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Sermon Notes of Rev.Dr.I.J.W.Oakley (12-9-1976 Standtown Baptist Church)
David is one of the most extraordinary characters of the
Old Testament, and the greatest of Israel’s kings. He was a shepherd, a
musician, an administrator, a poet, a king and a conqueror, and he had
outstanding character and qualities. His portrait is faithfully painted,
“warts and all”. He was considerate, loyal, gifted and devoted to God, yet
also severe in war, deceitful, and given to sensual indulgence.
Subsequent ages looked back to
his reign as the greatest period of Hebrew history. So great that the Messiah
was to be descended from king David, and known as “Son of David” (title used
most in Matthew’s Gospel). Under him, Israel was no longer a collection of
tribes, but a strong nation with a central government. By him, Jerusalem was
captured and made the political and religious capital. The Temple was built
there in Solomon’s reign. Under David, Israel had the widest boundaries she
had ever had, and subdued several bordering nations. The Philistines were
finally crushed. Israel saw a vast increase in wealth and power because of the
genius of David. He was the head of a considerable empire.
In 1 Samuel 16 we read the story of God’s choice of David as successor of Saul.
Samuel had parted from Saul, and they met no more after
that, although their homes were not far from each other. Samuel yearned over
Saul, and was deeply grieved when the vessel he had helped to form was shattered
to pieces. God rebukes him for not accepting his purpose, tells him to forget
his mourning, and find a successor to Saul. God’s resources are not exhausted
because one man fails. Saul may have been rejected, but the throne was not
finished.
Note that when God’s command
comes, Samuel is told very little detail about the successor. Who he is, and
where he is, is only gradually revealed. Samuel gets light enough for one step,
and no more. This is always God’s way. His will is unfolded by degrees. The
way to see farther ahead is to go as far as we can with the light given to us.
Also Samuel’s weaknesses are highlighted here. At first he was frightened when he was sent to Jesse’s house to find a king. He fears Saul will kill him. He had forgotten to say, Speak Lord for your servant heareth (1 Samuel 3:10), and obviously left God out of account in his fear. Samuel’s faith is not as strong as we would like to see. But the best of men know of times when faith fails them and fear takes hold of them. God makes a concession to Samuel’s weakness, and says he can say he has come to offer sacrifice – which was quite true, without telling his whole purpose. Secrecy is not the same as falsehood. God promises to show him what he has to do. In all this, it is God who is the real actor. The prophet Samuel is but an instrument in God’s hand.
The old man is suddenly seen
coming up the hill to the gate of the city, driving a heifer and carrying the
horn in his hand. He had evidently not been to Bethlehem for a long time, and
his sudden appearance causes alarm. Comest thou peaceably? (1 Samuel
16:4). There seems to be the suggestion of bad conscience here.
While at the ceremonies, Samuel
meets Jesse’s sons in particular. One by one, these handsome, well-built young
men pass before him. Each one seems so eligible and suitable. But not one of
them is God’s choice. It is strange that Samuel, who had been so disappointed
in Saul, still thought of good looks and physical strength as qualifications for
a great king. God reminds him that man looketh on the outward appearance, but
the Lord looketh on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
The world’s rulers in old days
did have to be men of great strength, because everything depended on mere brute
force. But God’s chosen king was to rule, not by strength of his own, but by
leaning on God. How astonished Samuel was to learn God’s choice, when David
was revealed to be the successor of Saul. David is set forth here as a real
nobody – the last choice anyone would make for future king. His father
considered him so unimportant that he had not even summoned him to come for the
feast, which the rest of the family was present at. He was definitely the least
in his father’s estimation.
From the rest of the story, it
is apparent that his brothers did not have much love for him. His brother Eliab
spoke to him so seethingly before the battle with Goliath (1 Samuel 17:28). To
the family, he was only the lad who kept the sheep, a mere stripling, who did
not count in the least. (The work of tending sheep was normally the work of
slaves, females, or the despised in the family.)
This is a clear example of 1
Corinthians 1:27-18, But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the
mighty. And base things of the world and things which are despised, hath God
chosen – yea, and things which are not – to bring to nought the things that
are. It magnifies His freedom of choice and mighty power by taking a mere
shepherd boy and making him to be the greatest king, and forerunner of Christ.
Even while in this lowly
position, David was being prepared for the future. Here we see the wisdom of
God. David had got to know God and to depend on God. Many of the Psalms show the
influence of his early boyhood as a shepherd. When I consider thy heavens,
the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars (Psalm 8:3). The heavens
declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork (Psalm
19:1). Above all Psalm 23 reveals the relationship of God to His child. There
are worse schools for a future king that the solitary shepherd’s life on the
bare hills around Bethlehem.
So David arrives, and is brought in. He is ruddy, red-faced, of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look at. Arise; anoint him, for this is he (1 Samuel 16:12). Saul took the horn of oil and anointed him before all his brothers. No word passes about the purpose of the anointing.
The Spirit of the Lord came
upon David from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:13). This refers to the actual
communication of divine gifts fitting him for service. He was soon conscious of
new power within him. He felt the divine communication of gifts and graces to
fit him for his future role. What a difference this made to his life. The whole
direction changed. He became a mighty valiant man, distinguished for the courage
of his deeds, able to do what he could not do before.
The Christian is also endowed by
the Holy Spirit. It is not intermittent, as it was in Old Testament days, but it
is a permanent endowment. The Christian is able to do things he was not able to
do before, to break through the toils of custom, meet the lion of worldliness,
have patience under suffering, forgive his worst enemy, serve God in deeds of
faith, become marked by great prudence. Life is no more a confused scramble,
blundering from one error to the next. Instead, the Christian leads a guided and
purposeful life. He has a voice leading him, saying, This is the way, walk ye
in it (Isaiah 30:21).
God’s Spirit upon him did, however, bring David into conflict with Saul. When the world discovers we are of a different nature and going to a different country, we soon earn its hatred. But overall, in every way, as with David, we are fitted for the work to which God has called us.
A human character is on the stage, but basically the
mighty hand of God is seen in and through it all. The arranging of events,
calling and equipping are all of God. Our role is to do God’s will in this
life. We are reminded here of the dignity and significance of every life
belonging to God. We are not all king David’s, but we still have a purpose and
a function to the world. Our lives must be lived to the praise and glory of His
grace. Our lives are of eternal significance.
Quote from A Diary of Private Prayer, by John Baillie: “My life today will be lived in time, but eternal issues will be concerned in it. The world I cannot see or touch is the most real world of all. I am a pilgrim of eternity. Make me wise to see all things today under the form of eternity.”
