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June 07, 2009
“A New Beginning”
I Samuel 16
Sunday, June 7, 2009
In case you have been away or sound asleep for the past weeks, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that VBS begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM. The subject of their studies this week will be David, the one who would become the second and arguably the greatest king of Israel.
Most of us have been involved in Sunday School classes and VBS classes where we were taught lessons about the stories of David.
Today I will be preaching on the first story about David, the story of how he was anointed to be the king of Israel. Unless I am mistaken, this story will be the focus of the VBS lessons for tomorrow. I am preaching on this passage today for 2 reasons.
First: tomorrow will be registration day, so the lesson time may be somewhat abbreviated, so those of you who are VBS students and teachers may be shortchanged on the details and lessons of this passage tomorrow. So I will endeavor to fill you in today on some of the details you may miss tomorrow.
The second reason for my preaching on this passage today is that while there is certainly at least one point to be made from this passage that will be helpful for young people, there are several lessons in this story that might be helpful for those who are let us say more experienced in life.
The first thing I would have you notice this morning is that while the subject matter for our VBS this week is the life of David, this story is not really about David. David is certainly the one being anointed, but David has no active roll in this narrative. He has no speaking parts. David is a passive character in this drama. If there were to be a play made of this story, the part of David would be a Walk-on.
The active characters in the first part of this story are the prophet Samuel and God. They have most of the speaking parts. As the story begins, we see God approaching the old and disappointed prophet Samuel.
Samuel had earlier been ordered by God to anoint Saul as the first king of Israel. Saul was tall and good looking, yet a humble and gracious leader in the beginning. But he had violated some of God’s directions to him and God was going to bring his reign to an end and replace him with someone who was not related to Saul. There would be no dynasty for Saul.
This fact made Samuel feel like a failure. He had not wanted to establish a monarchy in Israel, but God had ordered him to anoint Saul as King and he seems to have developed a fondness for Saul and was disappointed in his failure as king.
So God came to Samuel and said “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.”
This is a word from the Lord that might be needed more by older folks than VBS students. All of us have experienced loss. Some of our loved ones have died, some of us are no longer at the point of our maximum physical capabilities. Some of us are no longer able to travel to places we have loved so much. Some of us are not able to see our children and grandchildren as much as we would like or as much as we used to. And if we are in agony over our losses, if we are grieving over what was but is no longer, even if we believe it will be again in the next life, we might need to hear God saying to us as He did to Samuel “How long will you grieve over this? How long will you waste your time and energy on something that is no more?” Some of us need to move out of our dashed hopes for the past and into the reality of what God has planned for our present and our immediate future. Some of us need to put the past to rest and seek to serve God as we are.
Samuel had a problem with God’s command. Saul knew that he had been rejected by God and he was becoming more and more paranoid. Samuel knew that if Saul found out that Samuel had anointed or was about to anoint another man to be king, Saul would kill Samuel. God solution to Samuel’s problem was to make sure that Saul did not find out.
So he ordered Samuel to offer a sacrifice and have a sacrificial feast for the residents of Bethlehem. Before participating in the sacrificial feast, each resident would have to be sanctified, purified. Samuel was to supervise the sanctification of Jesse’s family personally. Jesse and each of his sons were to appear singly before the prophet for the sanctification. We do not know if water was used or prayers, or both and perhaps other means. But while those things were being done on each one, Samuel had in his reach the horn filled with oil for the anointing of the new king.
While all this was going on, Samuel and God were having a silent conversation. Samuel wanted to anoint the firstborn son of Jesse. But God said he was not the one. Then he said, “The Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
You know, I have sometimes marveled at some of the people whom God has used to be great in his kingdom. One of the best preachers I know has a stuttering problem. Some are handsome, others are definitely not. Some have pleasant voices, some have voices that in other settings would be considered irritating. Johnathan Edwards, the great Puritan preacher of New England and New York, read his sermons in a monotone. But God used his sermons mightily to bring multitudes to Him.
God does not look at size or beauty He looks at the heart. David loved God and God loved David. David would fail God on some infamous occasions, but he still loved God and sought restoration into God’s favor. This is a lesson that old and young alike need to remember. God can use and choose people we might overlook and he will overlook people we would definitely choose. God knows what He is doing and we need to follow the leaders God raises up, not the ones we would like to follow. It is important that children remember that God can choose and honor those who are not popular with others or who are not recognized as being blessed with natural abilities.
And, if God looks at the heart - the love we have for God, rather than the way we appear to others - then it is more important to do things that will increase our love for God than to do things that will improve our appearances.
Samuel was ordered not to anoint any of the sons of Jesse who had appeared before him. He asked if Jesse had another son. Jesse said “Yes, the youngest is tending the sheep”. David, the youngest son, was not considered to be too important to his family. He had been assigned to watch the family sheep, perhaps with some of the servants, and he had not been invited to the sacrificial meal.
My wife and I have 3 children. When the youngest was in the 5th grade he was given an assignment to write a brief story of is life. He entitled it “The Runt of the Litter”. I think that title pretty clearly tells us how he and many other youngest children feel about their place and importance in the family. And David was the youngest of 8 children, not 3.
Samuel ordered Jesse to send for his other son, the youngest. The meal would be delayed until David arrived and was sanctified. When David arrived, God told Samuel, “This is the one, anoint him.”
Samuel and Jesse might have been the only ones who knew at that moment what the anointing meant. But at that anointing, God began to prepare David for his task. The Holy Spirit of God came into David at the anointing.
But now we have an odd situation. We have a king in residence in a palace. And we have the next king out in the fields tending sheep. How do you move a shepherd into the palace? God had a plan. He sent an evil spirit into Saul to make him depressed and evidently violent at times. He was advised to find a good musician to provide music to calm him. It just so happened that David was not only an excellent player of the Lyre, he was also a composer of songs and poems.
Saul chose David to be his court musician and eventually one of his armor-bearers. In the king’s court, David would learn how to be a leader of men.
When God chooses someone for a task or a position, he will give them all they need to accomplish their part in God’s plan. And he will see that they are moved into position to do what God needs them to do.
God’s people needed a new beginning under a new king. Some of us need a new beginning. We need to stop grieving over what was and be willing to be used by God as we are.
Some of our children and grandchildren and our VBS children need a new beginning. Pray that God will choose them to do something marvelous for Him. Pray that this summer God will call many children to serve Him and have new beginnings in God’s kingdom.
Pastor David Horner
Faith Presbyterian Church
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Posted by faithpres at June 7, 2009 06:06 PM