Sermon - August 17, 2014 - The Story Week 11 - From Shepherd to King: David

Psalm 1:1-2

“¹ How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers! ² Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night.”

The Psalmist exhorts us to meditate on Scripture day and night. The word for ‘mediate’ is the Hebrew word ‘haga’ and it carries the image of reading God’s Word like a dog gnawing on a bone. Not like some little Chihuahua who might and I emphasize might leave a couple of little scratches in the bone, more like our 100 plus pound lab who would tear it to pieces in seconds. The Psalmist is telling us to tear into the word with the same tenacity that a 100 pound lab tears into her bone.

I hope spending time reading the Bible in this fashion as we read the Story together helps develop a passion for you to want to devour the Word of God on a more frequent basis!

There were these three golfers out on the back nine one day and they were all struck by lightning and ended up at the pearly gates of heaven. They asked St. Peter if they were able to golf in heaven. St. Peter assured them that heaven had the best golf they had ever seen, but there was one simple rule. Do not hit a duck. The guys were excited and off to play golf they went, then one day one of them hit a duck. St. Peter approached with a not-so-gorgeous woman and said “You’re the one who hit a duck?” St. Peter handcuffed the woman to the man who hit the duck. They took off to be that way for all eternity. Sometime later another one of the guys hit a duck and sure enough St. Peter showed up with another un-gorgeous woman and handcuffed her to the duck hitter and they were that way for all of eternity. The last guy continued to play and play. One day St. Peter approached with a knock-down, gorgeous woman and handcuffed this stunning beauty to the guy. Elated, the last golfer said. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this!” The gorgeous woman said, “I hit a duck.”

This is a funny story with a sad truth. Our world judges on externals, by how we look on the outside. God does not make judgments on externals. God looks at the heart. God also wants his people to resist judging on externals. We see this truth in The Story as we come to the anointing of David as Israel’s king.

We pick up God’s Story in 1 Samuel chapter 16 after Saul has already been declared unfit as king by God. Samuel has conveyed this message to Saul, but Saul is still leading the nation of Israel. God has told Samuel that He is going to guide Samuel to the new king in Bethlehem, one of the sons of Jesse.

In order to keep Saul in the dark and to protect his own skin, Samuel went to Bethlehem to sacrifice to the Lord and sought out Jesse and his sons while he was there. Samuel is probably thinking it might be easy to pick out God’s next king. Remember Saul was taller than everyone else so he stood out. Using that thought process Samuel probably thought he could figure out what God was going to do. When Jesse and he sons started gathering, Samuel found out he was mistaken.

1 Samuel 16:6-7

“⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, because I have rejected him. Man does not see what the Lord sees, for man sees what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

Samuel saw that his instincts were not right. Jesse presented Abinadab and then were Shammah, and they were not who God had chosen.

1 Samuel 16:10-13

“¹⁰ After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here. ¹² So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then the Lord said, “Anoint him, for he is the one.” ¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.”

David a young boy was chosen as the next king of Israel, even before Saul had vacated the throne. God saw the potential of a king in the young boy.

Psalm 78:70-72

“⁷⁰ He chose David His servant and took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹ He brought him from tending ewes to be shepherd over His people Jacob— over Israel, His inheritance. ⁷² He shepherded them with a pure heart and guided them with his skillful hands.”

David was out taking care of his sheep. He was not concerned about a traveling prophet or if he was being seen as unclean. He had a task to do and he was doing it. He was caring for those within his charge. As a shepherd David would protect his sheep and protect them from danger. Most importantly for God to have chosen him as the next king, David was a man after God’s own heart.

God chose David as king because He saw the potential, but others did not see it.

Jesse, David’s father, did not even summon David when Samuel came to anoint a new king. He called all of David’s brothers but had to be asked if there was anyone else. Jesse obviously was looking at his sons based on who was the oldest, bravest, and who had maybe fought in the most battles. He did not think of David.

David’s older brother obviously did not think much of him.

