Tag: 1 Samuel 16

1 Samuel 16 Part 2 (16:14-23): David the Polymath, a Man After God’s Heart

Summary

Meanwhile, the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and he was being terrorized by an evil spirit. Saul’s servants recommended that he brought David, a skillful musician, a mighty warrior, and a man of God to sooth his terror from an evil spirit. David was brought before Saul, and whenever the evil spirit tormented Saul, David would play the harp to refresh and soothe Saul. Saul loved David greatly.

Identity in the Spirit of the LORD

The name David means “beloved.” Indeed, he was the beloved man of God.

Notice that the name David does not appear until the arrival of the Spirit of the LORD mightily upon him. Before that, he was referred to as the youngest who was tending the sheep (16:11). Even after he was brought in, only the descriptions of him were given – ruddy with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance (16:12). The Lord confirmed that he was the anointed one. Only after the mighty coming of the Spirit of the LORD, his full identity – David – was revealed to the readers (16:13).

David’s Reputation

Although only a young shepherd, David already earned a reputation as a man of God. One of Saul’s servants described David as “a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, warrior, one prducent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him (16:18).” 

Where did this reputation come from? We can trace his reputation back to that of Ruth, his great-grandmother. In the book of Ruth, Boaz was already aware of Ruth’s reputation: the kindness that Ruth demonstrated for her mother-in-law after the death of her husband and the courage to leave her people, the Moabites, to come to join the people of God (Ruth 2:11). Boaz stated that “all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence (Ruth 3:11).” Ruth was recognized as a woman of excellence by her godly respect of her mother in law, late husband, the LORD’s people, and her diligent work ethic.

From a godly great-grandmother Ruth came David. He demonstrated a similar set of godly attributes, and he became well-known, even to a young servant of Saul. Although a widow and a shepherd, they let their light shine before people as Jesus said of his followers: “You are the light of the world… let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16)”

David the Meek Polymath

Some of the well-known descriptors of David include the following: David the shepherd, David the man after God’s own heart, David the slingshotter, David the sinner, etc. However, I would like to give him a new descriptor from a new perspective: David the Polymath

Polymath: An individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems (wikipedia)

The importance of polymath is not necessarily the variety of expertises, but the ability to maintain a humble posture to be teachable and learn new things in order to connect a variety of subjects that are seemingly unconnectable. David was a polymath – skillful in multi-disciplines. Being a polymath probably allowed David to experience God from a variety of angles.

David was described as “a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, warrior, one prducent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him (16:18).” He was a skillful musician – his softside to sooth other people from anxiety and his main tool to worship the LORD God. On the other hand, he was a fierce, mighty warrior. When the time required him to protect his flock and sheep from predators like lions and bears, he was fierce, putting his life to protect them. Finally, he was prudent in speech. What does it mean by being prudent in speech? Not the eloquence, but the use of speech in Psalms and hymns to encourage and give life to people around him and vertically honor and worship the LORD God. In other words, being prudent in speech is equivalent to loving God and loving your neighbor.

These attributes demonstrate that David was meek: power under control. David used his power, slingshot, to protect the weak, his flock and sheep, from the fierce enemies, lions and bears. Jesus was the most meek person. Jesus, the most powerful “person,” used His power to protect and save the weak, us, from the ultimate power of the enemy, the eternal death.

David served Saul

Multi-talented David served Saul. Whenever Saul was under torment, David would play the harp to help Saul overcome the evil spirit (1 Samuel 16). David, who was full of the Spirit of God, could have looked down on King Saul, who was under torment from the evil spirit. In addition, David knew that he was anointed by Sameul, a more reason not to serve King Saul with all of his heart. David could have fallen to a trap of self-righteousness over King Saul. However, David faithfully used his musical talent to sooth King Saul’s pain. David probably used his musical talent and harp to praise God, and the invitation of presence of God allowed King Saul to withstand the torment from the evil spirit.

Conclusion

David found his identity in the Spirit of the LORD. David’s multiple talents allowed him to experience God from a variety of ways. David used his talents to serve those who were in need.

1 Samuel 16 Part I (16:1-13): Covert Operation by the LORD God and Samuel

King Saul was rejected. Prophet Samuel was dejected. But, the LORD God selected. Despite Saul’s failure as king of Israel, the LORD continued to work out His redemptive plan – with Samuel through David, and eventually to Christ.

Recap of 1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Lord told Samuel to overcome his grief over Saul and go down to Bethlehem to anoint a king that the LORD Himself had selected, one among the sons of Jesse. Samuel obeyed promptly and went down from Ramah to Bethlehem to anoint the one that the LORD had selected. Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but none of them were selected. Finally, the youngest son was brought in, and the LORD indicated that he was the selected person. Samuel anointed him, and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David. 

The LORD God is active

One of the key words in the first half of the chapter is “for Myself.” God chose a king for Himself. Previously, the LORD allowed the people of Israel to choose their king. In accordance with their desire, value, and criteria, Saul was chosen as king (1 Samuel 8-10). Saul was the king that reflected the desire of the people of Israel to become like other nations. Because Saul’s heart was not completely devoted to the LORD God, he failed and God subsequently rejected him. 

However,  the LORD continues to work out His plan even when man fails. He rose up and by working with an individual who feared Him, such as Samuel, the LORD chose the king to continue to further His redemptive plan. 

