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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. (1 Samuel 16:1-13 NRSV)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! I pray your days have been blessed with peace and patience. I confess that yesterday morning we had to run for provisions at our supermarket and I had very little patience with my fellow shoppers. But, the time passed quickly and we returned back to the safety of our home. I am learning how to sleep in during these days, which is rare for me, but very enjoyable.
The prophet Samuel had an interesting career. His was an interesting life, called as a young boy to replace an inept prophet whose sons were destined to be the new prophets after his death; and Samuel served God well. He was the prophet that had to put up with calls to him that they, the people of God, no longer wanted to live in a theocracy (form of government based on God being the ruler) and wanted to be just like the other nations and have their own human king. Samuel took this very personally, for he stood in place as the voice of God, and the people tired of that. The prophet told God, "They're rejecting me!" yet God told Samuel, it's me they're rejecting, not you." Samuel then became the prophet under Israel's first king, Saul, and developed a close relationship with him. When Saul disobeyed God and was removed, again Samuel felt bad for losing a close friend. And that's how our story begins; God asking the prophet how long he would mourn the removal of Saul. God said that he had to prepare to anoint a new king for Israel. God did not say who the new king would be, but did identify the family. Samuel is afraid because Saul was still sitting on the throne, and if he got wind that a new king was to be anointed, he would kill the prophet. God gives Samuel a way to travel, as God always does, with a heifer and the excuse that he was going to sacrifice unto the Lord.
The elders of Bethlehem greet the prophet with fear, for they knew of his power and his connection with God. They ask if his visit was a peaceful one; yes, replied Samuel. He blesses Jesse the father and invites the whole family to this sacrifice. All of Jesse's sons were present and as they entered, the prophet looked them over and wondered if they were the new king. The eldest son was Eliab, and possessed the looks and build of a king, and Samuel wondered if he, Eliab, was the anointed one of the Lord. God responds with something that still rings true and powerful; "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." That, dear friends, is a sermon unto itself; the truth is that God looks at our heart, not how we think we look. To me, that's powerful. Groom your heart before God, and you'll be blessed and you will be a blessing.
The father calls all his sons, one by one, and each is not the one. God spoke to the prophet and said no to each. Seven of Jesse's sons passed before the prophet, and not one was selected. Samuel had to ask, "Are all these your only sons?" Jesse replies that the youngest was not there, because being the youngest, he had to care for the sheep. Please bring him here. David comes in and Samuel records what he saw. He was ruddy, which means a healthy red color, he had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said to Samuel, "This is the one; rise and anoint him." Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the Holy Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel left back to his home. His job was accomplished.
We know the story of this shepherd boy king and most of his record. He is still considered by historians as Israel's greatest king, responsible for uniting the southern and northern kingdoms, and setting in motion all that would make Israel a major world power of its time in terms of religion, finance, political, and militarily. We will touch on those and other successes and failures later. For now, we celebrate what God did in selecting a young man with a pure heart and the conviction that he could do anything with God on his side. We cannot forget that David is the giant-killer, and the greatest poet and hymn writer of the entire Bible. With God in your heart you can do all things, especially those things God assigns to you to do.
So, dear friend, to the giants in your life, you can get ready to say goodbye to them, because you are about to rid your life of these so-called, perceived giants! To those who say things about your physical appearance, tell them and show them what God told the prophet. If you feel you're not quite where you need to be, ask God and God will groom you and make you be the most beautiful in His sight.
PRAYER: Loving Father, continue to work on us; You know what we need. We want to be filled with faith and confidence in You so that the giants in our lives face their demise; and as we fret about what we see in the mirror, remind us of the way You look on us; make us pure and holy and lovely. In Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show someone your love through a phone call or a thoughtful note.
Receive my blessings of love and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
