Day 126 – David Anointed as King

Fewer than 30 verses today, so focus on them carefully and use the extra time to think about the questions and comments.

• Today we meet another new face – and he’s a famous one! Welcome to the stage, David! You’ll know so many stories involving David I’m sure, and we’ll get to all of them eventually. Can you remember who David’s famous great grandfather was though?
• Today’s chapter in 1 Samuel opens with God speaking to Samuel. What does God ask Samuel to do?
• Samuel looked at Jesse’s sons, and thought Eliab – the oldest of Jesse’s songs – would be the next king. Why do you think he might have thought that?
• How does God respond, in 1 Samuel 16:7 especially? How does this verse link to the one in John?
• How do you look at people? How quick are you to jump to conclusions or judge by appearance? Is this a habit you need to work harder at improving? You might like to highlight or write out verse 7 in the front of your journals.
• List some of the attributes that we find out about David in chapter 16. What sort of things suggest he might be a good king?
• When David was anointed, the Holy Spirit came upon him. What happened to Saul at this point, as described in verse 14 onward?
• How was David able to help Saul? How was God using Saul’s anguish in verse 15 to help David, as well as Saul? Do you think it was the music that David played or the fact he was anointed with the Holy Spirit that caused Saul’s pain to be reduced? Note: I don’t think there is necessarily a right or wrong answer.
• The relationship between Saul and David will have more ups and downs than many roller-coasters, as we’ll find out over the coming weeks! What is their relationship like in these very early stages?
• What does Psalm 78 say about how David “shepherded” his people when he later became king? What does it mean to “shepherd” someone? Who shepherds you? Can you shepherd anyone else?

Today’s message is a simple one. God’s choice for king is not necessarily the obvious choice (note that Saul, the people’s choice, perhaps was an obvious choice to them). But God looked on the heart, rather than the outward appearance.

You might not be the fastest, or the tallest, or the richest or the cleverest. But if your heart is for God – if you genuinely live to serve him – then God can work great things in your life. Trust in Him!

Of course, we see this clearly in Jesus. Jesus wasn’t the person that the Jews were expecting, or perhaps hoping for. Their idea of a saviour was someone who would come charging in on a horse, perhaps, ready to slay the Romans! They didn’t want a leader like Jesus, who preached forgiveness, humility and servitude. God knew, however, that Jesus was exactly the Saviour that they had been needing all along.

David wasn’t Jesus, of course. He was a human with all the failings that humans have, and we’ll read about these soon. David did, however, have that God-centred heart I talked about above, and God did indeed work great things through him. Tomorrow, we’ll read how God was with him in one of the bible’s most famous stories.