Life Of David - Lesson 4

Setting The Stage - Part 4

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Delving into David

This week we'll finish Setting the Stage for our study of David, and actually start getting into the meat of David's story... we pick up at Chapter 15, the final chapter that is focused primarily on Saul.

Before we turn to chapter 15 I want to quickly clear up something that wasn't clear to me & probably wasn't clear to you as well.

(1 Samuel 1:1) Samuel's father Elkanah is called an Ephriamite; however, the NIV Study Notes indicate he is probably a Levite of the Koathite clans that had been allotted towns in Ephriam. (Joshua 21:20-21; 1 Chronicles 6:16, 22-23, 28; 1 Samuel 8:2) Though the genealogy in Chronicles isn't crystal clear the coincidence would be pretty amazing if this were a different Samuel.  So though Samuel wasn't necessarily assigned duties of a priest, he was at least of the priestly line.

1 Samuel 15: War against the Amalekites.

(1-9) God has given the Amalekites into Saul's hands, all He asks for is obedience to His commands.  Did Saul do as God Commanded?

• No, he spared King Agag & some of the best of the cattle & sheep - he was supposed to destroy all the people & all the cattle & sheep.

(10-13) God is grieved, Samuel is so troubled that he is up all night crying out to the Lord.  What is Saul doing?

• Building a monument in his own honor.
• Acting like he's done just as God wanted.

One of the things I used to tell my HS & JrHS students was "partial obedience is disobedience" - they hated that!!

(14-15) When Samuel confronts Saul, what sort of response does Saul give?

• He's justifying himself again!!

(16-21) We see a repeat of the same, Samuel confronts & Saul seeks to justify.

(22-26) Samuel gets particularly brutal with Saul & lets him know just how dire his sin is "rebellion is like the sin of divination & arrogance like the evil of idolatry".  Samuel informs Saul that the Lord is rejecting him as king.  Saul finally admits his sinfulness, but starts making excuses "I was afraid of the people so I gave in to them"... this is the King, this is the guy that's a head taller than everyone else, this is a warrior, and he's more afraid of his image than of God?  Really ?!?  What does he ask Samuel to do & why?

• To forgive him, to come back & worship with him so that he can worship the Lord.

How does Samuel respond to Saul's request?

• Samuel says no!  God has rejected Saul & God's word is the last word as far as Samuel is concerned.

(27-29) What is the significance of the hem of Samuel's robe being torn?

• It is used by Samuel as an illustration of God tearing the kingdom of Israel away from Saul.
• Historical Significance: Symbol of authority (priests, kings, etc.) - the hem was special, it would be woven or embroidered in such a way as to symbolize the person's position (like bars on the shoulders of soldiers today), the hem could be pressed into wax on letters or documents to authenticate its source/authorship (like a signature or signet ring).

Saul's act damaged Samuel's hem, but it was Saul not Samuel whose authority was damaged.

(30-31) Saul again confesses & Samuel agrees to worship with him, but what is Saul really concerned about?

• His standing before the elders & the people.

(32-33) Samuel does Saul's job for him & dispatches Agag.

(34-35) Samuel & Saul part company, Samuel never goes to see Saul again, Samuel mourns for Saul, and God is grieved that Saul is king.

Two things I want you to keep tucked in your memory from this chapter:

• The significance of a Hem, because this is going to come up again with David & Saul.
• That Samuel & Saul don't see each other again during Samuel's lifetime, but they do see each other again - but its an odd passage in scripture that we won't get to for a while.

Lets get to David!!  Form 4 Groups for some questions - I'm going to have you go through the questions first & then I'll teach on this passage.

Read 1 Samuel 16:1-13 & answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think Samuel was mourning?  Who's life (be respectful & don't use actual names) do you mourn & why?

2. Under what circumstances is it wise to withhold information?  Are there times when it is ok to lie?

3. Why do you think God didn't just tell Samuel the name of the one He'd chosen?

4. What causes you to judge or be impressed by others (height / weight / clothing / race / fitness / possessions / personal style / ...)?  What should we look for instead?

5. Have you ever been the forgotten one, or the one who was left out or left behind?  How does that feel?  In what ways does it impact your outlook?

1 Samuel 16:1-13: David's anointing

v1: God announces to Samuel that the time for him to mourn over King Saul has ended, God has other plans, and God wants Samuel to get going.  God is very specific in his instructions, He says: "fill your horn with oil", "be on your way".  Then God tells Samuel that one of the sons of Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem, is His choice to be King.

I asked you to think about who you mourn & why - I mourn for a friend who's an atheist, he's destined for Hell (ouch!), I mourn for other friends & family members who claim to be Christians but whose lives scream otherwise (they're lost & think they're not), and I mourn for those in leadership who have moved our churches & our country in directions counter to the ways of God (they will be held accountable).  Mourning has a purpose - it inspires us to pray, and there is a time for it... and then we are to move on.

v2a: Samuel appears to be arguing with God when he says "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me." but he's actually bringing up a valid concern.  From where Samuel lived (in Ramah) to get to Bethlehem he had to pass right through Gibeah (where Saul lived) - add to that the fact that Saul has already been told that God has rejected him... and there's an explosive situation brewing.  If you don't think Saul would have killed Samuel, if you think its not in his nature, just wait until we get further into this book & you'll see that Samuel's concerns were very real.

v2b: God knows about the potential problems & already has a plan in place, He instructs Samuel to take a heifer & go to Bethlehem to make a sacrifice - if anyone asks he's to say he's going to make a sacrifice.  In doing this he's not lying, but he's not giving away vital information about his actions.  In Beth Moore's Bible study materials on the life of David she makes an interesting point here: "when engaging in matters of espionage, it always pays to have a good cover story".

