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1 Samuel 16:1,6-7, 10-13, & 19 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 go; I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” 6) When they entered, he (Samuel) looked at Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” 7) But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for [b]God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” It appears that along with God cautioning Samuel to not look on physical appearance to determine the character/abilities of a man, He was also foreshadowing that none of the expected sons would be chosen to be king. Kind of like that old saying, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” 10) Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11) And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and [d]bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12) So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. 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 mightily upon David from that day forward. It’s interesting to me that Jesse didn’t even line his son David up as a possibility for Samuel to be instructed by God to choose him as king. I mean I get when other people underestimate an underdog, but his own dad in a sense didn’t believe that he had a chance to be selected. It’s also a reminder to me that sometimes we look for approval in other people (parents, siblings, friends, spouses, coworkers, etc.) but the appreciation we desire is found in God alone. David was overlooked by others, but selected by God! 19) So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” So in verse 13 he was chosen to be king, but by verse 19 he is found back in the fields tending to the flock as a shepherd boy. At first that sounds crazy that he would be anointed to be king, but sent to do remedial work back in the fields. But in this time of waiting, he had character building and development to do that would help him as king. That’s why preachers are often referred to as shepherds caring for their flock because there is skill and leadership involved in taking care of a plurality of animals or people. Think about it, David had to fend off wild animals, and that could have prepared him for battle and not to fear. After all, he did kill a bear and a lion! 1 Samuel 17:34-36 But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock. I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth, and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.” Also, I find it interesting that there is no indication that he was impatient while waiting to take over as king, but that’s probably because he was satisfied with where God had placed him. So often it seems like most of us (myself included) try to rush our times of waiting, but there is a purpose in our time of waiting.