I Samuel 16:1-4b, 6-13
“. . . fill thine horn with oil, and go” (v. 1). The Lord instructed Samuel to fill his horn with oil with which he would anoint the king who would succeed Saul. The Lord instructed Samuel to go to Bethlehem and to seek out a son of Jesse whom He had chosen to be Israel’s future king.
Samuel balked; he feared that Saul might have him executed for treason if it were known that he had anointed Saul’s replacement. Samuel’s fears were for naught. God announced a plan by which Samuel could journey to Bethlehem without giving Saul cause to question his actions. Samuel was to take a heifer with him and make it known that he had come to Bethlehem to make a sacrifice to the Lord.
Some view the proposed sacrifice as a pretext designed to hide the real purpose of Samuel’s mission. The narrative that follows reveals that the sacrifice was more than a pretext. The sacrifice enabled Samuel to bid Jesse and his sons to partake in the eating of a peace offering. This peace offering was the venue by which David would be revealed to be Israel’s future king.
When Samuel arrived with the heifer, the elders of the village trembled. Why? There were two reasons for which Samuel would have come with a heifer. The law of Moses specifies that a heifer must be beheaded by the elders of a city in a ritual in the event that a slain man is found in the proximity the city. The elders are required to proclaim the innocence of the community (see Num. 21:1-7). A second possible reason for Samuel’s presence with the heifer is for the purpose of making a peace offering to the Lord. The law of Moses states that peace offerings are to be consumed by participants of the offering. The elders were relieved to learn that Samuel had come to make a peace offering (v. 5).
Before partaking of the sacrifice, Samuel required Jesse to have his sons walk before him such that the Lord might reveal the son whom He had chosen.
In the verses which follow, the Lord reveals to Samuel that His ways are not the ways of men. Eliab, the first son, looked to be kingly material to Samuel. Eliab, like Saul, was tall in stature and possessed the appearance of a leader. The Lord rejected Eliab because his inward make up did not meet the Lord’s measure. He did not possess the heart that God requires. After Eliab, six more of Jesse’s sons walked before Samuel and all were rejected by the Lord. All six lacked the purity of heart to qualify.
Samuel had journeyed to Bethlehem because the Lord had directed him to anoint a son of Jesse. Jesse brought forth seven sons and the Lord rejected all seven. Samuel asked, “Are here all thy children?” (v. 11). Samuel knew there must be another son because the Lord had said, “I have provided me a king among his [Jesse’s] sons (v. 1). The Lord knew the heart of the sons whom Jesse directed to walk before Samuel and the Lord knew the heart of the son who was tending his father’s sheep. When David appeared before Samuel, the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he.” David was a man after God’s heart (see I Sam. 13:14). David was of beautiful countenance and goodly to look upon but it was for his heart that he was chosen.
If we continue reading the record that God has preserved as scripture, we will find that years passed before David was made king, more than 13 years. David was publicly anointed as king over Judah when he was thirty-three years old and anointed as king of Israel when he was forty years of age (II Sam. 2:4, 5:3). The purpose for which David was anointed by Samuel was not to announce that the Lord had chosen David to replace Saul as king of Israel. We cannot identify the purpose for which the Lord directed Samuel to anoint David, unless we understand that which is previously stated in God’s word regarding anointing.
The first record of anointing to be found in scripture is that of Aaron and his sons. Moses poured oil upon Aaron and his sons. The physical act performed by Moses revealed that which God had done. God, not Moses, chose Aaron and his sons to be spiritual ministers to Him as priests. Their anointing signified that they were empowered by God. The act of pouring oil upon the head of Saul performed by Samuel (I Sam. 10:1), like the act of anointing of Aaron and his sons, revealed God’s choice. Upon pouring oil upon Saul’s head, Samuel announced to Saul that the Lord had anointed him to lead Israel. The entire audience consisted of Saul. Saul would later be made known as God’s choice to all Israel through the casting of lots. Following the anointing of Saul, Samuel informed Saul of a series signs that would shortly come to pass. When these signs were fulfilled, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul (I Sam. 10:10). The Spirit of God came upon Saul the moment he believed God.
Let us now consider the anointing of David. When Samuel anointed David, the Spirit of the Lord immediately came upon David (v. 13). In the instance of both Saul and David, the physical application of oil and the falling of the Spirit of God upon them are linked. With David, a man after God’s own heart, there is no separating interval between believing and receiving the Spirit.
As it was with David, it is with New Testament believers. The Comforter is with us from the moment we first believed. Let us declare His works to all men in all places.
