1 Samuel 16

Samuel secretly names David king

Samuel’s trip to Bethlehem

1The LORD asked Samuel, “Why are you still mourning Saul? I fired him. He’s not the king anymore. What’s it going to take to get you past this? Put some olive oil in a container, an animal horn. Take it with you to Bethlehem. [1] I want you to meet Jesse and his sons who live there. I have picked one of Jesse’s sons as king.”

2Samuel said, “If Saul hears about this, he’ll kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a calf with you. Tell people you’ve come to offer a sacrifice to the LORD. 3Invite Jesse and his sons to the sacrificial meal. I’ll show you what to do. You’re going to use that olive oil to anoint [2] the one I have chosen as king.”

4Samuel did what the LORD said. He went to Bethlehem. City leaders were afraid to ask why he came there. Shaking with fear they said, “Did you come in peace?”

5Samuel said, “Yes. I came to sacrifice this calf to the LORD. Ritually cleanse [3] yourselves for worship and you can join me.” Samuel invited Jesse and his sons to the meal and led them through their cleansing rituals.

Sizing up Jesse’s sons

6When Jesse and his boys arrived, Samuel was impressed by Jesse’s son Eliab. Samuel thought, “He has to be the one the LORD picked.” 7The LORD told Samuel, “Don’t judge this man by how good he looks or how tall he is. I didn’t pick him. I don’t judge people like humans do. They judge by what they can see on the outside. The LORD judges by what’s on the inside—the heart with its character, integrity, and courage. [4]

8Jesse called Abinadab to step forward and greet Samuel. But Samuel told Jesse, “The LORD hasn’t chosen him, either.” [5] 9Jesse called up Shammah. Samuel said, “No. The LORD didn’t pick him.” 10One by one, Jesse had all seven of his sons meet Samuel. But Samuel told him, “The LORD didn’t pick any of these men.”

God picks the runt, David

11Samuel asked Jesse, “Is that it? Are these all your sons?” Jesse said, “No. The youngest is out in the field with the sheep.” Samuel said, “Bring him here. We can’t eat this meal until he gets here.” 12Young David arrived, red-cheeked, bright-eyed, and good-looking. The LORD told Samuel, “He’s the one. Get up. Anoint him with your olive oil.”

13Samuel poured the olive oil out of the horn and onto David’s head while his older brothers watched. The LORD’s Spirit [6] poured into David and stayed with him for the rest of his life. Afterward, Samuel returned home to Ramah.

Saul’s depression

14The LORD’s Spirit left Saul. In its place, the LORD sent a spirit [7] of depression which terrified Saul.

15Saul’s servants told him, “Look, you’ve got some kind of evil spirit making your life miserable. 16Let’s do something about that. Give us your permission to find someone excellent at playing the small harp, the lyre. [8]When you feel that terrible spirit rising inside, the musician will strum the soothing strings, and you’ll feel better again.”

17Saul told his servants, “Go ahead. Find someone who can make a lyre sing. Bring him here.

David as music therapist

18One of the young servants said, “I know a man named Jesse in Bethlehem. He has a son who’s good with a lyre. And the young man is a brave warrior, good with words, and handsome. It’s obvious the LORD’s on his side.”

19So Saul ordered servants to deliver this message to Jesse, “Send me your son, David, who watches the sheep.” 20Jesse sent David with gifts for Saul: a donkey, a young goat, bread, and a wineskin full of wine. 21David became one of Saul’s servants. Saul loved having David around and gave him the job of carrying his armor and weapons in battle.

22Saul sent word to Jesse, “I want to keep David with me. I like him.” 23Whenever the depressing spirit came after Saul, David picked up the lyre and played. The depressing spirit went away. And Saul felt like himself again.

Footnotes

Intro for 1 Samuel

116:1

Bethlehem was about a half-day walk from Samuel’s home in Ramah (usually identified with Al-Ram), roughly 10 miles, 16 km.

216:3

Pouring olive oil on people was an ancient Jewish tradition known as anointing. It was a way of showing people that they had a connection with God. Samuel anointed Saul king, and later young David.

316:5

Jews in certain situations would wash not to get rid of physical dirt, but to get rid of spiritual dirt. Some would wash before eating, to make sure they were ritually clean if they had come in contact with some kind of defilement, such as touching a non-Jew. Women had to bathe after their monthly period before they could worship at the worship center. Jews had to wash in “living water,” which came from a moving source such as a river, an underground spring, or a well that has tapped into an underground lake. Ponds that lay stagnant were not kosher for this ritual. See Leviticus 14—16 for cleansing rituals.

416:7

Literally, the LORD looks at the “heart.” The Hebrew word, lebab, is translated many ways in various situations, including: the inner person, the mind, emotion, conscience.

516:8

By this time, Samuel seems to have confided in Jesse that God sent him to select one of Jesse’s sons for an assignment. But perhaps Samuel didn’t tell him it was for the job of king.

616:13

It’s rare in the Old Testament to read about God’s Spirit coming to someone and staying with that person. The Bible doesn’t give us bullet points about what it means to have the Spirit. But this gift seems to somehow enable people to do what they might not be able to do otherwise: wisely guide a nation (Moses, Numbers 11:25); fight with exceptional strength (Samson, Judges 3:10); win wars with incredible courage and superior strategies (Gideon, Judges 6:34).

716:14

More literally, an “evil spirit” (raʽ rûaḥ) from the LORD. That could sound like God sent a demon into Saul. But the effect the spirit had sounds more like depression instead of demon possession. It seems to come across as Saul feeling sad and angry that God didn’t back him as king anymore. The writer attributes this “evil spirit” to God perhaps because people at the time tended to think God controlled everything and that human decisions (which theologians call “free will”) didn’t affect what God did. So, Saul’s depression was seen as God’s punishment instead of as the consequences for Saul’s decision to disobey God (1 Samuel 15:23).

816:16

A lyre is a small harp with strings all the same length. That’s unlike full harps which have strings of different lengths. A lyre looks a bit like a big horseshoe with strings in the middle and a bar across the top of the U. When the prophet Elisha wanted to hear from God, he called in musicians to play music, which seemed to carry him into a trance (2 Kings 3:15).