1 Samuel 17:28

“²⁸ David’s oldest brother Eliab listened as he spoke to the men, and became angry with him. “Why did you come down here?” he asked. “Who did you leave those few sheep with in the wilderness? I know your arrogance and your evil heart—you came down to see the battle!”

David was doing the will of his father Jesse delivering supplies and checking on his brothers and his older brother Eliab attacks him. He was doing a good thing and is being accused of being evil.

So far his father and his brother did not see him as kingly, and neither did king Saul.

1 Samuel 17:32-33

“³² David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!” ³³ But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

Your just a kid, you are not ‘big’ enough. If Saul does not think he is big enough to fight in a battle he definitely does not think he is ‘big’ enough to be a king.

What do you think Goliath thought of David’s potential?

1 Samuel 17:42-43

“⁴² When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. ⁴³ He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods.”

Goliath is calling David a puny little stick, and then goes on to tell David that he is going to kill him. Needless to say, Goliath did not think much of David’s potential.

Other than God there is only one who believed in David’s potential.

1 Samuel 18:4

“⁴ Then Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his military tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.”

Jonathan, Saul’s son and the known successor to the throne, saw David with the potential of a king. We see in this verse that Jonathan gives David his royal robe. A precursor to David being the next king of Israel.

The next phase of David’s life with its ups and downs are really training him for being king.

Even Saul who is hostile to David over and over, is God’s tool to train David in godly, kingly character. Things started out ok as Saul liked having a soldier who was successful, but as David became more popular than Saul jealousy creped in. There are several attempts on David’s life and what we see is that God uses it to teach David humility and patience. God used these tough times to prepare David for his future.

David also spends some time living as a fugitive from the kingdom that he is supposed to be the king over. The whole time he learns to depend on God for guidance and help. A good example is found in chapter 23 when David and his men are in hiding and they hear about the Philistines attacking Keilah.

1 Samuel 23:1-2

It was reported to David: “Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and raiding the threshing floors.” ² So David inquired of the Lord: “Should I launch an attack against these Philistines?” The Lord answered David, “Launch an attack against the Philistines and rescue Keilah.”

David did as the Lord told him to do and rescued Keilah. Shortly their after we get another example of David learning to depend on God when he hears that Saul is going to come to Keilah and trap him there. He asks God will Saul come and will the people of Keilah hand him over.

1 Samuel 23:11-12

“¹¹ Will the citizens of Keilah hand me over to him? Will Saul come down as Your servant has heard? Lord God of Israel, please tell Your servant.” The Lord answered, “He will come down.” ¹² Then David asked, “Will the citizens of Keilah hand me and my men over to Saul?” “They will,” the Lord responded.”

It is only after years of training that David is ready to represent God and God’s character that he is inaugurated as king over Israel.

In Second Samuel chapter 2 David is made king over Judah and later in chapter 5 after more turmoil, he is finally made king over the entire Nation of Israel. 14 years after beginning his training, David has become king.

David as king continues with ‘the upper story’ and points us to God paving the way to spend eternity with us. It is one more step that points to the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

David and Jesus are from the same tribe and the same city.

David was anointed with oil, Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit.

If you remember we have had a few other parallels to Jesus so far in The Story.

In Exodus the Passover Lamb and Jesus is our Passover Lamb

Jesus and Joshua have the same meaning – Savior
Judges deliver – Jesus is our ultimate deliverer
In Ruth we talked about how Jesus is our Redeemer

Every part of The Story points us towards God’s ultimate Goal of being with us.

Now David did not have many people who thought he had the potential to be a king, only one person saw that potential. All we need is one person in our lives who will see the potential within us, to be what God wants us to be. Listen to that one person who encourages you to be more.

We may not have the skills, knowledge, or character to achieve that potential today but God will put us through training to develop us. I am sure most of us will not be running for our lives and fighting hostile armies, but each day we should be learning to depend on God and developing the character that God expects us to have.

It is through this season of training and testing that God will develop us to be the people that God wants us to be so that we can reach out to others, spreading His love, sharing His Gospel, and helping them achieve their potential.

Thank You for reading and God Bless,

Robert