April
9th 1
Samuel 16
C David – God’s King
C David – God’s King
Samuel
anoints David King
1:
And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul,
seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn
with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I
have provided me a king among his sons. 2:
And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he Will kill me. And
the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to
sacrifice to the LORD. 3:
And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt
do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4:
And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And
the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou
peaceably? 5:
And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto 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 it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab,
and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him. 7:
But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the
height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth
not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the
LORD looketh on the heart. 8:
Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he
said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. 9:
Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the
LORD chosen this. 10:
Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel
said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 11:
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said,
There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep.
And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit
down till he come hither. 12:
And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a
beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. 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 brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that
day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
David
becomes Saul’s musician
14:
But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit
from the LORD troubled him. 15:
And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from
God troubleth thee. 16:
Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek
out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to
pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play
with his hand, and thou shalt be well. 17:
And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play
well, and bring him to me. 18:
Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a
son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a
mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a
comely person, and the LORD is with him. 19:
Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David
thy son, which is with the sheep. 20:
And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a
kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. 21:
And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him
greatly; and he became his armourbearer. 22:
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before
me; for he hath found favour in my sight. 23:
And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul,
that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was
refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
1
Samuel 17 David and Goliath
1:
Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and
were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and
pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. 2:
And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by
the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the
Philistines. 3:
And 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 there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines,
named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. 5:
And he had an helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a
coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of
brass. 6:
And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, 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 weighed six hundred shekels of iron: and one bearing a shield
went before him. 8:
And he stood and cried unto the armies of Israel, and said unto them,
Why are ye come out to set your battle in array? am not I a
Philistine, and ye servants to Saul? choose you a man for you, and
let him come down to me. 9:
If he be able to fight with me, and to kill me, then will we be your
servants: but if I prevail against him, and kill him, then shall ye
be our servants, 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 dismayed, and greatly afraid. 12:
Now David was the son of that Ephrathite of Beth-lehem-judah, whose
name was Jesse; and he had eight sons: and the man went among men for
an old man in the days of Saul. 13:
And the three eldest 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 unto him Abinadab, and the third
Shammah. 14:
And David was the youngest: and the three eldest followed Saul. 15:
But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father's sheep at
Bethlehem. 16:
And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented
himself forty days. 17:
And Jesse said unto David his son, Take now for thy brethren an ephah
of this parched corn, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp to
thy brethren; 18:
And carry these ten cheeses unto the captain of their thousand, and
look how thy brethren fare, and take their pledge. 19:
Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of
Elah, fighting with the Philistines. 20:
And David rose up early in the morning, and left the sheep with a
keeper, and took, and went, as Jesse had commanded him; and he came
to the trench, as the host was going forth to the fight, and shouted
for the battle. 21:
For Israel and the Philistines had put the battle in array, army
against army. 22:
And David left his carriage in the hand of the keeper of the
carriage, and ran into the army, and came and saluted his brethren.
23:
And as he talked with them, behold, there came up the champion, the
Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, out of the armies of the
Philistines, and spake 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 sore afraid. 25:
And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that is come up?
surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man
who killeth him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will
give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
26:
And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be
done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the
reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that
he should defy the armies of the living God? 27:
And the people answered him after this manner, saying, So shall it be
done to the man that killeth him. 28:
And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and
Eliab's anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou
down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the
wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for
thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle. 29:
And David said, What have I now done? Is there not a cause? 30:
And he turned from him toward another, and spake after the same
manner: and the people answered him again after the former manner.
31:
And when the words were heard which David spake, they rehearsed them
before Saul: and he sent for him. 32:
And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy
servant will go and fight with this Philistine. 33:
And Saul said to David, Thou art not able to go against this
Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man
of war from his youth. 34:
And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and
there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35:
And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his
mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and
smote him, and slew him. 36:
Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised
Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies
of the living God. 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 unto David, Go, and the LORD
be with thee. 38:
And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass
upon his head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. 39:
And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for
he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with
these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him. 40:
And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones
out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even
in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the
Philistine. 41:
And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that
bare the shield went before him. 42:
And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained
him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43:
And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that thou comest to
me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44:
And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy
flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field. 45:
Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword,
and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name
of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast
defied. 46:
This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite
thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of
the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and
to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that
there is a God in Israel. 47:
And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword
and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into
our hands. 48:
And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew
nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to
meet the Philistine. 49:
And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang
it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk
into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50:
So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone,
and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the
hand of David. 51:
Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his
sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut
off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion
was dead, they fled. 52:
And the men of Israel and of Judah arose, and shouted, and pursued
the Philistines, until thou come to the valley, and to the gates of
Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell down by the way to
Shaaraim, even unto Gath, and unto Ekron. 53:
And the children of Israel returned from chasing after the
Philistines, and they spoiled their tents. 54:
And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to
Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent. 55:
And when Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said unto
Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? And
Abner said, As thy soul liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 56:
And the king said, Inquire thou 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 art thou, thou young man? And David
answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.
