1 Samuel 16
God provided Himself a king
1 And the LORD said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided a king for Myself among his sons.
- Jesus Christ is the eternal King of Kings that God will provide for the world forever.
- Revelation 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he will reign forever and ever.
2 And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears of 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 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you are to do: you will anoint for Me the one that I name to you.
- Samuel was right about Saul. Later Saul killed a whole city of priests because David had been there.
4 So Samuel did what the LORD spoke, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, Do you come peaceably? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I have come to sacrifice to the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6 And when they came, he looked on Eliab and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.
God sees differently than man; God looks at the heart
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look on his appearance, or on the height of his stature because I have refused him: for the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance/eyes, but the LORD looks on the heart. 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, The LORD has not chosen this one. 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, The LORD has not chosen this one. 10 Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, The LORD has not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the young men? And he said, The youngest remains, and behold, he keeps the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and bring him: we will not sit around until he comes here. 12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes, and a handsome form. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he, 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of the LORD came on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. 14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD terrified him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubles you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants, which are before you, to seek out a man, who is a skillful man playing a harp: and when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will play with his hand, and you will be well. 17 And Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
God was with David
18 Then one of the servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, a handsome man, and the LORD is with him. 19 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me David your son, who is with the sheep. 20 And Jesse took an ass loaded with bread, a jug of wine and a young goat, and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse saying, Let David now stand before me for he has found favor in my sight. 23 And when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
- Saul’s replacement is brought into Saul’s presence as a healing influence. Notice that music caused the evil spirit to leave Saul.
1 Samuel 17
God fights against evil
1 Now the Philistines gathered their armies together to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh which belongs to Judah, and camped between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and camped by the valley of Elah, and set the battle formation against the Philistines. 3 The Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side and there was a valley between them. 4 And a champion went out of the camp of the Philistines named Goliath, from Gath, whose height was 9 and 3/4 feet tall.
- The Philistines worshipped evil gods that lead people to death.
- They gathered against Israel, who worshipped the only true God.
- To worship false things that did not create us or give us life and breath, is to invite war and destruction from God’s goodness to preserve life.
- Judges 5:8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates:
5 And he had a helmet of brass on his head, and he was clothed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat of brass was 125 pounds. 6 And he had bronze leggings, and a target of brass between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear was like a weaver’s beam; and his spear’s head of iron weighed 15 pounds: and his shield carrier walked before him. 8 And he stood and shouted to the armies of Israel and said to them, Why have you come out to set your battle in order? Am I not a Philistine, and you servants to Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. 9 If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants: but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you will be our slaves and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day; give me a man that we may fight together. 11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were terrified and deeply shaken.
- Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts his trust in the LORD will be safe.
12 Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, whose name was Jesse. He had eight sons: and the man went among men as an old man in the days of Saul. 13 And the three oldest sons of Jesse went and followed Saul to the battle: and the names of his three sons that went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah. 14 And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 15 But David had returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
- David had been in Saul’s palace playing the harp when the evil spirit came on Saul in 1 Samuel 16.
- Saul liked David and made David his armor bearer.
- Then David went back home to keep his father’s sheep.
16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days. 17 And Jesse said to David his son, Now take for your brothers an ephah of this roasted grain, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to your brothers; 18 And carry these ten cheeses of milk to the captain of their thousand, and see how your brothers are doing and take their pledge.
- Families sent the food for their soldiers in the army.
19 Now Saul and all the men of Israel were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20 So David rose up early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions and went as Jesse had commanded him; and he came to the trench, as the army was going out to the fight, and shouted for the battle. 21 For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in order, army against army. 22 And David left his provisions in the hand of the keeper of the supplies, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brothers. 23 And as he talked with them, behold, up came the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the Philistines, and spoke according to the same words: and David heard them. 24 And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him, and were greatly afraid. 25 And the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man that has come up? Surely he is coming up to defy Israel: and it will be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel.
- Saul had offered a reward for killing Goliath.
- Great riches, marriage to one of his two daughters, tax exempt status, and service exempt status for his family.
26 And David spoke to the men that stood by him saying, What will be done to the man that kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 27 And the people answered him this way saying, So will it be done to the man that kills him. 28 And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, Why have you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the evil of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle. 29 And David said, Now what have I done? Was it not just a question? 30 And he turned from him toward another, and said the same thing: and the people answered him again the same thing.
- Eliab was a jealous brother, not a loving brother. He was amgry and belittled David in front of the men. He was present when Samuel anointed David as ruler over Israel. He knew about David’s triumph over the lion and the bear.
- Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel, anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?
31 And when the words David spoke were heard, they told Saul: and he sent for him. 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man’s heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: you are just a youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said to Saul, Your servant kept his father’s sheep, and a lion came, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, struck him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, struck him, and killed him. 36 Your servant killed both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine will be as one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.
- David saw God Almighty in his heart, the Maker of heaven and earth. The Philistine was no match for the Maker of heaven and earth.
- Jeremiah 10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to abide his indignation.
- Psalm 96:5 For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.
God honors faith; He is with us
37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the LORD be with you. 38 And Saul armed David with his armor, and he put a helmet of brass on his head; also he clothed him with a coat of mail. 39 And David strapped his sword on his armor, and he tried to walk; for he had not tested it. And David said to Saul, I can not go with these; for I have not tested them. And David took them off.
- As a shepherd fighting the bear and lion he hadn’t had armor.
- 2Corinthians 5:7 (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
- Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in his pouch; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. 41 And the Philistine came on and drew near to David; and the man that carried the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked around and saw David, he scorned him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a handsome appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45 Then David said to the Philistine, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to you in the name/person of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand; and I will strike you, and take your head from you; and I will give the carcasses of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
- LORD of hosts means controller or master over all the armies of the universe. Angels.
The battle is the LORD’S
47 And all this assembly will know that the LORD does not save with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hands. 48 And when the Philistine arose, and came and drew near to meet David, David hurried, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took out a stone, and slung it, and struck the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell on his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood on the Philistine, took his sword, drew it out of its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, shouted, and pursued the Philistines, until you come to the valley, and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to Shaaraim, even to Gath, and to Ekron. 53 And when the children of Israel returned from chasing after the Philistines, they plundered their tents. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent. 55 And when Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the army, Abner, whose son is this youth? And Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I cannot tell. 56 And the king said, Inquire whose son the stripling is. 57 And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, Whose son are you, young man? And David answered, I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
- Zechariah 4:6 Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of armies.
- 1Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
- Daniel 11:32… the people that do know their God will be strong, and do exploits.
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SUMMARY: 1 Samuel 16-17
- God provided Himself a king
- God sees differently than man
- He was with David
- The LORD fights against evil
- He honors faith
- He is with us
- The battle is the LORD'S