A Beautiful Exchange

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1 Samuel 16 (click the link)


KEY VERSES:
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 be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

 

2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

 

The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

 

4 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?”

 

5 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.

 

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

 

7 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 people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

 

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

 

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

 

12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

 

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

 

13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:1-13, NIV)

 

REFLECTIONS:

After reading these verses several times, something really started to stand out to me. It was the exchange between Samuel and God.  The anointing of David is great, but what really stands out is the exchange between Samuel and the Lover of his soul.  It’s interesting to read the first sentence, because the Lord is asking Samuel why he’s grieving so long over Saul.  He isn’t asking why he is grieving, but why he’s grieving SO LONG!  God isn’t berating him, just merely wanting to know why Samuel hasn’t processed through his stuff and moved on. 

In chapter 15, Samuel anointed Saul as king and gave him specific instructions, which Saul chose not to obey, and the results caused God to say that he regretted setting Saul as king because he turned away from the Lord and didn’t follow His instructions (Samuel grieved too).  Samuel had a talk with Saul, in which he tells Saul that God is removing his power and has rejected Saul as king. Samuel tells Saul that God will give the throne to someone else. Throughout this whole heart conversation between Samuel and Saul, the prophet is grieving. As we turned the chapter 16, Samuel is still grieving.  I know, it seems pretty quick for us, but who knows how much time has actually passed—AND Samuel is grieving over Saul, who in fact turned his back on God.  But God doesn’t tell him not to grieve anymore or “suck it up.” He just tells him to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king.  God is moving on and bringing Samuel with Him.

Interestingly enough, in the very next verse, Samuel asks how he is supposed to go and do the anointing, because if Saul finds out he is anointing another king, it’s gonna hit the fan and his life will be in real danger.  I’m reading this and what I find so beautiful is that God didn’t throw back in Samuel's face that he doesn’t have enough faith or ask him why he doesn’t trust Him more or anything like that.  I also don’t get the sense that Samuel is whining or trying to get out of doing what God has asked him to do.  He’s just putting the question out there (which, by the way, I’m pretty sure God can handle).  So instead of righteous indignation, God takes care of the problem.  He says, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD’” (verse 2). Problem solved.  It was an honest request, because the elders “trembled” at his coming.  But Samuel followed the Lord’s instruction and he was able to take care of business!

So the first of Jesse’s sons go by and Samuel looks at Eliab and thinks “Yup, this is the guy” (paraphrase) and God responds with “Um… No” (another paraphrase). God tells Samuel that He has rejected Eliab and not to look at the outward appearance because He (God) sees the heart of man, not the outward stature (verse 7).  So after all seven sons go by, Samuel asks if there are more sons.  God told him to anoint a son of Jesse, and none of the sons so far have been approved; so Samuel knows there’s another one out there somewhere.  Finally, David arrives. He is anointed and the day is done.  Oh yeah, and the Spirit of the Lord is upon him.  


THINGS TO PONDER:
How many times have we felt like we don’t measure up because we don’t always do the right thing or say the right thing or behave the right way? Me?  A lot!  But that’s usually when I’m trying to put my emotions and feelings onto God, thinking that’s the way He works.  It isn’t.  We are all gifted, wonderful, chosen, beloved sons and daughters!  We belong to the King of Kinds and Lord of Lords and we should start acting like it (I’m talking to myself here)!  Samuel is honest and real and I like him!  He pours out his heart, he is honest with his emotions and God seems to receive that!  In that exchange I see the beautiful heart of God shining through.  He is gentle in His leading, loving in His exchange and patient with Samuel.  He is patient with you and me!  He is a God of justice and authority and He deserves awe and respect!  But He is also a God of extreme love, grace and mercy and that’s where some of us get tripped up.  We forget.  Thank you for the reminder, Samuel!


PRAYER:
God, forgive me when I try to put You in a little box and tie a ribbon around it.  Forgive me when I’m so focused on how I should act or what I should say, that I forget I’m worshipping the God of the universe who can hold the earth in one hand and me in the other.  It’s too complex for me to try and figure out, Lord.  But I choose to love You and I choose to believe You have the best intentions for me and my life, sometimes in spite of myself.  I love you!  You are awesome!


WHO AM I?
My name is Dorene Froese and I tried to find a picture where I didn’t look like a chia pet, but I couldn’t.  Shaving the head is a great idea, how to get it to grow back in an attractive way, yeah right!  LOL!  So I’ll shave it again, that will take care of the problem for now!   So I debated about which pic to post, this one or the one where Steph (Beth Peeples' daughter) and I are giving each other bunny ears.  I went with this one, because this represents the story of my life.  Ha!  I posted this on Facebook with the words to the famous song, “I like big butts and I cannot lie!”  In my head, I thought it would be a cute pic… in hindsight (ha!) it wasn’t so much!  But Max, being the kind, gentle soul that he is, also took a closer up picture.  But I’m with two of my favorite ladies, we walked 2 miles, the scenery was AWESOME and I can say I hiked at Enchanted Rock… not ON Enchanted Rock, AT Enchanted Rock!  Hopefully, I’ll have more photos from my geocaching adventures, soon to come…