Macro Perspective: Book of Judges vs. Book of Ruth 

1 Samuel 16 depicts a major turning point for the nation of Israel and more broadly, a redemptive plan of God for man. In some way, 1 Samuel 16 directly follows the book of Ruth with two main connections: Bethlehem and David. In the book of Ruth, the redemption took place in Bethlehem and ended with the introduction of David in the genealogy that includes Boaz and Ruth. 1 Samuel 16 brings back both Bethlehem and David to be connected to the book of Ruth. In contrast, previous chapters in 1 Samuel (from 1 to 15) are continuation of the book of Judges 

The book of Judges vividly depicts how far the people of God can fall away: everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). The book describes national-scale massacre and oppression of the weak (Judges 21), corrupt worship system (Judges 17), fallen priests (Judges 19), and powerless people of God against adversaries. Despite their calling to be the people of God to be the light and hope for other nations, they failed to heed the LORD’s words and commandments. They followed the way of other nations by worshiping false gods and oppressing their fellow brothers and sisters. 

Likewise, 1 Samuel starts with little changes from the periods of Judges – the word from the LORD was rare and visions were infrequent (1 Samuel 3:1). Why? Because the Israelites deliberately ignored the word of God, the LORD God stopped speaking to them – conversation is a two-way communication. Even the high priest at that time, Eli, failed to heed and listen to the LORD God. Eli was the high priest that was the byproduct from the anemic spiritual conditions during the period of Judges.

Yet, in contrast with the book of Judges, the book of Ruth was where the promise of God and His redemptive plan reignited – from a relatively invisible city of Bethlehem. The event started with two widows, Naomi and Ruth: the people in the lowest economic ladder. However, Ruth demonstrated loving-kindness (hesed) to Naomi, her mother-in-law, and to the dead husband, and came to join the people of God in Bethlehem for love of the LORD God. Ruth proved herself to be a woman of God, and Boaz, a man of God, redeemed the family of Naomi by marrying Ruth. After a few generations, David was born from this genealogy. 

Micro Perspective: Intimate, Covert Operation 

The whole content of the text, 1 Samuel 16:1-13, signifies the intimate, close relation between the LORD God and Samuel. Both were on a secret, stealth mission to anoint a new, future king for Israel, who would eventually be a physical ancestor of Christ. Given that this was an incredibly important mission, we can see that the LORD God trusted Samuel and the LORD God loves to work with His people. 

By the way, why did this mission have to be stealthy, secretive?

First, there was a practical reason: to protect Samuel from Saul. See how Samuel responded to the LORD’s command in honesty and in worries that Saul might kill him if Saul found out that Samuel went down to Bethlehem to anoint a new king (16:2). The LORD provided a solution to disguise this trip to Bethlehem as a peace offering event. The LORD God heard and empathized with Samuel’s concern to provide him with a wise tactic. Just as the LORD did with Samuel, God does hear our concerns to give us a wise solution. 

Second, the stealthy nature of this anointing mission aligned well with the character of God, especially associated with the way He works out His plan. Let’s go back to the book of Ruth and the book of Judges. The book of Judges was filled with visible, national headline events: national wars, civil wars, gruesome death of a concubine and her chopped body, etc. Notwithstanding these national-scale events and battles, God’s verdict on the people of Israel was that everyone did as they saw fit with little reverence to God and His work. In contrast, the book of Ruth depicts the work of the LORD God that started in a small town of Bethlehem with two helpless widows. His firm, redemptive plan was stealth and invisible, but firm and unstoppable in the book of Ruth. Likewise, the work of the Lord for selecting the next king, whose heart was aligned with Him, was stealth as it was conducted primarily by the man of God and the LORD on one-on-one basis. 

Imagine how cool it would be to have this secret mission with the LORD God based on an intimate personal relation. Contrast this with Eli, the previous high priest who preceded Samuel. There was rarely any vision from the lord to the Israelites (1 Samuel 3:1). Eli refused to listen to God and honored his sons more than he honored God (1 Samuel 2:29). The only significant message from the LORD God on Eli was a severe judgment (1 Samuel 2:32-36)). On the other hand, the LORD partnered with Samuel to complete this secret, stealthy mission of finding and anointing David. Samuel took the risk and quickly obeyed. 

Lesson for Samuel, a Man of God

The LORD God did not reveal everything about anointing the next king to Samuel. He led Samuel little by little. First, the LORD revealed that it would be among the sons of Jesse. Even after going through seven sons of Jesse, the LORD told Samuel that none of them were selected. Even Samuel had to go through this process. What was the lesson that the LORD wanted Samuel to learn? 

“…for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart”

1 Samuel 16:7 NASB

Let’s note that this was spoken to Samuel by the LORD God. Samuel was already a man of God, and he walked with God for many years since he was a child (1 Samuel 3). Yet, even Samuel was prone to be impressed by the appearance and the stature of a man. Even Samuel needed God’s direct message to stay alert to perceive the inner heart of man instead of being impressed by the appearance of man. 

Conclusion

This passage can be looked at from a macro and micro perspective. From a macro perspective, we see God continues to work out His plan, which may be stealthy and covert, but would not stop. From a micro perspective, we see that God works with His person (or people) intimately and through this process, He wants His people to learn a valuable lesson.  

I pray that every follower of Christ will have this kind of amazing opportunity to work with God that becomes an integral part of His macro work of redemptive plan.