Materials
The David Series: Our Lives Before God
And A Shepherd Shall Lead Them:
On The Demise of the Studs and the Rise of Shepherds
I Samuel 16
by R. Todd Bouldin
You were just doing your job one day and
all of a sudden it came to you. Everything made sense. All of life was a
preparation for that moment. You were being called. But God wasn’t using a lot of words. Instead, He gets right to the heart of your life because that is what He most wants is a heart that is ready to be like His own.
Prayer - Our hearts are the hardest things to give You, O God, and yet that is what You want most. We are hesitant because we do not value our hearts as You do. To us we seem insignificant and unprepared to give You a heart like ours. Teach us first to receive Your heart, that we may find the courage to give You ours as well. In the Name of Christ, amen.
For the next few weeks of summer, I am going to be preaching from the life of King David. I guess, other than Jesus, David is my favorite biblical character. Perhaps it is because the story about his life is such an honest one. It is not covered over, or guarded, or filtered. In his story we find honest talk about the lure of power, the overpowering nature of sex, the destruction wrought by jealousies. Perhaps the story makes me feel that I am not on my own in my sin and weakness. Even a person after God’s own heart committed sins that we consider “the big ones,” the ones that we would think disqualify us from being used by God. I also like the story because it is honest about the failings – unlike most of our Christian literature and songs that only want to present the good, happy side of the story and sugar coat the rest. This story, if anything, is brutally honest.
But that is not all of the story, and that is why I love it so much. The rest of the story lies with Yahweh, The God who was moving providentially in the life of David to accomplish something much bigger than David. Sin does not thwart the purpose of God, in our lives or in the world. That is the story of the good news of Jesus. We can be honest about our failings because there is a much bigger story going on with us and with the world because there is a God who is pursuing us and who is determined to have our hearts. The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who were nothing special, but their lives became extraordinary because they responded to the sacred calling of God to draw near to His heart. It all begins with the day we are called by God.
When Israel was a young nation, it was governed by judges. These judges, including people like Samson, Gideon and Deborah, were charismatic figures that God would raise up whenever there was a need for leadership. The nation was in the transition between a tribal state and a nation of great power that we read of in Kings, and that is where David comes in. The last of the judges was a revered figure named Samuel who was getting to be on up in years. The people of Israel came to Samuel and said that they had outgrown government by judges. “We want to be like other nations and have a king.” It made Samuel sad and angry, for he felt that the people felt they needed someone besides God to lead them. But he went out and looked for a king.
The best candidate for the job appeared to be a man named Saul. He came from a good family, was very popular, and was the best looking man in the country. He was literally head and shoulders above the other candidates. Arnold Schwarzenegger had nothing on him. But as time went by, it became clear that as a leader Saul was a disaster. He was an egomaniac and paranoid of losing power. He resorted to the counsel of witches. Worst of all, he simply had no character. Saul looked great on the outside, but like a large oak tree lying on the ground, it was clear that something rotten had eaten away his insides.
Under Saul’s leadership the people entered a long drift from God. So it was not surprising that God rejected Saul and decided this time to select His own king for the people. As God told Samuel, “The Lord does not see as humans see; they look at the outward appearance, but The Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7). When God examined the hearts of people who could be His chosen leader, He found a shepherd boy named David.
When Saul was chosen by Samuel to be king, we are told all about how "hot" he was. The storyteller makes us aware that he was tall and physically attractive. But when God chooses David, we are not told much about his features. We do know he was “ruddy,” which means red. He was smaller than Saul, and looked ridiculous in Saul’s armor. Scripture does say that he was handsome, and Michelangelo certainly carved out a sculpture that portrayed him as the ideal man. But the Bible doesn’t say that. It just says that he was “handsome.” I’ve discovered that we say people are handsome when they are attractive but not too hot. The Bible also says that Absalom’s horse was handsome. So, it’s hard to know what it means, but David was probably attractive but did not possess the physical prowess of Saul.
We know a lot less about David’s body and know much more about his position in life. He was a shepherd, which was the ancient equivalent of a strawberry picker. And he was the youngest of eight sons, which in his day also meant he was the most insignificant. He was from a little town in the middle of nowhere. David began with a lousy draw in life. He had a lousy job, a lousy birthright, and a lousy birthplace. He had an appearance that was just ok, and a less than respectful bunch of brothers. He was nothing special.
With Saul, everything started right. He had the right family, background, body, friends, pedigree, wealth and popularity. He had all the right appearances. But his life ended in dismal failure and death at his own hands. By contrast, with David everything started wrong. But he ended his life as the great king of Israel and as the man who God said “was after His own heart.” He was the ancestor of our Savior. The only thing that made the difference was that David had a heart that God found irresistible. Saul had an appearance that was irresistible, but the Bible says that “The Lord does not see as mortals see. He looks upon the heart.” Maybe your life does not look like you had hoped it would by now. Few of us are Saul, and those who are often seem to be the least happy. But when we look at Saul, and we read about his life in the Calendar section of the L.A. Times or see him all decked out as he walks down the red carpet, or when we watch his career soar past us at work like a meteor while we are still sitting in the same desk we were at five years ago, it is tempting to think that if we could just change our appearance or if we started with all the right circumstances like Saul did, we would have a better story to tell. Saul’s story is the advertising industry narrative. Madison Avenue tells you that you could have a better life if you just looked better. But The Lord would tell us that if we really want to make some changes that He can use, the place to start is our hearts.
