The Unexpected Choice—Lectionary Reflection for Lent 4A (1 Samuel 16)



1 Samuel 16:1-13 New Revised Standard Version UpdatedEdition

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the Lord.” 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 does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. 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.” 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

 

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                God has a habit of making unexpected choices when it comes to calling people to serve in leadership positions. Who would have thought that God would choose Abram and Sarai to be the fountainhead of a great nation since they didn’t have any children at the time of their calling, and they were rather old? While Moses faced down Pharaoh and led the people across the wilderness, at the time he was called he was herding sheep in the desert. Then there’s David who was only a boy when called to leadership. We can understand why Saul might have been called to lead Israel. He fit the mold of a warrior-king. He was big and strong. But David? He was only a boy when Samuel anointed him.  

                Samuel anointed Saul as King after the people became frustrated with their continued inability to defend themselves against their neighbors. Samuel had been leading the people as prophet, priest, and judge, but eventually, the people demanded to have a king so they could be like everyone else. In doing this, they not only called into question Samuel’s leadership, but the monarchy of God (1 Sam.8). Nevertheless, God decided to give the people what they wanted. That turned out to be Saul, son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin. According to the author of 1 Samuel, Saul was a “handsome young man.” In fact, “there was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else” (1 Sam. 9:1-2). In other words, Saul looked like a king. When Samuel introduced him as the anointed king of Israel, the people were pleased (1 Sam. 10:24). Unfortunately, though Saul looked like a king and had some military success, he wasn’t a very good king. Eventually, God decided to change course and give someone else the throne of Israel. That’s where we come in on this Fourth Sunday of Lent. In this reading, we head to Bethlehem, where we encounter the family of Jesse. Samuel has been directed to this family by God so that God could show Samuel who should be anointed as the successor to Saul.

                The story of David’s anointing invites us to consider what makes for a good leader. If Saul had the looks and presence of a king but failed, what did David possess that caught God’s attention? Our human tendency is to focus on externals, including credentials. We prefer the Ivy League to State University. Why is that? Do you really get a better education or just a “better” logo on your diploma? Because we have focused on externals, many qualified people are passed over. Why is it that in the NFL, where the majority of players are black, there are so few black head coaches? Why is it that women struggle to crack the glass ceiling? Do men (specifically white men) make better Presidents of the United States than women? Who knows? We’ve never tried it.

                Whether it’s age, gender, or ethnicity, we tend to look at the outside of a person, often neglecting what is on the inside. We’re all guilty of this, including me. However, is this the way God judges things? As we’ve already seen, Saul had the requisite physical attributes to be king. According to the author of 1 Samuel, “there was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else” (1 Sam.9:2). He was taller than anyone in the land of Israel, suggesting he was a person of power. It has been noted that generally, in presidential elections, the taller of the two candidates is the one who wins. Height seems to be an important presidential quality. This was also true for the kings of Israel, or so it seemed the first time around. Unfortunately, Saul proved to be a disappointment.

                So, here we are on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year A. Samuel is grieving the reality that the Spirit of the Lord has left Saul, such that Saul no longer carries God’s anointing. It is at this moment that Yahweh tells Samuel to stop grieving over Saul and go anoint a successor. God points Samuel in the direction of Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, because God has selected Saul’s successor from among Jesse’s sons. Samuel isn’t too sure about this, because it carries political ramifications. What will Saul think if he hears that Samuel has gone off on this errand? Surely, he won’t be happy. We might want to consider here the story of the magi’s visit to Herod and the king’s reaction when he hears that a new king might be rising in Bethlehem. Herod took steps to eradicate the threat (Matt. 2:1-12, 16-18).  Fortunately, in this case, there won’t be a slaughter of the innocents in Bethlehem. God suggests a ruse that will prevent Saul from learning the true reason for his chief advisor’s visit to Bethlehem. God tells Samuel to go to Bethlehem and invite Jesse to join in the celebration. While there, Samuel can secretly anoint the successor to Saul. That’s what Samuel does. 

                Now comes the question of the day. What are the qualities God is looking for in this new leader whom Samuel is to anoint? Which of Jesse’s seven sons will be the chosen one? When Samuel showed up in Bethlehem the village elders were not only surprised but a bit apprehensive. Why was the prophet and advisor to the king coming to their town? Samuel assured them that he meant them no harm. I come in peace he told them, much like Captain Kirk might do when visiting a planet for the first time. Yes, I’ve come to offer a sacrifice to Yahweh, so “sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” At that point he sanctified Jesse and his sons, inviting them to join in the sacrifice. It’s worth noting that at the time there wasn’t a specific place where sacrifices were to be made.

                When Jesse and his sons joined him for the sacrifice, Samuel told Jesse what the plan was. So Jesse obediently lined up the sons, from the eldest to the youngest (minus one). Samuel was sure that this wouldn’t take long, since from time immemorial the oldest son was the chosen one. We call this the law of primogeniture. The author of 1 Samuel tells us that the first-born son, Eliab, had all the natural-born qualities to be that leader. Samuel declared, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD.” But God said no. God tells Samuel: “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For not, as man sees [does the LORD see]; a man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7 New JPS Translation). The same was true for each of the other five sons Jesse presented to Samuel. Humans might look at appearance and height, but God looks at the heart. God sees things that we humans tend to miss, or so it seems. 

                As you might imagine, Samuel is a bit confused. He’s supposed to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as Saul’s successor. He’s looked at six promising candidates, but God isn’t satisfied with any of them. None of these six sons of Jesse has what it takes, at least in God’s eyes, to be king and thus fit for leadership. It’s not that these six sons are bad people it’s just that they are not the ones God has chosen. They don’t have the “right stuff.” So, Samuel is a bit perplexed by this, but he trusts that God knows what is supposed to happen. One of Jesse’s sons is the chosen one, but if not these six is there another whom he is to anoint? So, he asks Jesse, do you have any other sons (remember at the time, patriarchy is still in place. While Deborah had led the people this wasn’t the general rule). Is Jesse holding out on him?

