The Anointing of David As Prospective King Over Israel. The Spirit Of YHWH Comes Mightily On Him (1 Samuel 16:1-13).
It is a sad reflection on what Saul's reign had become that the elders of Bethlehem were apprehensive at the thought of the arrival of Samuel. This suggests that there were murmurings among the people at this time against Saul's behaviour, with a good deal of political support being thrown behind Samuel, so much so that the elders did not know quite what Samuel's intentions were in coming to Bethlehem. Samuel was still a power in the land religiously speaking and it is quite probable that Saul, while still fearing Samuel as a prophet, had made known what would happen to anyone who sought to use his name to cause an uprising.
Saul would undoubtedly have been feeling very bitter against Samuel, and we are shortly to learn that things had got worse than that, and that his rejection by Samuel and YHWH had so affected him that it had caused deep clinical depression to develop, and probably even schizophrenia. The dopamine content of his brain became unstable, and he began to manifest symptoms such as violent mood swings, paranoia and delusion.
It will be noted that 1 Samuel 16:1 and 1 Samuel 16:13 act as an inclusio for this passage. In verse 1 Samuel is to fill a horn with oil in order to approve one of Jesse's sons as king, and in verse 13 Samuel takes the horn of oil and anoints David in the midst of his brothers.
Analysis.
a And YHWH said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).
b And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me.” And YHWH said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, I am come to sacrifice to YHWH. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do, and you will anoint unto me him whom I name to you” (1 Samuel 16:2-3).
c And Samuel did what YHWH said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him apprehensively (trembling), and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably. I am come to sacrifice to YHWH. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice (1 Samuel 16:4-5).
d And it came about, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely YHWH's anointed is before him.” But YHWH said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance (countenance), or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for YHWH does not see as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but YHWH looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:6-7).
d Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has YHWH chosen this one” (1 Samuel 16:8).
d Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has YHWH chosen this one” (1 Samuel 16:9).
d And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “YHWH has not chosen these” '(1 Samuel 16:10).
c And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and, see, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down until he come here” (1 Samuel 16:11).
b And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and with it all of a beautiful appearance, and handsome (goodly) to look on.” And YHWH said, “Arise, anoint him. For this is he” (1 Samuel 16:12).
a Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of YHWH came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah (1 Samuel 16:13).
Note that in ‘a' Samuel is to take with him his horn anointing oil, and in the parallel he uses it to anoint David. In ‘b' YHWH will show him whom to anoint, and in the parallel He shows him David. In ‘c' he calls Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice, and in the parallel they may not partake of the sacrifice until David comes, who should also have been invited. Centrally in ‘d' we have the selection process, with each being rejected because they are not YHWH's chosen.
‘ And YHWH said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” '
It would seem that Samuel mourned Saul's fall from grace for some considerable time. He had nothing further to do politically, and had plenty of time to think over and watch the consequences of Saul's failure. And to him it seemed a tragedy. Moreover the fact that Saul had become suspicious of possible rivals for his throne is suggested by Samuel's fear that if he was even suspected of anointing someone to replace Saul it was quite likely that Saul would act rapidly and have him put to death. Thus he had much to mourn and to grieve over.
So when YHWH called him to task because of his mourning, asking him how long he was going to carry on with it in view of the fact that He, YHWH Himself, had rejected Saul from being king over Israel, he found himself at a standstill. Then YHWH told him what he had to do which was positive. He must fill his horn with oil and go and see Jesse in Bethlehem (‘house of bread'), where YHWH had provided for Himself a replacement for Saul.
“Jesse, the Bethlehemite.” He was the grandson of 1sa the Moabitess, and of the house of Judah (1 Samuel 4:18-22).
‘ And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me.” And YHWH said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, I am come to sacrifice to YHWH.” '
Samuel, who was aware of Saul's present moods and disposition, was not enamoured with the suggestion. He knew that if even a hint of his doing such a thing reached Saul's ears he himself would become the victim. It was better not to get involved with possible rivals to Saul's throne. It is a significant indication of Saul's downward slide that even Samuel feels that he is not safe.
