Would you turn to 1 Samuel 16?
Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?
Fill your horn with oil, and go. I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.”And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
And he said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?”
Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one.”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Lord, we thank You for repeatedly reminding us of Your love for us this morning. Who are we that You choose to walk alongside us?
Thank You for showering us with all spiritual blessings, so each one of us can bring something through the sacrifice of thanksgiving to give glory to You. Although we have a different speaker, we trust that Your work in us continues, and that You will continue to speak to us.
Lord, we pray that we will learn some lessons from the young David. We also pray that You can gain something from us, that You can gain all of us as Your close friends.
Thank You for listening to our prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.
First, I want to thank you for all your prayers. Without your prayers, I would not have the courage to stand here.
I am sure that you are familiar with the story since your Sunday school days, so I am not going to read the whole chapter.
David was the greatest king ever to sit on the throne of Israel. But when David’s biography first appears in the Bible, in 1 Samuel 16, David was a shepherd boy—an unlikely candidate for a king.
Because of King Saul’s disobedience, God judged him as unfit to reign, and Samuel had delivered the message. Samuel was close to King Saul. He was the one who anointed Saul, discipled Saul, and prepared Saul for the kingship.
Now God had put King Saul aside. It seems that Samuel had every reason to grieve. Samuel grieved over the past and worried about the future. He assumed that the nation of Israel would face worse things ahead.
Sounds like how we handle problems: worry, worry, worry.
So God came along and talked to Samuel: “How long will you mourn over the unchangeable past? I am in control. It is time to move forward. Let’s go to Bethlehem. Put on your sandals and fill your horn with oil. I have a new plan. I have a new king.”
I am sure Samuel must have felt nervous. “How can I go? If King Saul hears this, he will kill me.”
So God gave Samuel a second reason for going to Bethlehem. People would only know that he came to offer sacrifice to the Lord, but not the main reason for making the trip. An arrangement was also made for him to eat at Jesse’s place after the sacrifice.
Now the introductions began. Jesse’s sons entered the room, and Samuel took a look at Eliab and concluded, “This must be my lucky day. Surely God’s anointed is right here.”
At this point, Samuel had no idea who God’s choice was. If Samuel had his way, he surely would have missed David, because Samuel was convinced that the oldest, biggest, best-looking son of Jesse had to be God’s choice.
In other words, Samuel was ready to settle on another person who was built like King Saul. But God reprimanded Samuel:
“Do not look at his appearance or his physical stature, because I have rejected him.
For the Lord does not see as man sees; man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Without God’s warning, any of Jesse’s seven sons would have looked like king material to Samuel.
Samuel’s action actually reflects our tendencies. No matter how many times we have gone through something, no matter how many times we should have learned, we tend to judge people by their looks, their abilities, their professional positions, their education, and so forth.
We tend to focus externally, whereas God looks for people who share His heart.
Meanwhile, Jesse was excited about his sons because they would have the opportunity to meet and eat with the great prophet and priest Samuel in person. In Jesse’s mind, perhaps Samuel was looking for an apprentice or a helper.
After all, Jesse’s seven sons had passed before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these. Are these all the sons that you have?”
Jesse replied, “There is still the youngest one, but he is keeping sheep.”
In Oriental society, usually the father favors either the oldest or the youngest son. But in Jesse’s family, the youngest meant the least important. For some reason, as recorded in Psalm 27, David was abandoned, deserted by his parents. We also know that David was despised by his brothers.
Jesse had no intention of introducing David to Samuel. To him, David was only good enough to do the menial job.
So Samuel and Jesse seemed to stand there looking at each other. Samuel was waiting for Jesse to say something: “Okay, I will go and get our son.” But Jesse never offered that. So finally Samuel told Jesse, “Go and find him. We are not going to sit down until he comes in here.”
I am sure David knew of Samuel’s visit because important news travels fast. Can you imagine the most important spiritual leader of your generation eating at your house, and every member of the family being invited except you?
Anyway, David was glad to be included. So he entered the room. There we see a ruddy shepherd with bright eyes, good-looking, but still smelling like sheep. A farm boy.
And God told Samuel, “All right, anoint him, for this is the one.”
So, without saying anything to David, his father, or his brothers, Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.
Samuel got up and left the scene. No fanfare. No explanation. No regal pronouncement. But for good reason.
Outwardly, David seemed to be a nobody, not appreciated or respected by his family. But his hidden life before the Lord had already earned him the title of a man after God’s own heart.
In God’s eyes, as recorded in 1 Samuel 13:14, David was divinely chosen.
Most people estimate that David was about fourteen or fifteen years old. My question is this: if a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old can develop a heart for the Lord, there must be some simple lessons that we can learn and grow together in.
My first question is: how did David achieve such a rank? What had David accomplished? Now, he was too young to develop a long, distinguished curriculum vitae. He had nothing to show that he was a successful man. The only real item on his short résumé was the occupation of a humble shepherd.
