Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul. 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. 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.’ 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.” 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.’ 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?’ 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. When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ 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.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ 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.’ 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.’ 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. (1 Samuel 15:34-16:13)
Good day dear Friend! May the blessings of the Lord be with you in a great way today! May we seek to cheerfully please the Lord with our service today is my prayer.
This is the time of year that a lot of United Methodist Churches are in a period of transition. Long time pastors are leaving, either to another church, or retiring; and new pastors have been introduced and are in the midst of packing and unpacking as they begin new assignments. It is not an easy process. There is joy and sadness in the hearts of all who are involved. Some in the church will be sad for a long time; others will be rejoicing. Some pastors leave with gladness in their hearts for finally seeing the door opened from the last church, others are sad for they have left a part of their heart there with the "old" church. Imagine the transition of national power in the days of Samuel the prophet. He had tried to be the true mouthpiece of God only to have the people say they were tired of being a theocracy, a government where God was king; they wanted a human king and the job fell to the rejected prophet to obey the Lord as He selected the first king of Israel. Then, the day came when King Saul's days as king were over. The Lord puts it as written, "And the Lord was sorry that He had made Saul king over Israel". This hurt God's heart as it did the prophet's. Samuel grieved, for he had come to respect and follow the king. God asks that the prophet move on with the new task, that of finding and anointing the new king of Israel. Please keep in mind that Saul is still king and the new king will be anointed only, and will not assume the throne until the King Saul dies. And, also keep in mind, that Kng Saul had a son whom he wanted to be king after him, and that was his son Jonathan, who also was the new anointed king's best friend.
Samuel's arrival was usually received as when a district superintendent comes to worship in a church that has a pastor who may or may not stay. The elders of the city of Bethlehem met Samuel with trembling. God had prepared him for this and the answer given by God to Samuel allowed him to come into the region in peace and to do what God expected of him.
The man of the hour was Jesse, the father of eight sons. The prophet had sacrificed in his presence and had sanctified Jesse and his sons. As each of the sons presents himself to the prophet, the Spirit of the Lord speaks to the prophet as to whether this is was the new king. This happened seven times with the sons who were present. Interesting how the prophet reports how he thought a tall, handsome man would make a good replacement to Saul. It is here we find one of the most telling and powerful statements in the Bible about how God see you and me. ‘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.’ Wow. For God, our heart is more important than how we look. This is great news for me and any who think we could improve our outward appearance. What we should be concerned about is our inner appearance before the Lord. Do our hearts reflect that God sits on the throne of our heart? Do our hearts reflect a love and concern for all people or is it turned totally inward towards us? The prophet then asked Jesse if these were his only sons. The father replied that he had the youngest out in the fields working as a shepherd. The son is David, and he is called for and when he presents himself before the prophet, he is anointed as the new soon-to-be king of Israel. This allowed for the Holy Spirit to come "mightily" upon this new king, and the prophet moved on.
God saw the mustard seed potential of faith the boy David had in his heart towards Him. God used that faith to make David the psalmist king that continues to bless so many years since he first sat to write them down. I pray that God see in you and me, a mustard seed of faith that will bless God and those whom we have around us.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless my heart to be blossoming into a greater blessing for Your Kingdom. Help me to be one who draws others to come to You. This we pray in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord. If your heart needs cleaning, rely on the Lord, for He is good!
Eradio Valverde
PRAYER REQUESTS: Prayers for our brother Forrest Penny, who is being placed in hospice care tomorrow. He may be at the point of leaving us and needs our prayers for his transition. Pray for his wife and family. Prayers for Nellie as she goes for her followup to surgery tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. Prayers for our Vacation Bible School and all VBSs that are blessing children and families!
