Theme: God is looking for people who he can fill with His Spirit, not people who are full of the spirit of the devil, “the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” (Eph 2:2)
In chapter 15 we saw Saul’s disobedience at Amalek which defiled his worship at Gilgal.
- The great challenge of the chapter is given by Samuel when he rebuked Saul saying, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to harken than the fat of rams.”
- Saul’s rebellion and stubbornness led to his downfall. God rejected Saul as king over Israel and promised to replace him with a man who would follow God.
In chapter 16, we will see David, the son of Jesse, anointed to replace Saul as king. – We will emphasise two main things as we go through the chapter.
- The anointing of David by God’s Spirit (Vs 1-13)
- The troubling of Saul by an evil spirit (Vs 14-23)
The Anointing of David by God’s Spirit (Vs 1-13)
- Samuel was commanded to anoint a new king (Vs 1-3)
a. Samuel was in a state of grief, when God told him to go and anoint the new king.
– “Anyone who has ever been deeply disappointed by a friend or family member can understand why aged Samuel mourned so long over King Saul. Israel had rejected Samuel’s leadership over them because he was too old, and they didn’t want his sons to succeed him because they accepted bribes and perverted justice (8:3). But King Saul was guilty of disobeying God’s clear commandments and also of lying about what he had done, and because of these sins, he had forfeited his throne. He was still in office and yet was unfit to lead the nation, and Samuel had broken fellowship with him (15:34–35). In his grief, Samuel must have felt like a dismal failure as a father, a spiritual leader, and a mentor to the new king. The word translated “mourn” means “to mourn for the dead” and reveals the depths of Samuel’s sorrow. There is a time to mourn (Ecc. 3:4), but there is also a time to act (Josh. 7:10), and for Samuel, that time had arrived. In spite of how he felt about himself, Samuel’s work wasn’t over yet, for God wanted him to anoint the new king, David, the son of Jesse. If Saul was “the people’s king,” then David was God’s king, and the events recorded in these two chapters indicate clearly that God’s hand was unquestionably on David, the leader of His choice.”[1]Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Successful, “Be” Commentary Series (Colorado Springs, CO: Victor/Cook Communications, 2001), 85.
b. God told Samuel that he had provided a king of his own choosing. - Samuel was afraid to go and Bethlehem and anoint the new king.
a. Samuel had effectively cut all ties with king Saul, but it seems that Saul was keeping a close eye on Samuel because Saul knew that God would use Samuel to anoint the new king and Saul wanted to know who it was going to be.
b. I’m reminded of the birth of the Lord Jesus, and how King Herod wanted to kill the infant LORD. This ought to teach us something about the devils’ attitude toward God’s chosen men.
– The devil wanted to use Saul to kill David, so he could keep a worldly man on the throne of Israel.
– The devil wanted to use Herod to kill the Lord before he could carry out the work of redemption.
– The devil wants to destroy faithful men and women of God today as well, and he will use any means at his disposal to do it. You need to take the enemy seriously!
c. Saul’s new hatred for Samuel shows you how quickly people can turn against the man of God when the message proclaimed exposes their pet sin and rebellion.
d. God told Samuel to prepare as sacrifice which would provide a logical reason for Samuel to be in Bethlehem.
– Such an event would likely go unnoticed by Saul. It is interesting that it was immediately after a feast in Ramah that Samuel anointed Saul, now he would do the same with David. - Samuel was impressed by appearances (Vs 4-10)
a. Samuel knew that God was going to reveal his chosen man to him and Samuel began to guess at who it would be.
– When Jesse’s eldest son entered the room, Samuel saw him and immediately thought he must be the one whom God had chosen to replace Saul.
– Here’s a young, strong, good-looking guy… surely, he is the one for the job. He’s just the sort of person people would look up to and admire.
b. God reminded Samuel that outward appearances aren’t everything.
– We need to remember that when choosing men for the ministry. There have been plenty of men who were gifted orators and talented leaders, but who were never chosen by God to enter the ministry. Just because man looks like he could do the job doesn’t necessarily mean he is God’s choice.
– The same goes for choosing a life’s partner. Too many young people have married someone for their looks and the personality, only find out that they are going nowhere spiritually. Your marriage partner needs to be God’s choice, not the one you liked the look of. - Samuel was commanded to anoint David (Vs 11-13)
a. When God chooses a man, he isn’t looking just any old man.
– Men who are rushed into the ministry without proper preparation and time seeking the will of God in the matter, such men are doomed to fail.
– As a church, God expects us to be careful about who we allow to come on membership and to partner with us in the work of the ministry. That is why we have a course for those who are planning to come on membership which enables us to ensure prospective members are truly save, scripturally baptised, and in agreement with our church’s doctrines and practices.
b. When David came in from the field, Samuel discovered that this man was both physically and spiritually attractive.
– Samuel anointed David in front of all his family, and the Spirit of God came upon David from that day onwards.
– “‘The anointing is placed in causal connection with the communication of the Spirit, the former typifying what the latter secured (cf. Mark 6:13; Jas. 5:14): it was a seal and pledge of the blessings which the Lord bestowed upon the rulers of the nation for the people’s good’”[1]Robert Jamieson, A Commentary, Critical, Experimental, and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments: Joshua–Esther, vol. II (London; Glasgow: William Collins, Sons, & Company, Limited, n.d.), 175.
The Troubling of Saul by an evil spirit (Vs 14-23)
- Saul was troubled by an evil spirit (Vs 14)
a. It seems that, as soon as David was anointed and the Spirit of God came upon him, Saul’s rejection by God was sealed by the Holy Spirit’s departure from Saul.
– I Samuel 10:6 “And the Spirit of the LORD will come upon thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shalt be turned into another man.”
– When the Spirit of God had come upon Saul, he was changed into another man, possessing the graces of the Spirit which equip a man for service to God.
– Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
b. Without the Spirit of God upon his life, Saul’s own flesh, along with the influence of the evil spirit, would continue to drive Saul down a self-destructive path, and away from God.
– Without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Saul we now subjected to possession by an evil spirit.
– Notice that the evil spirit only came upon Saul after the Holy spirit had left him. This further confirms for us that the Holy Spirit will not cohabitate with an evil spirit. The Christian cannot be demon possessed because they are already possessed by God. - Saul was refreshed by godly music (Vs 15-23)
a. The solution recommended to Saul was to have a godly man play godly music.
– It is very clear that the Israelites knew that music impacts the soul on a spiritual level and good music would even relieve Saul from the “trouble(ed)” associated with demonic activity.
– Modern churches seem to be intent on denying any connection between Rock n Roll and the demonic practices of the African tribes from which the rock beat was taken.
b. The man chosen for the task of playing this godly music was David.
– David is described here as a mighty valiant man, a man of war, and prudent.
– Notice that this was the description of David prior to his battle with Goliath. In fact, most scholars believe that David was between 17 and 19 years old when he fought Goliath, not the little boy that is pictures in children’s story books.
c. When the evil spirit came upon Saul, David would play his harp, and the evil spirit would depart and Saul was spiritually refreshed.
– By the way, good music has a way of refreshing you in your spirit. That is why it is a good practice to listen to clean Christian music on a regular basis. Not only will it help you to develop a taste for good music, but it will refresh you in your spirit and help you to be more receptive to the will and way of the Holy Spirit.
Conclusion
- Don’t judge people based solely on their outward appearances. Their behaviour will reveal what sort of person they really are.
- If we are going to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we need to first be emptied of sin and self.