February 16th, 2024

​THE SHEPHERD KING [1 Samuel 16:6 -7; 10 – 12] ICB
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab. Samuel thought, “Surely the Lord has appointed this person standing here before him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t look at how handsome Eliab is. Don’t look at how tall he is. I have not chosen him. God does not see the same way people see. People look at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass by Samuel. But Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.”
11 Then he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse answered, “I still have the youngest son. He is out taking care of the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him. We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”
12 So Jesse sent and had his youngest son brought in. He was a fine boy, tanned and handsome.
The Lord said to Samuel, “Go! Appoint him. He is the one.”
 In [vs 6 -10] God sent Prophet Samuel to Jesse’s family, to anoint a king for Israel from amongst his eight sons, but Jesse presented seven!  He hoped that God would choose one of them. They were tall, handsome and brave warriors in the king’s army, unlike his eighth son, David, who was a mere shepherd.
  Samuel picked the first born, Eliab, and like Jesse, was disappointed, when God said, ‘No’, to all seven brothers! God told Prophet Samuel not to get carried away by outward appearances [looks, strength, status, wealth, skills etc]. David with no military training, armour or spear faced Israel’s worst enemy, Goliath, a giant, who was heavily armoured and holding a spear! Yet, David trusting God, put his life in danger for Israel, and killed the giant!  [1 Samuel 17: 34 – 52 ICB] As a shepherd, he had learnt to trust God fighting off lions and bears from attacking his sheep. This prepared him for defeating Goliath.  Similarly, Lord Jesus defeated the world’s greatest enemy, Satan, the devil, when He arose from the dead, three days after being killed! His victory over death gives believers Eternal Life [John 3:16]. Satan tried to prevent this. Lord Jesus trusted God the Father [John 10:17 – 18 ICB]. Also, Bethlehem, the city, where Lord Jesus, the messiah, and David were born was the smallest in Israel! [Micah 5:2]
 In [vs11 - 12] David, like Jesus, was a shepherd and God saw his caring and good shepherd heart. Lord Jesus gave His life for us, His sheep. [John 10:11, 17 -18] David, like Lord Jesus, was not valued by his family, yet anointed king of Israel. ‘He is the one’. Likewise, Lord Jesus rejected by the Jews became our king! ‘This is my son… I am pleased with Him.’ [Matthew 3:17]