But David was chosen not because of his doings. David was chosen because he had a heart for the Lord. It is his being, not the doing.
David put friendship with the Lord above anybody or anything else. We tend to pay too much attention to our works, our doings, and neglect to keep our hearts in tune with the Lord.
One day I was visiting an elderly brother. He was a member of our assembly in his seventies. He was staying at a nice nursing home, but he was not in a good mood on the day of my visit.
He was frustrated. He said, “I’m locked up here in this place and cannot do anything for the Lord.”
So I shared the story of David with him. It is not our doings. But if you can develop a heart for the Lord, the Lord will be very pleased.
That seemed to bring some comfort to our brother. So I shared the story with a sister, and the sister told me she was going to write down what I told her. I got curious: why do you want to write these things down?
She said, “One day, I too will be confined in a nursing home, and I will bring this story to mind as a reminder.”
This is how she saw it. Even though we have the right kind of teaching, it is easy to fall back on old habits. It helps if we can remind each other from time to time.
How did David develop a heart for the Lord? In order to know the Lord, we first must be willing to spend time with Him.
Israel was God’s chosen nation. Most everybody knew about God, but David was different. He pursued God. We never hear of David crying self-pity or complaining about his misfortune. David just took his lot and went to the Lord.
Some years ago, when our son was still working in California, he sent me a Father’s Day card. In the letter, he asked me to clean his room.
Why should I clean his room? Because he said he was coming home. Why was he coming home? Because he said he wanted to come home and spend more time at home so he could know his father better.
My first reaction was, “It’s about time for him to get to know his old man.”
But wait a minute. Wait a minute. I suddenly realized our son was showing me a lesson. I should be the one who writes this letter to the heavenly Father.
Yes, I want to spend more time with Him in order to get to know Him better.
Brothers and sisters, the Lord still wants to win us over as His friends today. We are here to remind each other of His wish: to develop a heart-to-heart friendship with the Lord.
Forgive me for being redundant. David had seven older brothers. These brothers lived in the same house, walked down the same streets, and played in the same fields.
Actually, these brothers had a greater advantage because they had a father who was proud of them, who introduced them to the prophet. But the sad thing is, not one of them was a man after God’s own heart. That was only true of David.
His older brothers could have been men after God’s own heart, but they were not. Why? Because they did not choose to make friendship with God their priority.
Meanwhile, David found the Lord to be his closest and dearest friend.
So what can we learn from a friend? A friend is someone you can count on.
Some missionary friends were talking about their trip to South America. They discovered some beautiful flowers on the steep slope of a hillside just below them.
So they found a local little boy and asked him if he would be willing to take the flowers for them. They would hold his legs, lower him down, and pay him for his effort.
The little boy agreed to the deal, but he did not want them to hold his legs. Instead, he went home and got his big brother to lower him down.
We are told not to trust strangers, but a friend is someone you can count on. With a friend, you can have certain expectations.
For instance, if we have a need—be it babysitting or getting a ride—you tend to call your friends first. Your friends will not tell you, “Hmm, let me think about it.” If that comes from your friend, that is an insult.
A friend is someone who will protect you.
When I was growing up in China, few people had dogs as pets. Dogs were usually used as guard dogs.
There was this family at the beginning of our alley with a German shepherd. Normally the dog was chained, so theoretically he could not reach us. However, his barking and charging at an elementary school kid was always intimidating.
So every time I walked past the unit, I pretended not to look at the dog, but my eyeballs were focused on him all the time.
One day, the hostess of the unit was kind enough to invite me over for refreshments. Once I entered their unit, I discovered that the dog was allowed to run loose in the house.
Oh, I quickly learned to stay close to the hostess. Wherever she went, I was her shadow. She was my protector.
Throughout the book of Psalms, you can easily find places where David readily acknowledged that the Lord was his protector, his shield, his shelter, and his salvation.
With a friend, you can talk freely. You can be yourself.
When David was out there tending sheep in his loneliness, he learned to communicate with the Lord. Their talks covered many subjects. Part of their conversation was recorded in Psalms.
They talked like old friends. Sometimes David would complain, even about God Himself: “How long do I have to wait for You?” Sometimes he would express doubt: “Why do the wicked prosper?”
I gather that David did not come from a wealthy family, because I did not detect the presence of servants in the house or out in the field tending sheep. According to David’s brother’s assessment, David did not have too many sheep. Obviously, he could not afford to lose any.
I believe David was a humble person. I mean, a humble person is one who recognizes that his own ability is rather limited. You must learn to rely on someone else.
So David learned to rely on the Lord when he was outside tending sheep in the wilderness. He may have encountered, at the beginning, some small wild animal trying to snatch his sheep away. David must have been petrified.
So he brought the problem to the Lord and exercised some faith, a little bit at a time. Gradually, he realized that the Lord is reliable.
