When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord's anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 16:6-13)
1. Samuel is standing in for us. The brothers are the various idols we have from which to choose. We are tempted to follow false idols, because they look to be the strongest and greatest. They will make our lives better. So, our sin compels us to choose the idols that will send us to hell quicker.
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:14-15)
2. But serving Christ will not make your life better. You will find joy in suffering, but you will still suffer. Jesus Christ is not ever our first choice, or even our last choice, but he is God's choice for us.
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10-11)
God wants faith alone (fear and hope in his steadfast love). Do you have faith in Christ? That is what God wants from you. Even Christ's followers wanted him to overthrow the Roman government, not be killed on the cross. It takes great faith to look at what Christ did and believe that to be the best way to conquer.
3. David is not even included with the brothers. He is off tending the sheep. Likewise, in our sin, we do not even consider Christ to be an option for us. The world hates him, and we don't want the world to hate us, so we reject him, too. This is important: God chooses him for us. We reject him as an option, but Jesus Christ turns out to be the only option for us.
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone. (Psalm 118:22)
The cornerstone is the most important stone, the foundation stone; it holds up the whole structure.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)
Peter explains how crucial Christ is in Acts 4:
On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:5-12)
We must remember:
a) Only by the name of Jesus are we healed.
b) We reject this name.
c) We not only reject him, but we crucified him, too.
d) He is the cornerstone of our lives, when the Lord makes him so.
d) Only by the name of Jesus are we saved.
God chooses David. Samuel anoints David. Christ is the anointed one, the messiah. Put your faith in him only. Fear God and keep his commandments. By the name of Jesus only are you saved.
