Reflections on 1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16 (Contemporary English Version)

1. One day he said, "Samuel, I've rejected Saul, and I refuse to let him be king any longer. Stop feeling sad about him. Put some olive oil in a small container and go visit a man named Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem. I've chosen one of his sons to be my king."
   
2. Samuel answered, "If I do that, Saul will find out and have me killed." "Take a calf with you," the LORD replied. "Tell everyone that you've come to offer it as a sacrifice to me,
   
3. then invite Jesse to the sacrifice. When I show you which one of his sons I have chosen, pour the olive oil on his head."
   
4. Samuel did what the LORD told him and went to Bethlehem. The town leaders went to meet him, but they were terribly afraid and asked, "Is this a friendly visit?"
   
5. "Yes, it is!" Samuel answered. "I've come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. Get yourselves ready to take part in the sacrifice and come with me." Samuel also invited Jesse and his sons to come to the sacrifice, and he got them ready to take part.
   
6. When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel noticed Jesse's oldest son, Eliab. "He has to be the one the LORD has chosen," Samuel said to himself.
   
7. But the LORD told him, "Samuel, don't think Eliab is the one just because he's tall and handsome. He isn't the one I've chosen. People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts."
   
8. Jesse told his son Abinadab to go over to Samuel, but Samuel said, "No, the LORD hasn't chosen him."
   
9. Next, Jesse sent his son Shammah to him, and Samuel said, "The LORD hasn't chosen him either."
   
10. Jesse had all seven of his sons go over to Samuel. Finally, Samuel said, "Jesse, the LORD hasn't chosen any of these young men.
    
11. Do you have any more sons?" "Yes," Jesse answered. "My youngest son David is out taking care of the sheep." "Send for him!" Samuel said. "We won't start the ceremony until he gets here."
    
12. Jesse sent for David. He was a healthy, good-looking boy with a sparkle in his eyes. As soon as David came, the LORD told Samuel, "He's the one! Get up and pour the olive oil on his head."
    
13. Samuel poured the oil on David's head while his brothers watched. At that moment, the Spirit of the LORD took control of David and stayed with him from then on. Samuel returned home to Ramah.
    
14. The Spirit of the LORD had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD was terrifying him.
    
15. "It's an evil spirit from God that's frightening you," Saul's officials told him.
    
16. "Your Majesty, let us go and look for someone who is good at playing the harp. He can play for you whenever the evil spirit from God bothers you, and you'll feel better."
    
17. "All right," Saul answered. "Find me someone who is good at playing the harp and bring him here."
    
18. "A man named Jesse who lives in Bethlehem has a son who can play the harp," one official said. "He's a brave warrior, he's good-looking, he can speak well, and the LORD is with him."
    
19. Saul sent a message to Jesse: "Tell your son David to leave your sheep and come here to me."
    
20. Jesse loaded a donkey with bread and a goatskin full of wine, then he told David to take the donkey and a young goat to Saul.
    
21. David went to Saul and started working for him. Saul liked him so much that he put David in charge of carrying his weapons.
    
22. Not long after this, Saul sent another message to Jesse: "I really like David. Please let him stay with me."
    
23. Whenever the evil spirit from God bothered Saul, David would play his harp. Saul would relax and feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.
    

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    Saul's disobedience regarding the spoils of victory over the Philistines was the beginning of the end for him. After Samuel confronted Saul about his sin, Samuel left him and "never again visited Saul." (15:35) Samuel's withdrawal from Saul was symbolic of God's withdrawal. God was ready to move on to the one He had chosen for king. It was not as if Saul was God's plan A and David plan B. Rather, David had always been God's plan. Saul was a sidetrack that the people had insisted upon and God granted.
    
    God prodded Samuel to get over his mourning of Saul and to go anoint the one He had chosen to replace Saul as king. Since Samuel was concerned that Saul would kill him if he discovered his mission to anoint a new king, Samuel's journey to Bethlem had a dual purpose: to offer a sacrifice to the Lord, which would be viewed by the general puplic as the only reason for the journey, and also to anoint the new king which was witnessed only by the family of the one anointed.
    
    When Samuel arrived at Bethlehem he had no clue who he would be anointing but he was instructed to consecrate the family of Jesse to attend the sacrifice to the Lord. We are not given details of how or when the selection process coincided with the sacrifice. It seems that it may have been a private ceremony between the sacrifice and the meal. In the ceremony seven of Jesse's sons were brought before Samuel one by one and each was rejected as God's chosen one. Samuel asked if he had any other sons and Jesse told him his youngest son was out tending the sheep. Samuel had Jesse send for this son, delaying the meal until he arrived. When the boy arrived, the Lord said to Samuel, "Anoint him, for he is the one." (16:12) Verse 13 says that this boy, David, was anointed "in the presence of his brothers," suggesting that this was a private ceremony.
    
    Once David was anointed, "the Spirit of the LORD took control of" him. At the same time, the Spirit of the Lord left Saul. Verse 14 says that when "the Spirit of the LORD had left Saul," an "evil spirit from the LORD began to torment him."  It seems unlikely that God would give him a demonic spirit and more likely that this was a troubling of Saul's own spirit. Whatever it was, it tormented him and was very unpleasant for him. As a means of calming him when this spirit came upon him, Saul's servants suggested they find him someone who played the harp who could play for him when the spirit overtook him. Saul took their suggestion and sent them to find such a person, and they came back with none other than David, the Lord's anointed to replace Saul as king. Only the Lord could have brought this about.