-Deuteronomy 6:5-6

God seeks human hearts to see if His law of love is written there.

Even though Eliab came from a godly family, his heart betrays him. He is not God’s man. So Jesse parades more sons before Samuel: six more sons. All their hearts fall short before the all-seeing eye of God. It is not that these are wicked sons. Not at all. It is just that their hearts cannot ascend to the incredibly high standard to which God holds the king. None of the seven sons are chosen by Yahweh.

But there is an eighth.

Read vs 11

The Shepherd Boy

In Hebrew society, the youngest son was the least significant. It’s clearly demonstrated here, that while the older sons get to enjoy the incredible honor of worshiping with God’s prophet, the youngest boy was not invited. His lot was the pasture, watching over the sheep.

For God’s Anointed, how significant that He is first a shepherd! How significant that He knows how to care for His sheep!

Samuel wants to see him, even if it took a long while to track him down; and they will not relax until he arrives.

Read vs 12

Here is a strong irony. When this eighth son arrives, he is immediately described by how he looks: a reddish and strong appearance, beautiful eyes, handsome. Evidently, good looks ran in Jesse’s family.

But even though this be true, the boy’s looks have nothing to do with God’s choice. This boy is the man after God’s own heart.

The word of the Lord comes to Samuel, “Anoint him, for this is he.”

Read vs 13

The youngest brother is anointed in the midst of his brothers. No one else except Jesse and Samuel appear to be present. How strange this must have been to them all: this young shepherd boy is to be the high king of Israel.

Notice that God is the only one speaking. The boy arrives and Samuel is silent, he simply pours the anointing oil upon the boy’s head. Jesse and the sons are silent, perhaps dumbfounded by the whole scene. The boy is silent, likely reeling as these events unfold.

But then something happens that changes the course of all human history. The Spirit of God rushed upon the boy; and at long last we finally learn the name of God’s chosen king: David.

When Saul was anointed king, the Spirit of God also rushed upon him. But things are different here. The Spirit rushed upon Saul despite the circumstances, despite the pragmatic nature of his kingship, despite the condition of Saul’s heart. But when God rejected Saul, the Holy Spirit was taken away from him. The Spirit rushed upon David because God has chosen David. God had seen David’s heart, and wanted him. The Spirit rested upon David for his entire life.

When the Spirit of God rushes upon David, it’s not in the way that we know today. This is not an indwelling, where the Spirit resides within a person. This is a rushing upon, or as we see described elsewhere in Scripture, a resting upon. Think of this Old Testament sense as more like a life-giving jacket: it can be removed and replaced. In the New Testament it is a heart transplant: once given, the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot be removed.

Though we learn who God’s chosen king is, David, this narrative gushes with revelation of who God is. Here are just three divine revelations:

1. He takes the weak and marginalized and delights to choose them and make them mighty.

2. He searches the hearts of men and women for those who love Him.

3. Finally, Yahweh gives His Holy Spirit to those whom He chooses.

See in each one of these the wonders of God’s election. Though we are unable to plumb the depths of mystery surrounding election, how incredibly deep God allows us to go! And God’s Anointed King is the one through which these glories are revealed.

We might be tempted to lower our gaze and think, how wonderful am I that God has chosen me, that I am counted as one of the elect. But how foolish that would be. The presumption of Saul is in your heart.

Think instead of how this whole narrative is building tension, forcing you to look elsewhere, making you anticipate another. Saul has been rejected. God’s prophet mourns. But there is another king, a chosen king. God sends Samuel to an obscure place in search of this king. He must navigate political danger and tension. Samuel thinks he has found the king, but it is not Eliab; nor is it the six others he surveys. There is another. They must wait. Finally, after 411 words, the king is named: David.

And even here, there is tension. For David is just a type, a foreshadowing. He is God’s chosen king, but He is not the chosen King for which all history awaits. David only points to this far greater Anointed One: the Son of David, the Messiah, the Christ.

Behold, we can see Jesus through the shadows of our passage through a series of similarities, contrasts, and escalations.

First, similarities:

David was of the tribe of Judah, from Bethlehem. So was Jesus.

David was an outsider – as was Jesus.

Next, contrasts:

David was attractive. Isaiah 53:2 informs us that Jesus had no form or majesty that we should look at Him.

David was anointed with the kingmaker’s oil to signal he was king. A random woman anointed Jesus with oil; and Jesus said it signaled His death (Matthew 26:6-13).

Finally, a few escalations:

David’s family was insignificant. Jesus’ family was despised and slandered by the strange circumstances of a virgin birth.

David was a shepherd of sheep. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of the Church.

David was God’s chosen. Of Jesus, Yahweh spoke,

“This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to Him!” -Luke 9:35

David was the son of Jesse; Jesus the Son of God.

The Spirit rushed upon David. The Spirit rushes from Jesus to indwell all who believe!

No, we must not think ourselves special, that God has chosen us. Rather, let us rejoice in God’s anointed king, and marvel that this king would love wretches like us!

Here in 1 Samuel 16 we have learned the name of God’s chosen king: David. And here in 1 Samuel 16, the glory of the Anointed One is just beginning to break through the shadows.

You see, we are a people who are called to look beyond what is seen. We look beyond the shadows of David to see Jesus. Likewise, we look beyond our bodies, our station in life, to see new creations in Christ, recipients of the abiding Holy Spirit from Christ.

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. -2 Corinthians 5:16-17

Sitting next to you, if they indeed have believed, are living, breathing, images of the awesome Anointed King!

Next week we will consider a giant problem. None of us can face the fact that our hearts are filled with sin and fail the test of faith. And God’s omniscient eyes know. We need someone to intervene. And by God’s grace, He provided an unexpected deliverer.

1Saul. The Biblical Timeline. https://www.thebilicaltimeline.org/saul/

2Brueggemann, W. (1990). First and Second Samuel. Pg 121. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.