Pentecost 3, Year B, 6-17-12
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Psalm 20
2 Corinthians 5: 6-17
Mark 4: 26-34
Double Vision
In any group of people there are as many points of view as there are individuals.
There are some subjects on whom almost everyone has a point of view be it a current
political scandal, a celebrity scandal or sporting event. Living in St. Louis and being a
Cardinals fan, I learned for example that just about every Cardinals fan had an opinion of
how Tony Larussa handled the bullpen. There was always a certain amount of angst
when Tony would use two or three relievers in an inning wanting to set up the whole
righty-lefty match ups. Generally we believe that the right thing to do is to accept that we
all have our points of view and to accept all points view as equally valid.
In the first book of Samuel we are told that the elders of Israel came to Samuel
with a request that they have a king like the other nations. The elders did not have
confidence in Samuel’s sons, Joel and Abijah, to be the kind of righteous leaders that
Samuel had been. There were dishonest and perverted justice. They chose Saul to be
their king. He looked the part. He was strong, powerful, and handsome. King Saul won
some great battles. He was able to rally his people. He provided focus for political
strength and stability. But Saul also disobeyed the Lord and ended up being an abject
failure. Samuel had gone to Saul and said to him: “I will not go back with you. You
have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you as king over Israel (1
Sam. 15:26). And then we are told: “Samuel left for Ramah, but Saul went up to his in
Gibeah of Saul. Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though
Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord was grieved that he had made Saul king over
Israel” (vv. 34-35).
God knew that Samuel’s heart was broken over the failure of Saul. From
Samuel’s point of view everything ended in failure. In God’s eyes, his rejection of Saul
was the right thing to do. The Lord then spoke to Samuel: “How long will you mourn for
Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your
way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king”
(1 Sam. 16:1). It was time for Samuel to turn from his grief to God’s future. He was
pointed to that future by the Lord command: “Fill your horn with oil and go. I am going
to send you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king” (v. 1b).
Bethlehem was a town about eleven miles south of Ramah. There is no reason to
suppose that Samuel knew Jesse and his family, although they would certainly have
known who Samuel was. In Bethlehem, among the sons of Jesse, the next stage in
Israel’s history was about to begin.
The precise words of God to Samuel, ‘I have seen among Jesse’s sons for myself
a king’ are important. Seeing is a key theme of this chapter. We will learn that God sees
in a particular way. He has his own point of view. What should catch our attention is
that God spoke of providing “for myself a king.” What does that mean? The king from
Jesse’s house would be different from Saul. Saul was chosen by the people for
themselves. Though God chose Saul, the people wanted Saul. The time had come, the
Lord now said to Samuel, a king for myself. I have seen a king for myself among Jesse’s
sons. Samuel was a little reluctant to get involved with this king business again. Samuel
figured Saul wouldn’t be happy if he went and appointed another king. Samuel was a
respected prophet but Saul had the army. Samuel was afraid Saul would kill him. The
Lord said to him, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite
Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I
indicate” (vv. 2b-3). Samuel did what Saul had failed to do: he obeyed God: “Samuel did
what the Lord said” (v. 4a).
There was some nervousness at the prophet’s appearance. The conflict between
the prophet and the king was no doubt known. The town leaders would hardly welcome
the idea of being drawn into the clash. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the
town trembled when they met him. They asked, “‘Do you come in peace.’ Samuel
replied, ‘Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and
come to the sacrifice with me.’ Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them
to the sacrifice” (vv. 4-5). It would have been reasonable for the elders to ask the
purpose of this sacrifice. Whey would the prophet have come to Bethlehem for a
sacrifice? But they did not ask. Samuel didn’t tell them the occasion that called for this
sacrifice. He simply assured them that he had no hostile intentions toward them and told
the elders to prepare to participate in the ceremony.
The scene is set for a remarkable moment in history. It involved two ways of
seeing. When Jesse and his sons arrived, Samuel’s eye lit on one of them, the eldest.
Eliab was a tall, good-looking young man if there was one: “When they arrived, Samuel
saw Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord’” (v. 6).
From Samuel’s point of view, this tall, good-looking young man seemed to be the kind of
man God would choose to be king. However, the last tall, good-looking man we heard
about was Saul. Now we see as God sees: “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not
consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at
the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart’” (v. 7). God has a point of view and his point of view is different from the human
point of view. God is not deceived by outward appearances. He sees a person’s heart. In
other words what God sees is ‘a man of God’s own choosing.’
After Eliab, seven of Jesse’s sons paraded before Samuel, and Samuel now saw as
the Lord sees. Samuel tells Jesse that the Lord has not chosen these. Samuel said to
Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” (v.11a). Jesse responded that there is a youngest, but he
is tending the sheep. Samuel told Jesse to send for him. When he arrived, Samuel knew
that this was the person God had chosen. The Lord told Samuel to anoint him in the
presence of his brothers. From that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in
power (v. 13). As Samuel anointed the boy, David was empowered for the task that God
would give him.
We are aware that something very important happened in the little town of
Bethlehem that day. It was not publicly known. Even the brothers of David who
witnessed the anointing would have little idea of the significance of what they had seen if
they saw only with their eyes. They certainly could not have realized that what happened
on that day in Bethlehem would eventually lead to another day for which the little town
of Bethlehem gained it lasting fame. About 200 years after David’s anointing as king,
the prophet Micah said: “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the
clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose
origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Mic. 5:2). This is God’s promise that
Israel’s Messiah and Savior will be born in Bethlehem.
This took place 800 years later when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. King Herod
did not see and understand what was happening. Caesar Augustus did not see what was
happening. Pontius Pilate did not see and understand what was happening. The
Sanhedrin did not see what was happening. The crowds who shouted for Jesus to be
crucified did not see and understand what was happening. But the shepherds who were
“keeping watch over their flock by night” (Lk. 2:8) a thousand years after Samuel
anointed David learned to see properly.
They heard the heavenly message: “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger’” (Lk. 2:10-12). Then the
shepherds said: “‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the
Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby,
who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning
what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the
shepherds said to them. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the
things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (vv. 15-20). Can
you see the Savior Jesus Christ, who is God’s gift to the human race?