What ELSE would you do if you had just been anointed KING?
It would seem, you go to work for the king you will replace. NO! That doesn't sound right...in fact, that sounds, well, dangerous! But ~ that is exactly what David does.
Oh, it isn't his idea...this is one of God's best, and -- in my "never to be humble" opinion -- funniest setups. There are, actually, a few things about this story that amuse me.
So, the story.
Unbeknownst to Saul, God has moved on from him, and sent Samuel to anoint David as the king of Israel. There is a saying we all use pretty flippantly: God moves in mysterious ways. This story is one that makes people ~ me for instance ~ quote that saying.
So here are my questions:
1) Why does Saul get to keep the crown and throne?
2) Why did God anoint David, and then ... nothing?
3) Really??? An evil spirit FROM GOD???
I'm rambling...sorry. Here is the story:
So, David is anointed as king, and the next day -- maybe even that same day when dinner was over the dishes were done (yeah, come on...the youngest is always stuck with the dishes, right?) -- David goes back to business as usual. He takes his harp and goes out to watch sheep. The whole embarrassing event...and David...may have been easy to ignore had it not been for the fragrance of the oil . . . check out the 'formula' for anointing oil.
Ex 30:22-26
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take the following fine spices:
500 shekels of liquid myrrh,
half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon,
250 shekels of fragrant cane,
24500 shekels of cassia — all according to the sanctuary shekel —
and a hin of olive oil.
Make these into a sacred anointing oil , a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil .
When we think of "anoint" today, even in churches that do anoint with oil ... many don't ... but those who do, usually put a little dot of oil on the forehead of the person they are anointing. That isn't what "anoint" meant in Biblical times. We can see a picture of what anointing was like from Psalm 133:
Gen 1:1 - Ps 133:2
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard ,
down upon the collar of his robes.
See, when someone was anointed they had perfumed oil poured on their head. The oil had a very strong, spicy-sweet scent. And, when you have scent added to an oil, that oil and the fragrance is more potent, and stays! It soaks into the hair, and skin and clothing. That is why a perfume, a real perfume, is so very much more expensive than a cologne...perfume is oil based. It takes much much less to give off its scent ~ so imagine a STRONGLY scented oil poured in GREAT quantities on to David. You would have been able to smell him coming. It would have stayed in his clothing...oil is hard to remove, it would have soaked into his hair and skin. Every time he came home, before he walked in the door everyone would have a) known he was coming, and b) been reminded that he had been anointed as KING. So this dichotomy: Nothing changed ~ everything changed. David is still the disliked younger brother who is sent out to watch the sheep...but every time he entered a room for days...weeks maybe, because it would be on his clothes...there was that scent that told everyone everything was going to be different. I wonder what his family thought, but I really wonder what DAVID thought.
Then,
(can you hear the background music change...?)
Then one day someone from the palace arrives asking for David to be sent to see King Saul. It seems that the King has a tormenting spirit from GOD and wants David to come work as a court musician.
{Here is where the story makes me scratch my head, and then laugh and say, "God, You are FUNNY!!"}
1 Sam 16:14-17:1
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
[ME, scratching my head, "Really? 'evil spirit FROM the LORD' " ??]
Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better." So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
[ME, again scratching my head, "So...they tell King Saul that he has an evil spirit from God...like they might tell him that he has a broken wheel on his chariot. 'No big deal, you are just demon possessed...we thought we'd hire a good musician to play music for you.' AND!!! Saul does NOT freak out. 'Yeah, do that...']
One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."
[ME, again scratching my head, and beginning to laugh, "So someone just happens to know about David, the kid who is so insignificant in his own family that they forget to invite him home to dinner when Samuel shows up...someone from Saul's court just 'happens' to know about him and how he plays the harp ~ what, did he play at the local 'Open-Mike Night' at the local coffee bar? ~ and that he is a brave man and warrior ... had he seen David out with the sheep killing lions and bears? I mean how did this guy know??? And ... why WHY does God want David exposed to Saul? Does He want David to see what he is up against...crazed Saul especially? Really God, You have amazingly LONG arms and soooooooooooooooooooooo much up Your sleeves.]
Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David , who is with the sheep." So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
[What did Jesse think? Was ANYONE worried ... ? What if Saul finds out that Samuel anointed David?]
David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, [oy!! the PAINFUL irony here...] and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him." Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
So WHAT was David thinking all those days? Caring for Saul's armor, playing his harp. Is this when David and Jonathon met and became friends? Was this a warning for David, letting him know, among other things that God sends his Spirit, AND takes it away ? ? ?
