1 Samuel 16

Samuel anoints David

And the LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons”.

2 And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me”. And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’

16:2 Saul’s instability was apparently quite obvious. He had become treacherous and vindictive (1 Sam 19:1, 9-11; 1 Sam 22:18-19). It is unlikely that Samuel was afraid to die. He wondered, though, how he would be able to obey God’s command.⚜

3 And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will tell you what you must do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you”.

4 And Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”

16:4 Evidently the visit of a prophet was not always welcome. Did the elders at Bethlehem have a guilty conscience about something?⚜

5 And he said, “In peace. I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice”. And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.

6 And it came about, when they arrived, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him”.

16:6 Even Samuel the seer could be deceived by outward appearances. See 1 Sam 9:19.⚜

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance, or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”.

8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one”. 9 Then Jesse had Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one”. 10 And Jesse had seven of his sons pass in front of Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these”.

11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” And he said, “There still remains the youngest, and, see, he is tending the sheep”. And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he has come here”.

12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and with a fine appearance and handsome features. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is the one”.

16:12 But God did not choose him for his handsome looks (1 Sam 13:14).⚜

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD came on David from that day onwards. So Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

David in Saul’s house

14 But the Spirit of the LORD left Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Look now, an evil spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants, who are before you, to seek for a man who plays the harp skillfully. And it will be like this: when the evil spirit from God is on you, he will play the harp with his hand, and you will get well”.

17 And Saul said to his servants, “Find me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me”.

18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing. And he is a strong man and a brave warrior, and prudent in speech and handsome, and the LORD is with him”.

16:18 This was God’s way of bringing David to the king’s court and eventually into great popularity in Israel.⚜

19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep”. 20 And Jesse took a donkey, loaded it with bread, and a wineskin of wine and a young goat, and sent them to Saul by his son David.

21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armour bearer. 22 And Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stay here with me, for he has found favour in my sight”.

23 And it would come about, whenever the evil spirit from God was on Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. So Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would leave him.

16:23 Good music can have good influences on the mind. Evil music (and there is much of it in the world) has evil influences on those who listen to it.⚜