1 Samuel 16:1-13
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11
Saul disobeyed God twice. First, he offered the burnt offering, and only priests were allowed to offer the sacrifices. Then God clearly instructed Saul to destroy all the Ammonites and everything that belonged to them, specifically citing the people and the livestock. Saul spared Agag the king and the best of the sheep and cattle. God sent Samuel to rebuke Saul for his disobedience. Samuel told Saul, "Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you as king." 1 Samuel 15:23b
Saul actually served as king over Israel for forty two years, but shortly after he disobeyed God a new king was designated and anointed. God told Samuel to quit grieving for Saul, to fill his horn with oil, and go to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint one of his sons as king.
Samuel told the elders of Bethlehem that he had come to make a sacrifice, and he invited Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Samuel looked at Jesse's son Eliab and thought he must be the one, but God said no. 1 Samuel 16:7 gives great advice for us to apply, "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'" Kenneth Chafin wrote, “Like Samuel, we are too impressed by the things that can be seen with the physical eyes. Consequently we live in a world where physical beauty outranks spiritual depth, where success in business tends to be defined in materialistic terms, and where charisma is prized above character…”
Then Jesse had six more of his sons parade before Samuel, one at a time, but each time God told Samuel this was not the one for him to anoint king. Samuel asked Jesse if he had any more sons, and Jesse said there was the youngest son who was tending the sheep. Samuel instructed Saul to send for that son, David, and when David arrived God told Samuel this was His choice. Then Samuel anointed David in the presence of his father and brothers.
David was a young shepherd. Although he had been anointed king, he was unprepared to fulfill that position. God took many years to prepared David for the throne before he allowed him to reign over Israel.
Notice that David didn’t have a press conference or make an official announcement of his anointing. He didn’t gather an army and try to take over the throne. He simply went home and kept tending his sheep, waiting on God’s timing and God’s method of putting him on the throne.
God has plans for each of our lives just as he did for David's life, but often it takes many years of preparation to make us usable. Think of Joseph and all his hardships in Egypt before he was promoted to second in command in Egypt. Think of Moses tending sheep on the back side of the desert for forty years before he led Israel out of Egypt. God prepares us and fulfills His plans for us if we obey His word and walk in His will.
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