David Anointed King

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

David Anointed King

Samuel has been notified that Saul is no longer the future for Israel. In God’s eyes, Saul is no longer king over Israel, due to rebellion. As we will see in our future posts, it will take a period of testing and struggle to get to the point where the people of Israel catch up to the truth of Saul’s true condition.

Israel is a nation that is divided, in that two kings are present. The visible King Saul, who is in appearance to the people, the king of Israel, and a young teenager, an “invisible” king who has the seed of greatness in Him and the call of God on him.

Isn’t this the condition we find ourselves in today. God has enthroned a King and there are those who still follow after a usurper king, a king that has been dethroned from all authority and power. Yet some still regard him as the one to follow.

1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’
3 And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”

In our portion of the Word this morning, we see Samuel being charged with the task of anointing a new king, even while Saul is still the reigning monarch, the man who knows his time is up, and that a competitor in on the sidelines, called by God to take his place! Given Saul’s history, and if we didn’t have the knowledge we have of his downfall, should we expect any type of peaceful handover of power? No – it seems obvious that this would end up being a life and death competition. One of these men would have to die.

And Samuel is in the midst of this struggle.

If I was Samuel, I may think this may be the perfect time to inform the nation that their idea of having a “king like all the nations” is a horrible idea (which it was), and that the true King will resume His rightful position in the nation (which He should). Yet in the wisdom of God, this request for an earthly king by the people would have to run it’s course, and it will be over 400 years until the nation enters captivity. The nation seemed to find success under David and Solomon for many decades but even during this time, cracks and failures seemed to spell the end for Israel’s period of having an earthly king like all the nations around them.

Samuel will need to visit Jesse, a Bethlehemite, a man with a son who will replace Saul. Surely this will be a man of statue, a fighting man, impressive as Saul was in physical prowess and bearing. But Samuel wasn’t granted any further information regarding Saul’s replacement, but he was provided a cover for the trip. The Lord considered Samuel’s concern and provided a reason to show up at Jesse’s town. Samuel knew that Saul would have spy’s following him, and informants willing to “rat” on him, in order to gain Saul’s approval. The relationship of prophet and king had soured and will never be restored.

A cover was provided, a reason was supplied to Samuel for this visit that would formally start the transition from the kingdom of Saul to some future.

Take a heifer for a sacrifice. As we will see in a future post, this was not a common occurrence for the prophet to bring a heifer to a town for a sacrifice, as the people questioned Samuel as he arrived. But for the purposes of anointing the new king in a secretive manner, this would suffice.

The new king would be anointed, with David’s family and the elders of Bethlehem present. Could we assume other inhabitants of the small village attended? Most likely, but the text doesn’t say. Nevertheless, the new king was anointed in the midst of a small group of people. Enough for just one of them to get back to Saul possibly.

Another King was anointed in the midst of a small group of people, and His reign has continued as foretold. The anointing of Jesus was with the true oil of the Spirit, during a baptism that connected Him with those who He would seek to destroy, with those would seek to destroy Him. He was and is the true King!

Former citizens of the old kingdom are still turning to Him. Have you realized He is the true King?

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