If you want to make a difference in this world, the answer will not be found in botox or grad school or even signing up for a new ministry. You can start right where you are, even if you are out in the fields tending sheep. Start by choosing to love God. Continue by loving God. Create a heart in the silence and simplicity of those fields that can hear the Voice of God and can learn to walk with Him and love Him. It is the only thing that really matters to Him. Everything else, like work, relationships, and opportunities are in God’s hands anyway, and those will come in God’s timing to the one who first places his or her life before God. That is the only choice that really matters in life. The only choice you have is not what you will do, but to whom you will give your heart. With your heart in the hand of God, anything can happen. Even an average shepherd boy can become a King.
Can you imagine the scene that day when the famed old Samuel came walking into town in search of the new king that he was told could be found there in that little town of Bethlehem. Sound familiar? As soon as Samuel arrived, the elders of the town were all aflutter and asked what he wanted. God told Samuel not to reveal his whole reason for coming, and so he said he was there to make a sacrifice to God. It must have seemed quite extraordinary that this man from the north was there in that sleepy southern town to make a sacrifice. But, whatever. Samuel invited all the town to the sacrifice, and especially Jesse and his sons.
When the sons of Jesse appeared before Samuel, the first one in line was Eliab who was the tall and handsome son. Sounds a lot like Saul huh? Samuel took one look at this hunk and thought, “Surely this is The Lord’s anointed.” Well, it was like a bad date. You begin a date thinking “Surely this is The Lord’s anointed,” and halfway through dinner you realize, “Nope, I’m going to have to keep looking.” When God saw Eliab, he told Samuel, “No, you are looking on outward appearances again.” Next Jesse brings out his number two son. “No, this isn’t the one either.” Then the number three son. “No.” It was like an American Idol or Fame contest with no winners among the contestants. Then came out the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh sons. Samuel kept saying, “No.” “No.” “No.” This is not the one God has chosen. I get exhausted just hearing the story. I am sure the townspeople must have wondered what was going on, and if Samuel would ever make a decision, and what in the world he was there to do anyway. Jesse had brought the best he had to offer, at least from outward appearances. And none of it was good enough for God. God wanted what he, Jesse, hid for fear it was too insignificant to matter to God. “Are all your sons here?” Samuel asked Jesse. “Well, there is the baby of the family who is out watching the sheep.” And Samuel says, “Go, get him.” It must have taken a long time to find him, and the silence was deafening for Samuel. What if this wasn’t the one either who would lead Israel? Had God tricked him? Surely it would not be a shepherd who would lead them. When David walks in, all smelly and still brushing the dirt off his robe, God says to Samuel, “Arise and anoint him for this is the one.” Psalm 78 says this, “He chose David His servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep He brought him to be the shepherd of His people.” Psalm 78:70, 71.
Why did God choose a shepherd boy instead of Eliab or someone with charisma like Saul? God had seen what happens to the pretty boys. They lose their way. God groomed a boy who had spent time in the solitude and loneliness of the fields, and in his lowliness he had learned humility and openness to God that Saul could never seem to understand. Humility and integrity are still the qualities God chooses. Samuel poured the anointing oil upon David’s head, and we’re not told if he understood the full implications of his anointing just then. When God calls us, we’re not sure where it always will lead either. But the Bible says that The Spirit, the wind of God, came mightily upon David. And this mighty wind rushed down upon this shepherd boy and blew him into the center stage of God’s unfolding drama.
Do you see how this story really is not about David but about God?
Do you see how this same thing is happening in God’s great drama in your life?
There is the public, linear or horizontal drama that everyone can see. The public drama is so predictable. Another choice is being made like all the other choices that seem to pass us by. It looks like just another beauty pageant or talent contest. It looks like Eliab will be chosen like all the pretty boys before him. The woman with all the right contacts will get the job before you. But there also is another sacred, vertical drama playing out that is harder to see in your life. This drama is never predictable and it does not operate on human rules. This is the wind of heaven, The Spirit of God that is driving our history, and it may just push an ordinary person like you or me into an extraordinary calling. “Thou art the one.” If you are ever going to find God’s calling in your life, you have to pay attention to more than just the choices others are making around you, and the progress they seem to be making, and all the advantages they seem to have. There is a vertical drama going on above you that will determine your ultimate purpose and destiny, and this drama is directed by a God who irresistibly is drawn to your heart and proclaims, “You are chosen!”
You are chosen -- like when you were picked to be on a good team, or when the phone rang and you were asked on a date, or when the letter came from college announcing your admission, or when the employer chooses you. Being chosen is the beginning of your story with God. You cannot forget that or you will get confused about your life. The ordinary you was chosen by God to play an extraordinary role in His drama on earth. The reason you were chosen was not because you look good, or because of your intellect, or because of your business sense. Your calling has nothing to do with your talents, your political and business networks, or your resume. God has all the talent He needs. He already has passed up all of the other brothers on His way to find you.
Are you searching for your calling in life? One of the beginning points of our life with God is to realize, as Os Guinness writes, "that seekers are sought."
You are the one. Why? Not because you can do something great for God. It is because you have a heart that God wants, and He is determined to show you that He has a heart for you.
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