Liberating Moments!

1st Samuel 16

Samuel Anoints David

1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

² But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
⁴ Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
⁵ Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
⁶ When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
¹² So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

On this day of March 24th 1837 Canada gave Black people the right to vote and they were celebrating a liberating moment! All the while right next door in America the relatives of those same Black people were still enslaved in chains. In today's text I want to look at two brothers Eliab and David. Eliab was the oldest of the eight brothers sure to one day gain his fathers blessing and majority of the inheritance, while David was the youngest brother and did not have much to look forward to in the future except working for and serving his brothers. Surely David knew that his portion of the inheritance would be little if any and by default he would look to his brothers for generosity. All of this would become the norm except God! God sends the prophet Samuel to mix things up, God sends Samuel to liberate David from the least among his family to the King of God's people. This transformation does take some time but it happens nevertheless and soon David's liberating moment leaves Eliab behind still serving his father Jesse and still serving in the Kings Army under Saul and then David.

It's Amazing how God can transform our situations because of where our hearts are. David indeed had a heart full of love and compassion for all creation. I'll leave you with this...what happened to David's youthful heart? After slaying Goliath, viscous pursuits from Saul, troubling conversations with Jonathan and hiding out in caves? What condition is Davids heart in when he later sees Bathsheba in 2nd Samuel 11? John Dalberg-Acton pinned these words "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."  Family we must first allow our hearts to be filled with LOVE, secondly we must guard that love always from each and everything that seeks to corrupt it, this will ensure our eternal liberation.

Be Well, Love Pastor Sirchester