Oops...we forgot
David is such a significant figure in scripture. He is so important that whole of his story is spread throughout the books of Samuel, Kings, Chronicles and, of course, Psalms. Jesus calls himself, "The Son of David." Isn't it interesting that the very important King David's story begins, as it were, "Once upon a time there was this boy that no one thought much of. A boy so insignificant that he was left out and forgotten by his own family, forgotten even when the most important spiritual leader in of all Israel drops by for dinner."
So, David gets up one morning...early as usual, like "it is still dark" early. He goes out as he always does to tend the sheep. Grabbing his harp on the way out the door, he faces what, for all the world, looks like every other day: walk the hills, tend the sheep, kill a bear or perhaps a lion, (yeah...we'll talk about that later), sing and play the harp a bit, tend the sheep, walk the hills. Back at home, a very unexpected visitor has dropped in: Samuel THE prophet/spiritual leader of Israel. He wants to do a sacrifice and have some dinner with the family. Well, that was the official story. Little did Jesse, David's dad, or anyone else know--anyone except of course Samuel and God--that there was a much more significant reason for Samuel's visit.
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."
But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me."
The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."
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?"
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. (1 Sam 16:1-5)
So ~ big BIG honor: Jesse and his sons get invited to the sacrifice with Samuel, himself!! Well, most of Jesse's sons. Somehow David was forgotten. We aren't told why.
Everyone gets ready, dinner is prepared, the sacrifice is made, the sons are lined up to be inspected by Samuel...they don't know why. He is looking for someone. God is letting him choose someone for something, and it has come down to Jesse's sons. It does not seem that Samuel has told them that he is looking for a king. But God has told Samuel that one of Jesse's sons is the next king. We get the internal dialog between the LORD and Samuel, but he does not seem to share it with Jesse or his family.
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 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 man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these."
So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" (1 Sam 16:4-11)
What an incredibly embarrassing moment! Right? Can you imagine Jesse's face? Can you hear the whispered, "Eliab! Where is David?
"He is out in the hills with the sheep."
"There is still the youngest," Jesse said. " He is tending the sheep."
"Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." (1 Samuel 16:11)
"Eliab, you heard. Have someone get him...now!"
So . . . everyone stands around and makes small talk? How were the rejected sons feeling as they stood waiting for David to come in from the field? He had to have a bath, and get dressed in good clothes. That had to take a while, right?
Finally, David walks into the room, clothes damp and hair still dripping from his bath. Samuel walks over and tipping up David's chin with his gnarled hand, looks deeply into his eyes. A look of wonder, then of ... what? ... satisfaction settles on Samuel's face. Samuel reaches for the horn of oil and empties its contents onto David's head.
Samuel turns and walks to his place at the table and sits down. Slowly, awkwardly everyone else moves to their place. Jesse motions to the serving women. When dinner is over Samuel leaves the stunned family and goes on to Ramah.
How did everyone feel as Samuel anointed David as the next king? What do you do with that little brother that you ... well ... that you would clearly rather ignore when he is anointed as king? Did they understand? Did Samuel explain, or did he silently pray as he poured a bottle of oil on David's head?
The story in 1 Samuel 16 does not tell us that. However, there is one exchange that happens in a later chapter that gives a pretty clear insight into why David may have been forgotten and into the brothers' reaction: To put it mildly, David's brothers did not like him. OK...scripture NEVER says: "David's brothers did not like David." but it does record one very significant conversation between David and his oldest brother that happened a few weeks later on the day David killed Goliath:
When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."
"Now what have I done?" said David . "Can't I even speak?"
(1 Sam 17:28-30)
WOW! Right?!! I don't know about you, but I can hear the echo of hundreds of other conversations, hundreds of snide remarks, arguments, mordant exchanges. We aren't made privy to the why and wherefore of this caustic relationship. Why do any older siblings dislike their younger siblings? The usual reasons: mom and dad raise them differently and older siblings resent that, mom and dad show favoritism and the siblings resent that, the older siblings are arrogant and full of themselves and act like bullies, the younger siblings are irritating brats and the older siblings ....well you get the picture.
Scripture gives no hints on why David's brothers didn't like him. From what we see, David was actually a cool kid. We will see later that he was talented and strong (bear and lion killing strong). Eliab clearly did not like David, and David was treated, certainly that day, as if he was not one of the brothers, as if he were not even part of the family. And, we don't know why. (The exchange above actually takes place AFTER this fateful dinner with Samuel, so being anointed king didn't IMPROVE David's relationship with his brothers. )
Clearly sometimes Somebodys start as ignored Nobodys. We do not know what happened after Samuel left. I imagine one of the brothers glared at David and said something like, "Go take a bath and get back to the sheep. You are getting oil all over everything." From the story, it seems that everyone just stayed in "ignore-mode" and ignored that anything had happened. The older sons go back to the army, David goes back to sheep tending .... until a giant Philistine shows up.