1
Samuel 18 David & Jonathan - friends
1:
And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul,
that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and
Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2:
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his
father's house. 3:
Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his
own soul. 4:
And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave
it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and
to his girdle. 5:
And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself
wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in
the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's
servants.
Saul
Jealous of David
6:
And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the
slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all cities of
Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with
joy, and with instruments of musick. 7:
And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul
hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. 8:
And Saul was very wroth, and the saying displeased him; and he said,
They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have
ascribed but thousands: and what can he have more but the kingdom? 9:
And Saul eyed David from that day and forward. 10:
And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came
upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David
played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in
Saul's hand. 11:
And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to
the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice. 12:
And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was
departed from Saul. 13:
Therefore Saul removed him from him, and made him his captain over a
thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. 14:
And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was
with him. 15:
Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was
afraid of him. 16:
But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in
before them. 17:
And Saul said to David, Behold my elder daughter Merab, her will I
give thee to wife: only be thou valiant for me, and fight the LORD's
battles. For Saul said, Let not mine hand be upon him, but let the
hand of the Philistines be upon him. 18:
And David said unto Saul, Who am I? and what is my life, or my
father's family in Israel, that I should be son in law to the king?
19:
But it came to pass at the time when Merab Saul's daughter should
have been given to David, that she was given unto Adriel the
Meholathite to wife. 20:
And Michal Saul's daughter loved David: and they told Saul, and the
thing pleased him. 21:
And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him,
and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore
Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one
of the twain. 22:
And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly,
and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants
love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law. 23:
And Saul's servants spake those words in the ears of David. And David
said, Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law,
seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed? 24:
And the servants of Saul told him, saying, On this manner spake
David. 25:
And Saul said, Thus shall ye say to David, The king desireth not any
dowry, but an hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of
the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make David fall by the hand
of the Philistines. 26:
And when his servants told David these words, it pleased David well
to be the king's son in law: and the days were not expired. 27:
Wherefore David arose and went, he and his men, and slew of the
Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and
they gave them in full tale to the king, that he might be the king's
son in law. And Saul gave him Michal his daughter to wife. 28:
And Saul saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michal
Saul's daughter loved him. 29:
And Saul was yet the more afraid of David; and Saul became David's
enemy continually. 30:
Then the princes of the Philistines went forth: and it came to pass,
after they went forth, that David behaved himself more wisely than
all the servants of Saul; so that his name was much set by.
In today’s Bible
readings we have perhaps some of the most famous Bible passages in
the Bible. First we read of Samuel anointing David. Second we read of
David playing sweet music to Saul. Then we have the famous passage of
the encounter of David with Goliath and then we read of the
friendship of David with Jonathan and of the jealousy of Saul. After
the rejection of Saul as king of Israel Samuel is led of the LORD to
go in search for a new king who is a king with the very mind of God.
The AV says ‘A man after Gods own heart’. All of these passages
are so full of meaning that l can only comment briefly on a few of
the points. Samuel is told by the Lord not to mourn for Saul but to
get up and go with his anointing oil to find the new king. When he
arrives at Bethlehem the people are concerned. (Usually Samuel comes
as judge but this time he has a much more glorious duty to perform.)
He comes objectively to offer sacrifice yet he also comes with a
secret mission. All of the sons of Jesse are seen by Samuel but the
LORD says do not look on the outward appearance because God sees the
heart. What an important lesson this is to us all. Samuel calls
eventually for the youngest and when he arrives he finds him sunburnt
and very handsome. The Lord said get up and anoint him. Samuel
anointed him in the presence of his brethren the oil being symbolic
of the Holy Spirit enabling. At that moment the Spirit of the Lord
came on him from that day forward. And so we see a number of criteria
for a king of Israel and a man of God. He is to be a shepherd, a man
taught of God in the wilderness and a man enabled of the Spirit of
God. It’s interesting that when the Spirit of the LORD came on
David the same Spirit left Saul. And an evil Spirit from the LORD
troubled Saul. David is invited to draw near to Saul and through his
music peace comes to Saul’s troubled soul. David is brought into
the court of the King for a different kind of training. He had learnt
the ways of God now he must learn the ways of men. The next major
incident about which we could say so much is the story of David and
Goliath. Goliath was one of the giants who opposed the children of
Israel. David was stirred by the Lord in his soul that this
uncircumcised man should defy the armies of the living God. When
David eventually faced the giant he faced him in the way that God had
gifted him and he faced him alone trusting in God to enable him.
Goliath had four brothers so David was prepared and took five stones.
When the Lord Jesus faced his giant in the wilderness he took only
five books but only quoted from one to slay his giant. David killed
the giant and cut off his head. David kept the sword of Goliath as a
memento of the day. From that Day David was a man to be reckoned with
and became famous in Israel. Saul became increasingly jealous and yet
Jonathan loved him. He recognised in David a man after Gods own
heart. Saul tried to make David fall into a trap by insisting that he
face overwhelming odds in battle for his daughter, yet David went
forth and killed 200 men and came back to claim his bride. God was
with David.
- How does the writer describe David?
- How does David get experience in Saul's court?
- How does David come to the attention of everyone in Israel?
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