1 Samuel 16:4 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?
Hahahaha. That’s the power of God right there on Samuel.
1 Samuel 16:7 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.
How different the heart from the outward appearance. Can’t judge a book by it’s cover. That is the truth.
This is one of the big reason why people get disappointed or dismayed. They just can’t see what God sees. God sees the truth. Man sees lies and thinks they’re the truth.
What is inside of man? What is a soul; a spirit? Truly have you ever done anything from the depths of your soul?
1 Samuel 16:11 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.
He keepeth the sheep. That’s a good boy. Jesse trust David.
1 Samuel 16:13 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.
From that day forward. Is this equivalent to the New Testament filling of the Holy Ghost. I’d say it is. And why not? Who’s the authority on it.
1 Samuel 16:18 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.
A man of war? I thought he kept the sheep. Could it be that he was a man learned and interested in war. A mighty man? They did give him armour to fight Goliath. Saul did let him go. Was he perhaps a swordsman?
Cunning in playing. He could play geetar!
1 Samuel 16:19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
David was just known as a shepherd. He keeps sheep. Jesus said to Peter, Feed my sheep. It takes wisdom and experience to keep animals and be good at it at least. Bishops or pastors should have wisdom and experience. It just makes sense.
1 Samuel 16:21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
I would assume that armourbearers could fight well. So David probably increased in training and matters of war in that position.
He loved him greatly. This makes it all the more sad when Saul turns on David. Jealousy is cruel and indiscriminate; turns love to hate.
1 Samuel 16:22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
I think that was a pretty good honour at the time. Saul was the first king of the great nation of Israel. And David was asked to stand before him. That was a big deal. I think this was Saul’s first interaction with the future king. He was already anointed at this time.
1 Samuel 16:23 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.
Of course, with all this talk of the Holy Spirit coming upon him, then you wonder now about this evil spirit coming upon him. What’s up with that? So the question now for us is can evil spirits have dominion over us or affect us even while we’re saved?
Well, I was looking at John the Baptist the other day, and he was discouraged and wasn’t sure if Jesus was the Christ. How did that happen? He was filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s womb. Is it possible that an evil spirit affected him? What does it mean to walk after the flesh? I really don’t see why not. Makes me wonder about how God’s promises affect us. There are alot of things that are conditional. God’s blessings depend on us and our faith. Think about this more later.
1 Samuel 17:11 When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7
I hate fear. Fear keeps us from doing the work of God, fight the battles that has been before us, just doing things that need to be done. Fear is foolishness. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind.
I like that the Spirit of a sound mind. Today, you see all these liberals and you can’t but see that they just don’t have a sound mind. Their thinking is so flawed and illogical and warped. We’re in big trouble.
1 Samuel 17:15 But David went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.
Back to work.
1 Samuel 17:16 And the Philistine drew near morning and evening, and presented himself forty days.
40 days, and that dude taunted Israel and God. This is the result of a king. I thought he was to go out and come in and fight the battles. For 40 days, he did nothing. That’s government for you.
1 Samuel 17:25 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.
Just odd. He had to bribe people to go fight. There’s no indication that David desires any of these things. He fought because he was jealous for God.
1 Samuel 17:29-30 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.
There was cause. Saul’s riches and daughter was not the cause. God was the cause.
1 Samuel 17:34-36 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.
Practice makes perfect. Smaller victories gives us faith for the big battles.
Where does this confidence come from? David was anointed. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit.
1 Samuel 17:40 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.
I don’t know what to say to this. I forgot why I tagged it.
However, what I see now is the ingenuity, frugality, simplicity, and mastery from this verse. This is a lesson to the modern church. I see so many churches that just have to have all the fancy armour and do things the way everybody else does things or they way they think everybody expects them to things. But like David, some use what they God. They make do with what they know and the job gets done.
1 Samuel 17:45 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.
I just can’t get over this guys confidence. Not only is he not afraid to die. He’s not afraid to be wrong.
