1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
The LORD said to Samuel: “Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”
As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel: “Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him; we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them. He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold and making a splendid appearance. The LORD said, “There—anoint him, for this is the one!” Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand, anointed David in the presence of his brothers; and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.
BACKGROUNDER
God knows that the image he planted in us has been distorted, and he starts a new family to restore the image. The family was set free from slavery but is unable to keep from grumbling. In the dry and waterless place Israel, which has seen great miracles, lost trust, and rebelled again. Generations later, God sends his prophet Samuel to his people to give them a new king. Their first king, Saul, has gone his own way, turning from God’s will to his own will.
God has chosen a king who will be known for millenia, famous down to our own time. But how do you find the one who will be king if you are the prophet Samuel? The Lord sends Samuel to the house of Jesse, in Bethlehem. Samuel figures that Jesse’s oldest, tallest son will be the natural choice. How easy it is to judge people by their appearance.
The world tends to judge people by their income or wealth, their career or education, their popularity or influence. More than ever our opinions of people are shaped by their social profile. More than ever we judge ourselves the same way. Some experts say that the way we judge ourselves has led to an epidemic of isolation and mental health issues.
But that is not how the Lord sees and judges us.
After all of the older sons of Jesse have been called and turned away, Samuel asks if there is another son. Jesse admits that there is one more, the youngest, who tends the sheep. Samuel insists on seeing him, and he is called in. Then the Lord speaks to Samuel, “There – anoint him, for this is the one!” And when Samuel anoints David, the spirit of the Lord rushes on him.
David, the anointed of the Lord, is the model for the Messiah, the anointed one. Long after David rules, and is remembered as Israel’s greatest king, the line of Israel’s kings ends in disaster. And then Israel awaits the new Messiah.
Who would have expected God to come in person as the new king? Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of God. To those who knew him, he was an ordinary man until he received the Holy Spirit when he was baptised in the Jordan River. He is the one who will be the king of kings.
The image of God in each one of us will be restored when we turn to the unexpected king, Jesus. Then we can begin to see ourselves and others as God does, we can look into the heart. There the divine work of restoring the image of God can begin, and we can become who he calls us to be.