                Jesse sheepishly told Samuel that he did have one more son, but surely this youngest son isn’t the chosen one. He’s fit only to keep watch over the sheep. While Jesse surely loved David, he couldn’t imagine that God would choose the youngest child for this important position. It simply made no sense. It should be Eliab if any of the sons received the anointing. But Jesse obediently sent for David.

                Although David is young, the author of 1 Samuel starts with the externals. He might be young but he’s also “ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome.” If God doesn’t look at the externals, but at the heart, why does the author start with this description of David? God may judge based on the heart, but apparently, it doesn’t hurt that young David is rather attractive. Is it possible that both the human and divine expectations intersect in David? While that might be the case (as I write this, a current sports story comes to mind—the saga of Bryce Young, the consensus top pick in the upcoming NFL draft. He has all the intangibles, and yet he’s small. Perhaps a team should go with another quarterback who looks the part. So, who to choose?), what we know is that it is the youngest child who is chosen to shepherd the people of God. This shepherd image will continue to resonate through time until Jesus picks it up in the far distant future.

                Now that God has directed Samuel to David as the one whom Samuel is to anoint, Samuel obediently anoints him. There in the presence of his six older brothers (I wonder if they are a bit jealous or even bitter, or perhaps relieved), Samuel anoints David and the Spirit of the LORD “came mightily upon David from that day forward” (1 Sam. 16:13). Having completed his work, Samuel heads off to Ramah. It might be worth reading just a little beyond this verse because after Samuel anoints David and the Spirit alights upon him, we’re told that the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul and is replaced by an evil spirit from the LORD who torments Saul (1 Sam. 16:14). This gives me pause. Saul might not be a good leader, but does he deserve this torment? Of course, we can psychologize this and assume that Saul experiences some form of mental illness, and that would seem to be a good diagnosis. However, I am a bit concerned that this turn of events is said to be God’s work. It’s not part of the passage, and it doesn’t affect the interpretation of the passage, but it might give us pause. While Saul falls into a state of depression, perhaps because he has failed to defeat the Philistines and has lost the support of the people (as we know people are fickle when it comes to their leaders, ask any politician or preacher for that matter). David will enter the picture again when called upon to soothe Saul’s mental illness by playing the lyre before him (1 Sam. 16:14-23). That story, of course, takes too far afield, but it is worth mentioning.

                While David won’t ascend to the throne until after Saul’s death, God has set in motion a plan that will lead to David’s rule. He is the one God has chosen and anointed for this calling. David will become the honored king, though he’s not perfect (as the rest of the story demonstrates). He might be close to God’s heart but has lots of moral lapses. So, what might this tell us about leadership?  Could the story of David offer a reminder that even the best of rulers cannot replace God?  Could it be a word of caution to those who are called to leadership (whether king or pastor or any other form of leadership) that it is important to stay close to the heart of God? Regarding the matter of the heart, theologian David Jensen writes: “The disposition of the heart is what is paramount: whether a leader relies on God (not as a mere preparation for battle, not as a way of bolstering political support), but whether in the face of threats, internal and external, the leader knows that trust in God is already enough. [1 & 2 Samuel (Belief), p. 83]. If David, whom Scripture deems to be one whose heart is close to God can fall short, what does that say about us? What is required of us?

                Interestingly, if we continue reading the story of Israel from David on, we discover that very few of his successors truly stay close to God. Solomon might be known for his wisdom, but apparently, his building program caused such discontent among the people that after his death the kingdom divides. As for David’s direct line, very few of his successors can be said to rule with God in mind. In the end, the monarchy will collapse because the monarchs fail to stay close to the heart of God (such a person whose heart is with God (and thus God knows his heart), can fall short, then who am I to think I could be immune? Indeed, if we follow this story through 1 and 2 Kings to the Exile, perhaps that is the message we’re intended to hear. In the end, the monarchy collapses under the weight of the failure of the monarchs to remain close to the heart of God (1 Samuel 13:14).

                First a note on the word about what happens to Saul after David’s anointing. I don’t believe that God sends evil spirits to torment people. That idea must be rejected. However, I do believe that God pours out the Spirit on us, empowering us to serve in various ways (see 1 Corinthians 12 and my book Unfettered Spirit). That said, the message that seems to be present in this reading has to do with the unexpected choices God makes when it comes to leadership. It’s not just in this case, as Juliana Claasens reminds us:

          The theme of the unlikely leader is found throughout the Hebrew Bible. For instance, Moses stutters (Exodus 4:13-14), he has blood on his hands (Exodus 2:11-14), and his face is said to shine after his encounter with the Divine (Exodus 34:29). Also, in the book of Judges, one finds numerous unlikely leaders as evident in the left-handed Ehud (Judges 3), Deborah who leads the people despite being a woman (Judges 4), and Jephthah who is the son of a prostitute (Judges 11). Moreover, the suffering servant in Isaiah 42:1-7 (see also Isaiah 52:13—53:12), who is described as “a bruised reed” and “a dimly burning wick,” attests to the fact that God’s power is revealed through vulnerable leaders who embrace their vulnerability as a source of strength. Significantly, this week’s lectionary text ends with the reference that the spirit of God “came mightily” (New Revised Standard Version) upon David from that day onwards—just as the spirit in the next pericope departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14 and forward). [Working Preacher, March 19, 2023].

May we, whatever our calling, stay close to the heart of God, because God looks at the heart and not at the externals when it comes to leadership or any form of service in the realm of God.

 

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