[ok, there is one very very interesting event between the dinner with Samuel, and the day with Goliath....next blog, OK]
So, David gets up one morning...early as usual, like "it is still dark" early. He goes out as he always does to tend the sheep. Grabbing his harp on the way out the door, he faces what, for all the world, looks like every other day: walk the hills, tend the sheep, kill a bear or perhaps a lion, (yeah...we'll talk about that later), sing and play the harp a bit, tend the sheep, walk the hills. Back at home, a very unexpected visitor has dropped in: Samuel THE prophet/spiritual leader of Israel. He wants to do a sacrifice and have some dinner with the family. Well, that was the official story. Little did Jesse, David's dad, or anyone else know--anyone except of course Samuel and God--that there was a much more significant reason for Samuel's visit.
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."
But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me."
The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate."
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?"
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. (1 Sam 16:1-5)
So ~ big BIG honor: Jesse and his sons get invited to the sacrifice with Samuel, himself!! Well, most of Jesse's sons. Somehow David was forgotten. We aren't told why.
Everyone gets ready, dinner is prepared, the sacrifice is made, the sons are lined up to be inspected by Samuel...they don't know why. He is looking for someone. God is letting him choose someone for something, and it has come down to Jesse's sons. It does not seem that Samuel has told them that he is looking for a king. But God has told Samuel that one of Jesse's sons is the next king. We get the internal dialog between the LORD and Samuel, but he does not seem to share it with Jesse or his family.
Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 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 man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these."
So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" (1 Sam 16:4-11)
What an incredibly embarrassing moment! Right? Can you imagine Jesse's face? Can you hear the whispered, "Eliab! Where is David?
"He is out in the hills with the sheep."
"There is still the youngest," Jesse said. " He is tending the sheep."
"Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives." (1 Samuel 16:11)
"Eliab, you heard. Have someone get him...now!"
So . . . everyone stands around and makes small talk? How were the rejected sons feeling as they stood waiting for David to come in from the field? He had to have a bath, and get dressed in good clothes. That had to take a while, right?
Finally, David walks into the room, clothes damp and hair still dripping from his bath. Samuel walks over and tipping up David's chin with his gnarled hand, looks deeply into his eyes. A look of wonder, then of ... what? ... satisfaction settles on Samuel's face. Samuel reaches for the horn of oil and empties its contents onto David's head.
Samuel turns and walks to his place at the table and sits down. Slowly, awkwardly everyone else moves to their place. Jesse motions to the serving women. When dinner is over Samuel leaves the stunned family and goes on to Ramah.
How did everyone feel as Samuel anointed David as the next king? What do you do with that little brother that you ... well ... that you would clearly rather ignore when he is anointed as king? Did they understand? Did Samuel explain, or did he silently pray as he poured a bottle of oil on David's head?
The story in 1 Samuel 16 does not tell us that. However, there is one exchange that happens in a later chapter that gives a pretty clear insight into why David may have been forgotten and into the brothers' reaction: To put it mildly, David's brothers did not like him. OK...scripture NEVER says: "David's brothers did not like David." but it does record one very significant conversation between David and his oldest brother that happened a few weeks later on the day David killed Goliath:
When Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle."
"Now what have I done?" said David . "Can't I even speak?"
(1 Sam 17:28-30)
WOW! Right?!! I don't know about you, but I can hear the echo of hundreds of other conversations, hundreds of snide remarks, arguments, mordant exchanges. We aren't made privy to the why and wherefore of this caustic relationship. Why do any older siblings dislike their younger siblings? The usual reasons: mom and dad raise them differently and older siblings resent that, mom and dad show favoritism and the siblings resent that, the older siblings are arrogant and full of themselves and act like bullies, the younger siblings are irritating brats and the older siblings ....well you get the picture.
Scripture gives no hints on why David's brothers didn't like him. From what we see, David was actually a cool kid. We will see later that he was talented and strong (bear and lion killing strong). Eliab clearly did not like David, and David was treated, certainly that day, as if he was not one of the brothers, as if he were not even part of the family. And, we don't know why. (The exchange above actually takes place AFTER this fateful dinner with Samuel, so being anointed king didn't IMPROVE David's relationship with his brothers. )
Clearly sometimes Somebodys start as ignored Nobodys. We do not know what happened after Samuel left. I imagine one of the brothers glared at David and said something like, "Go take a bath and get back to the sheep. You are getting oil all over everything." From the story, it seems that everyone just stayed in "ignore-mode" and ignored that anything had happened. The older sons go back to the army, David goes back to sheep tending .... until a giant Philistine shows up.
[ok, there is one very very interesting event between the dinner with Samuel, and the day with Goliath....next blog, OK]
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