1. Where do you find yourself doing this the most--judging people by height, weight, and appearance, sizing them up?
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2. Actually, what qualities should catch our eye and impress us the most about others? What are the marks of true greatness?
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I love to discover new truths through Scripture, but I also love wrapping the familiar passages around me like a security blanket and feeling their warmth. Perhaps we'll have the joy of experiencing the best of both worlds as we go through these next ninety days together, examining the life of David.
From the first glimpses we get of him in Scripture, you begin to wonder how one per in son could be so utterly typical in some ways and so completely atypical in others. That one question will both bless and haunt us intermittently throughout our look at David's life--first in his youth and then in the relationships that shaped his future.
He appears first to us in 1 Samuel 16, amid turbulent circumstances. The opening words of the chapter ring with change:
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" (1 Sam 16:1)
This verse supplies some interesting facts to file away. Saul had been rejected as king of Israel, and Samuel the prophet had been grieving over him. So when told to play a part in appointing Saul's successpr, Samuel uncharacteristically argued with God. He said "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me" (v. 2)
The plot thickens.
Samuel the prophet took a heifer for a sacrifice (when engaging in matters of espionage, it always pays to have a good cover story) and set out for the Bethlehem home of a man named Jesse. Jesse had six of the finest sons in all Israel, and--did I mention?--those six had a kid brotherd.
When Samuel arrived in Bethlehem, the town council trembled with fear. Nobody to trifle with, that Samuel. but he announced his peaceful intentions and invited the village to attend the sacrifice. When Jesse arrived, Samuel's heart leaped at the sight. The eldest son, Eliab was certainly king material, but God gave a clear no. Each of the sons of Jesse followed--each with the same result.
A slightly puzzled Samuel inquired, "Are these all the sons you have?" (v.11)
Have you ever felt like the youngest son, the consummate "little brother?" You don't have to be male and you don't have to have siblings to feel that way. In fact, I don't think anyone escapes the feeling completely. Sometime, somewhere, you've probably been treated as if you didn't exist, weren't wanted, didn't matter.
For example, when a friend of mine was about four years old, his two older brothers had company, and he wanted to tag along. Probably he annoyed his older siblings into a brilliant idea. They took him to an anthill, and with a couple of serving spoons and a coffee can, soon had his pants filled with very angry insects.
The few glimpses we see of David and his brothers suggest that he too knew the "sting" of being left out. I believe his wisdom and meditative nature got their start in the loneliness of a little brother accustomed to being put down and ostracized. Did he inherit the duties of keeping sheep, or were the woolly creatures preferable to the company of taunting brother?
When Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons, Jesse answered, "There is still the youngest...but he is tending the sheep" (v. 11)
Samuel's stubborness amuses me. Notice his response to Jesse once he learned that Jesse had one more son: "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives" (V. 11). He certainly knew how to get them moving! Don't forget how everyone trembled when he arrived in Bethlehem.
David, a young teenager, arrived on the scene with no idea what awaited him. He was handsome, with a reddish complexion, and no doubt smelled like sheep. He obviously was not his own father's choice, nor Samuel's.
But God taught Samuel a very important lesson: "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart" (v. 7). God reminded Samuel that the human mind has an overwhelming tendency to make assumptions based on appearances. God's choices don't always makes sense to us, but they are never haphazard or random.
3. Who are the "older brothers" you compare yourself to? Who or what have you allowed to intimidate you into believing that you're less than you really are, incapable of achieving much of any real value in God's kingdom?
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