There are times when we are to withhold information, some I thought of:

• When asked by a friend to keep a secret, an example: I have a friend that had several miscarriages & shared with me that she was pregnant again, she asked me to pray & not to tell anyone until she was further along in her pregnancy.  It would have been wrong for me to give out this information even if asked directly about it.
• If someone inappropriately asks for private information, like intimate information or financial information, its perfectly valid not to answer them.
• When I did classified work for a Government Contractor, I was not allowed to speak about it... period!!

In the case here in this passage God in essence told Samuel "here's your mission, its classified, if asked this is what you're to say.  The cover story is a good one, Samuel was known to go & make sacrifices, so it worked.

3: God instructed Samuel to go find Jesse in Bethlehem & invite him to the sacrifice, and then God said "I'll show you what to do".  God could have told Samuel who He had chosen at this point, but He didn't.  God had an important lesson for Samuel to learn, one that's recorded in scripture for our sakes as well.

4: Samuel goes & does as God says, when he arrives the elders of the town are fearful & trembling.  Samuel was a powerful prophet, they may have feared that they had come under God's judgement.  They may have known of the time he prayed for rain (Chapter 12) & put the wheat harvest at risk.  They ask if he has come in peace.

5: Samuel assures the people that he has come in peace, and tells them he's come to sacrifice to the Lord.  He instructs them to consecrate themselves & come to the sacrifice with him, and we're told that Jesse & his sons are specifically invited.

Consecrate: "make holy", to Consecrate yourself in Samuel's day involved both preparing spiritually as well as going through the process of becoming ceremonially clean.

6: Samuel see's the oldest son & thinks this must be the guy... 

7: But God has an important lesson for Samuel as well as for us.  We are not to be impressed by outward appearances, what really matters is a person's heart.

I have to confess: in the past I have judged people with: tattoos, heavily pierced, scantily or suggestively dressed.... Where I grew up these things indicated that the person was involved in the local drug culture - a culture that nearly ruined my brother's life & cause my family horrible pain.  I also have to confess that I'm prone to admire people who are: smart, fit, strong, musically / artistically talented.  But I most appreciate those who demonstrate a great deal of love, compassion, and mercy.

We all have biases - a couple examples: I have a friend that won't wear sleeveless tops because she was taught that baring her whole arm was suggestive.  I've traveled to places where a woman wearing shorts would be assumed to be of questionable morals.

We must be careful!!  We must not judge!!  We must take the time to get to know the hearts of people... their hearts reveal their true nature.

8-10: Samuel continues to meet Jesse's sons one-by-one, until he's met all that Jesse brought, and God has not chosen any of them.

11: I can't help but imaging Samuel at this point scratching his head & wondering what is going on!!  So he asks Jesse "Are these all the sons you have?".  Remember Samuel specifically invited Jesse & his sons to come to the sacrifice, now Jesse admits that he didn't bring one of his sons... Woops!!  I can't help but wondering if this was intentional or not, but either way it shows that Jesse didn't consider David worth bothering to bring... he was just the youngest who was out tending the sheep.  I wonder if this is the treatment David was used to getting, being the youngest, being left out, being forgotten... Beth Moore said the following: "I believe his wisdom and meditative nature got their start in the loneliness of a little brother accustomed to being put down and ostracized.  Did he inherit the duties of keeping sheep, or where the woolly creatures preferable to the company of taunting brothers?"

We all have times when we feel like the one left behind, the forgotten one, the outsider, some of us have struggled more with this than others.... Its beautiful to see how God can take our pain & use it both to draw us near as well as to serve His purposes.

Anyway... Samuel insists that the entire even needs to wait for this youngest son - and he would need to be brought home & cleaned up first... I bet that got people wondering!!

12: David arrives & he's a healthy & handsome young man - the one God has picked!

13: So Samuel anoints David, and it says he does it in the presence of his brothers - remember that when we get to the Goliath passage - but it doesn't specifically say that he informed David he would be King, yet I would hazard a guess that David was told as much.  In any case it tells us "from that day forth the Spirit of the Lord come upon David in power".  Finally Samuel leaves & returns home.

(Time Permitting:) Psalm 78:70-72:

He chose David his servant

and took him from the sheep pens;

from tending the sheep he brought him

to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,

of Israel his inheritance.

And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;

with skillful hands he led them.

Pray: I thank you God that you can take the worst things in our lives, and turn them around... to make Your best come out of them.  Lord I pray that as we go through this next week, as we encounter difficult or painful circumstances, that we would remember that You can use our pain to Your glory.  Thank You for time in your word & in fellowship with each other.  Amen