God's apprenticeships .... wow!
Oh, it isn't his idea...this is one of God's best, and -- in my "never to be humble" opinion -- funniest setups. There are, actually, a few things about this story that amuse me.
So, the story.
Unbeknownst to Saul, God has moved on from him, and sent Samuel to anoint David as the king of Israel. There is a saying we all use pretty flippantly: God moves in mysterious ways. This story is one that makes people ~ me for instance ~ quote that saying.
So here are my questions:
1) Why does Saul get to keep the crown and throne?
2) Why did God anoint David, and then ... nothing?
3) Really??? An evil spirit FROM GOD???
I'm rambling...sorry. Here is the story:
So, David is anointed as king, and the next day -- maybe even that same day when dinner was over the dishes were done (yeah, come on...the youngest is always stuck with the dishes, right?) -- David goes back to business as usual. He takes his harp and goes out to watch sheep. The whole embarrassing event...and David...may have been easy to ignore had it not been for the fragrance of the oil . . . check out the 'formula' for anointing oil.
Ex 30:22-26
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Take the following fine spices:
500 shekels of liquid myrrh,
half as much (that is, 250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon,
250 shekels of fragrant cane,
24500 shekels of cassia — all according to the sanctuary shekel —
and a hin of olive oil.
Make these into a sacred anointing oil , a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil .
When we think of "anoint" today, even in churches that do anoint with oil ... many don't ... but those who do, usually put a little dot of oil on the forehead of the person they are anointing. That isn't what "anoint" meant in Biblical times. We can see a picture of what anointing was like from Psalm 133:
Gen 1:1 - Ps 133:2
How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard ,
down upon the collar of his robes.
See, when someone was anointed they had perfumed oil poured on their head. The oil had a very strong, spicy-sweet scent. And, when you have scent added to an oil, that oil and the fragrance is more potent, and stays! It soaks into the hair, and skin and clothing. That is why a perfume, a real perfume, is so very much more expensive than a cologne...perfume is oil based. It takes much much less to give off its scent ~ so imagine a STRONGLY scented oil poured in GREAT quantities on to David. You would have been able to smell him coming. It would have stayed in his clothing...oil is hard to remove, it would have soaked into his hair and skin. Every time he came home, before he walked in the door everyone would have a) known he was coming, and b) been reminded that he had been anointed as KING. So this dichotomy: Nothing changed ~ everything changed. David is still the disliked younger brother who is sent out to watch the sheep...but every time he entered a room for days...weeks maybe, because it would be on his clothes...there was that scent that told everyone everything was going to be different. I wonder what his family thought, but I really wonder what DAVID thought.
Then,
(can you hear the background music change...?)
Then one day someone from the palace arrives asking for David to be sent to see King Saul. It seems that the King has a tormenting spirit from GOD and wants David to come work as a court musician.
{Here is where the story makes me scratch my head, and then laugh and say, "God, You are FUNNY!!"}
1 Sam 16:14-17:1
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
[ME, scratching my head, "Really? 'evil spirit FROM the LORD' " ??]
Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better." So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."
[ME, again scratching my head, "So...they tell King Saul that he has an evil spirit from God...like they might tell him that he has a broken wheel on his chariot. 'No big deal, you are just demon possessed...we thought we'd hire a good musician to play music for you.' AND!!! Saul does NOT freak out. 'Yeah, do that...']
One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him."
[ME, again scratching my head, and beginning to laugh, "So someone just happens to know about David, the kid who is so insignificant in his own family that they forget to invite him home to dinner when Samuel shows up...someone from Saul's court just 'happens' to know about him and how he plays the harp ~ what, did he play at the local 'Open-Mike Night' at the local coffee bar? ~ and that he is a brave man and warrior ... had he seen David out with the sheep killing lions and bears? I mean how did this guy know??? And ... why WHY does God want David exposed to Saul? Does He want David to see what he is up against...crazed Saul especially? Really God, You have amazingly LONG arms and soooooooooooooooooooooo much up Your sleeves.]
Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David , who is with the sheep." So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.
[What did Jesse think? Was ANYONE worried ... ? What if Saul finds out that Samuel anointed David?]
David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, [oy!! the PAINFUL irony here...] and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him." Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.
So WHAT was David thinking all those days? Caring for Saul's armor, playing his harp. Is this when David and Jonathon met and became friends? Was this a warning for David, letting him know, among other things that God sends his Spirit, AND takes it away ? ? ?
God's apprenticeships .... wow!
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