But here it is. He knows he’s right. He know who God is and who Israel is. He know that the Lord God of Israel is the Lord of Lords. That all other gods are idols. That he’s on the right side. Do we know this deep down in our souls that it gives us such a confidence?
1 Samuel 17:46 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.
If we could just have this confidence against the flesh; ourselves. I was thinking the other day that the Spirit was sent down as a Comforter and a guide; a teacher and other things. But in a sense, he was sent to us to be a general and leader in this battle against the flesh. He came to mortify the deeds of the body. I think of the mighty men of David and even David; that the Holy Spirit was even mightier and stronger than them. If we could tell the flesh, “I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, and I will give your carcass to the fowls of the air!”
1 Samuel 17:50 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.
David slew the mightiest warrior of the Philistine with no sword. Not by might or power or armies, but by his spirit. David was anointed.
1 Samuel 17:51 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.
He used his own sword. This may be a tactic. I know we talk alot about the flesh being wicked. But we have to remember, the flesh is animalistic and made that way. It’s the sin that dwells in it that makes it so bad. What I’m saying is the the same members that do evil can also do good. Paul said to yield your members as instruments of righteousness. They can be instruments of wickedness or righteousness. Just depends on who’s wielding them. Goliath’s instrument was wielded by David in the name of the Lord.
1 Samuel 18:5 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.
A shepherd becomes a man of war. Which kind of gives us the true and honorable motive behind war; to protect the flock. Agression must be rooted in love.
1 Samuel 18:6 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.
I can’t remember why I tagged this verse.
1 Samuel 18:10 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.
Well… I guess evil spirits can cause a man to prophesy also.
There was a lyre or harp in David’s hand, and a javelin the hand of his enemy. I live music and music is necessary in church and worship, but it’s going to take more than a geetar to get the job done.
1 Samuel 18:12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him, and was departed from Saul.
Saul obviously feared what David would become; his king. He feared losing his position. He’d come to love and cleave to something that wasn’t his. He already knew what Samuel had told him. His fear was not of the unknown, but of the known.
1 Samuel 18:16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
Went out and came in for war I believe. People always applaud the idea of generals leading. The other day I was discussing with someone how they ought to put a general at the head of the Department of Education.
1 Samuel 18:25-27 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.
The king asked for 100 and David brought him 200.
1 Samuel 19:1 And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
This is out of hand. But a good demonstration of the flesh again. The flesh will never be for peace. The flesh wants the power. It’s kill or be killed.
1 Samuel 19:5 For he did put his life in his hand, and slew the Philistine, and the LORD wrought a great salvation for all Israel: thou sawest it, and didst rejoice: wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?
This time there is no cause. Jonathan was really sticking his neck out for David.
1 Samuel 19:17 And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?
Is Michal saying that David was threatening to kill her if she didn’t conceal his leaving?
1 Samuel 19:18 So David fled, and escaped, and came to Samuel to Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and dwelt in Naioth.
Good idea. Go ask the man of God.
1 Samuel 19:20 And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as appointed over them, the Spirit of God was upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied.
They’re getting in on some of that glory!
1 Samuel 19:23 And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah.
The can’t help its?
1 Samuel 19:24 And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?
Uh…
1 Samuel 20:3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.
David believed that he was going to die in all this. He was determined not to fight against Saul. So he was resigned that he’d die.
1 Samuel 20:5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, to morrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
Isn’t it strange that people could use the moon as the calendar.
1 Samuel 20:16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the LORD even require it at the hand of David’s enemies.
Covenant?
1 Samuel 20:23 And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the LORD be between thee and me for ever.
Those are some sweet words between friends.
1 Samuel 20:30-31 Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother’s nakedness? (31) For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die.
Here we see the heart of Saul again. He still thinks he’s king. He thinks the kingdom is his and his children will reign. He doesn’t believe the words of Samuel. Or he doesn’t care for them. He has seriously changed.
1 Samuel 20:39 But the lad knew not any thing: only Jonathan and David knew the matter.
Lads don’t need to know everything.