Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Samuel 16-17.

God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king to replace King Saul.  When Samuel saw Jesse’s eldest son, Eliab, he was sure that this was the man God had chosen.  Eliab was tall and handsome, the very picture of what we imagine a king to be.  But God told Samuel that Eliab was not whom He had chosen.  God does not look for the things in a leader for which people look.  We judge potential leaders on outward appearance, but God judges based on what is in their hearts.

The passage then goes on to two accounts about how David entered into King Saul’s service.  At first glance these two accounts seem to be in conflict.  However, I noticed in the second account it mentions that Jesse’s oldest three sons followed King Saul, but that David went back and firth between serving Saul and tending his father’s sheep.  That suggests that David was already in Saul’s service, but only on a part time basis, which would be consistent with the first account where David was only called to play for King Saul when an “evil (or harmful) spirit from the Lord came upon him.”  However, what I really want to focus on from this account is what it reveals about David’s heart.  When David heard Goliath’s challenge to the Israelites, his response was, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”  On several occasions in this account David repeats similar sentiments.  The capstone on understanding what in David’s heart led God to choose him as the one to succeed Saul as king over Israel when David confronted Goliath.  At that point David said, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty,…”  David was confident in his skills and abilities, but he knew in his heart that his success would only come from serving God.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.