A Nobody, Nobody Noticed
Yo, yo, and hello there everyone! Sorry I haven't blogger in such a long time. Been really busy. I pray all of you are doing well. Back to the study we've been in. For a refresher, we're looking at the life of David in a book called David: A Man of Passion and Destiny by Charles Swindoll. Last time we studied the chapter on God's Heart, God's Man, God's Way. Now we're going to look at A Nobody, Nobody Noticed. The first thing we see is that God provides when man panics. When God rejected man's choice to be their king He also is preparing His choice to take his place. Saul, man's choice to be king, is weak and flawed. He had three acts of disobedience that lead to God withdrawing His blessing from him. The first one was when he offered sacrifices, which was a duty only for the priests to do (1 Sam. 13:5-14). The second act was he made a vow that caused his people to sin and nearly cost his son Jonathan his life (14:24-46). And the third one happened when God told him to totally destroy the Amalekites, and he saved the best of their flocks and brought back their king alive (15:7-11).
God told Samuel to tell Saul he was out as Israel's king. And when he told him this, Saul acted like nothing happened and wanted to go about like everything was peachy keen (vv. 12-31). And after this God tells Samuel that it was time to find the new king, the one God Himself had chosen to be the next king. And this one would be a man after His own heart. In chapter 16:1 God tells him to fill his horn with oil and go to Jesse's house to anoint one of his sons to be the next king. We see that man only looks, but God truly sees. When Samuel arrives there and talks to Jesse, he has his sons appear before Samuel like a parade. But one by one Samuel replies, "The Lord hasn't chosen this one' (vv 6-10). Each of them looked like king material, but "... God doesn't see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart" (7b). Man all to often looks at appearances, but God looks at their character, values, and how you live your life. We need to do what Samuel did: look to the Lord for guidance and wait for His choice. When man forgets, God remembers. Samuel, no dought thought that the parade was over and that there were no more sons. How confusing. Samuel knew that God had selected a son from this family, but who? So Samuel finally asks him, "Are these all of your sons" (v 11b)? Then we see Jesse's oh-yeah-I-almost-forgot moment. David had been completely over looked. Verse 11b says, "There remains yet the youngest, he is tending the sheep". This reveals two attitudes Jesse had toward David. 1.He didn't appreciate each of his children equally. And 2. he failed to cultivate a mutual respect among the brothers. Despite Jesse's attitude towards him Samuel says, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here" (v. 11b). When he gets there the Lord says to Samuel, "Arise, anoint him; for he is the one" (v.12). Then Samuel takes the horn full of oil and anoints him the presence of all his family. In the story of David we can see that God rejects the self-serving and exalts the God-serving. He doesn't look at outward appearances, but looks at the heart.
In closing let's look at three applications. First of all, God's solutions are often strange and simple, so be open. Second, God's provisions are usually sudden and surprising, so we must be ready. And third, God's selections are always sovereign and surprising, so we must be calm.
More on David next week. Be blessed!
Zack
God told Samuel to tell Saul he was out as Israel's king. And when he told him this, Saul acted like nothing happened and wanted to go about like everything was peachy keen (vv. 12-31). And after this God tells Samuel that it was time to find the new king, the one God Himself had chosen to be the next king. And this one would be a man after His own heart. In chapter 16:1 God tells him to fill his horn with oil and go to Jesse's house to anoint one of his sons to be the next king. We see that man only looks, but God truly sees. When Samuel arrives there and talks to Jesse, he has his sons appear before Samuel like a parade. But one by one Samuel replies, "The Lord hasn't chosen this one' (vv 6-10). Each of them looked like king material, but "... God doesn't see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart" (7b). Man all to often looks at appearances, but God looks at their character, values, and how you live your life. We need to do what Samuel did: look to the Lord for guidance and wait for His choice. When man forgets, God remembers. Samuel, no dought thought that the parade was over and that there were no more sons. How confusing. Samuel knew that God had selected a son from this family, but who? So Samuel finally asks him, "Are these all of your sons" (v 11b)? Then we see Jesse's oh-yeah-I-almost-forgot moment. David had been completely over looked. Verse 11b says, "There remains yet the youngest, he is tending the sheep". This reveals two attitudes Jesse had toward David. 1.He didn't appreciate each of his children equally. And 2. he failed to cultivate a mutual respect among the brothers. Despite Jesse's attitude towards him Samuel says, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here" (v. 11b). When he gets there the Lord says to Samuel, "Arise, anoint him; for he is the one" (v.12). Then Samuel takes the horn full of oil and anoints him the presence of all his family. In the story of David we can see that God rejects the self-serving and exalts the God-serving. He doesn't look at outward appearances, but looks at the heart.
In closing let's look at three applications. First of all, God's solutions are often strange and simple, so be open. Second, God's provisions are usually sudden and surprising, so we must be ready. And third, God's selections are always sovereign and surprising, so we must be calm.
More on David next week. Be blessed!
Zack
posted by Zack | 12:33 PM
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