And we can learn the same truth also: the Lord is both loving and almighty. There are people who are loving but not mighty. Then there are others who are mighty but not loving. But the Lord is both. His love is to the uttermost, and His power upholds the universe.
If God were a magnet and David a piece of iron, by staying close to the magnet, the iron can temporarily inherit the property of magnetism. David stayed close to God, to the Lord, and was able to draw enough power to kill the lion and the bear.
And when the Bible says, “When a lion came, or a bear came,” it means it happened more than once.
When David tried to get permission to fight Goliath, King Saul initially turned him down. “No way. You are just a boy. Goliath is a professional warrior. Goliath is nine feet nine. He’s a giant.”
So David felt compelled to tell him of his life-threatening experiences rescuing sheep from a lion and a bear, with nothing but a shepherd’s rod. He told Saul, “These are real events, not something imaginary. They are real facts, not some head knowledge, but something that I myself was personally involved in.”
More importantly, David realized God’s hand behind the scenes. So he gave all the credit to his invisible Friend. He declared, “The Lord delivered me.”
An untested soldier is not necessarily a good soldier, but David was a tested soldier. He believed the One who delivered him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear could deliver him from the hand of Goliath.
In a way, he taught King Saul a Sunday school lesson. The issue here is not how big Goliath is. The issue here is how big God is. And King Saul agreed and granted permission to fight Goliath.
Chapter 16 also mentions that David was a musician—not just any musician, but one of the best in the land.
To be a good musician, you must be willing to practice all the time. Now, we do not always see the hard work that people put in behind the scenes.
If I remember correctly, the year was 1980, when Operation Mobilization came to town. At the end of their meeting, they showed a short filmstrip in which they interviewed Brother Wang Mingdao in China.
Brother Wang was a beloved pastor who was put in prison for many years because of his faith. The interviewer asked him if he had any word for the brothers in the West.
At that time, Brother Wang was about ninety years old and hard of hearing. So he said loudly, “All the way my Savior leads me.”
When he finished, I thought he would stop. But he continued singing the same hymn in English also, by heart.
I was touched. He must have been praising the Lord in jail all day long. With all that practice, he was able to deliver a testimony:
This is my story, this is my song.
So did David. Remember, he was not respected by his family. In a way, he was ostracized. But this is how he spent his days: he came to the Lord day and night, when he was happy and when he was sad.
There was no audience, just the sheep. There was no atmosphere for singing. But he chose to come and bear the testimony that God’s grace is greater than his cross.
To Jesse, David was just some kid with an overactive imagination. He was always fiddling with his harp and singing when he should have been watching his father’s sheep. He was always writing poetry to God.
That really had Jesse puzzled. “The kid is only fourteen or fifteen years old. What does he know about God?”
Yes, you have no idea. David was singing praises to God, worshiping God, and giving glory to God.
All you need to do is read a few Psalms of David to realize why David is called a man after God’s own heart.
Theoretically speaking, God has angels sing praises to Him every day. There are songs of adoration, and so we say that is part of the program.
But David’s scrap of a voice was different. He sang from his heart. When he was playing music, it brought sweet, sweet songs to God’s ears.
God was willing to come and listen to him play, even though David was surrounded by smelly sheep.
Even the people around David knew that the Lord was with David.
After the Spirit of the Lord had left King Saul, an evil spirit came to torment him from time to time. And King Saul’s attendants recommended that David play music so King Saul could have some peace.
This is how David was brought to play music for King Saul. So when David began to play his music, God, as usual, came to listen to him. And the evil spirit realized that God was in the audience and felt uncomfortable remaining in his seat, so he got up and left. Sorry, wrong address.
You say, “I’m no David. I failed in the past. My life has gone through mud.”
A professor came to his class of two hundred, and he waved a twenty-dollar bill in the air and asked whether anybody would like to have the money. Two hundred hands went up.
He said, “Okay, let me do this.” He put the dollar bill in his hand and crumpled it up. Then he asked, “Who still wants it?” Two hundred hands went up in the air.
He said, “Okay, let me do this.” He threw the twenty-dollar bill on the floor and stepped on it. Now the money was both crumpled and dirty. He asked the class, “Who still wants the money?” And two hundred hands were in the air.
Why did the students still want the crumpled and dirty money? Because it had not decreased in value. It was still worth twenty dollars.
If you are a child of God—and if you are not, you need to receive Jesus as your Savior first—but if you are a child of God, no matter what you have done in the past, no matter what your life has gone through, you did not decrease in value in God’s eyes.
You are still special to Him because you are a child of God. You are a member of the big family.
You were bought with a price. You are the object of His love.
He still wants you back.
We have to learn to make being friends with God our top choice.
Remember: it does not matter how we walk in life. What matters is who you walk with and who holds your hand.
Why wait? It is free.
Lord, You have been faithful to us. You have been patient with us. And You still try to win us over as Your close friends.
Lord, help us turn our faith into action, to make being friends with God our top priority in life. Thank You for Your blessing this morning. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.