YHWH, however, assured him that there would be no problem. All he had to do was arrange for a sacrifice in Bethlehem to YHWH. This kind of thing was expected of him from time to time and would cause no suspicion, especially as he could genuinely say that he had received a word from YHWH to do it. The suggestion was not one which involved deceit. The sacrifice was to be a genuine one. It was to be an offering of praise and thanksgiving. But only Samuel knew the depths of the praise and thanksgiving that was due because the anointed of YHWH was to be revealed.
The fact that YHWH had revealed Himself to him and had told him to do it puts this sacrifice into the class of Exodus 20:24 sacrifices. It does not therefore indicate that Samuel felt able to offer sacrifices anywhere, although of course YHWH did record His Name before Samuel in many places..
“ And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do, and you will anoint unto me him whom I name to you.”
Then he was to call Jesse to participate in the sacrifice, at which point He Himself would tell him what he had to do. It was at this point that he would then be required to anoint the person whom YHWH named to him.
‘ And Samuel did what YHWH said, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him apprehensively (trembling), and said, “Do you come peaceably?” '
However, when Samuel did arrive in Bethlehem, no doubt having made his purpose of sacrificing there widely known, the elders of the city met him rather apprehensively. This may have been because they were aware that when Samuel offered special sacrifices it usually indicated that there was trouble expected from the Philistines, or it may have been that they were expecting a prophetic rebuke for some failing in Bethlehem that Samuel knew of. But in view of the link with Samuel's own fear in verse 2 it may well suggest that Saul's reign had become somewhat more tyrannous as he grew more and more suspicious. Thus they may have feared that the sacrifice was to be a signal by Samuel to arouse men to civil war, something which could only bring Saul's wrath down on Bethlehem. Possibly Saul's actions taken against any town about which there were rumours had become well known. (We only have to think of what he was later willing to do to the innocent priests at Nob to recognise what he was capable of doing - 22:11-19).
‘ And he said, “Peaceably. I am come to sacrifice to YHWH. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.'
But Samuel assured them that he had come with peaceful intentions that should not give them any concern. All they had to do was prepare themselves for participation in the sacrificial feast by sanctifying themselves. They would do this by washing their clothes and possibly themselves (Genesis 35:2; Exodus 19:10; Exodus 19:14), and presumably also by abstaining from sexual relations which could render them unclean (1 Samuel 21:4; Leviticus 15:16-18). At the same time he sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to join them at the sacrifice. This participation in the sanctification of this particular family provided him with a good reason for being in Jesse's house, and later returning to eat with them. What follows could have taken place at this time of ‘sanctifying', or alternatively at the sacrificial meal following the offering of the sacrifices.
‘ And it came about, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely YHWH's anointed is before him.” '
“When they were come” may mean, when they had come to Samuel to be sanctified, or it may mean when they had come for the sacrificial meal after sacrificing, for the anointing would certainly seem to have taken place in private. Eliab (‘God is father'), the eldest, was the first to meet Samuel and one look at him suggested to Samuel that this was the one who was to be YHWH's anointed (he was probably the Elihu of 1 Chronicles 27:18). He was a strapping fellow and appeared a suitable choice.
‘ But YHWH said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance (countenance), or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for YHWH does not see as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but YHWH looks on the heart.”
Samuel was to learn a lesson that day, and that was that while men looked at the outside and the general appearance, YHWH looked at the heart. If the heart was right YHWH could do the rest. Thus while Eliab was both tall and handsome, he was not the one. We can in fact compare this description of Eliab with the previous description of Saul (1 Samuel 9:2). Here we have described man's choice for a king. But the difference was that this time YHWH was determined to give to the people someone whose heart is right. This time they were not to have ‘a king like the nations'.
‘ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has YHWH chosen this one.” '
The second son to come up for inspection was Abinadab (‘my father is willing'). But Samuel recognised that YHWH had not chosen him.
‘ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has YHWH chosen this one.” '
The third son to pass before him was Shammah. The individual mention of three sons indicates the completeness of the search. We should also note that these were the three sons of fighting age in the family (17:13). But still this was not YHWH's choice.
‘ And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “YHWH has not chosen these.” '
In the end seven sons passed before him, the seven indicating divine completeness. But still YHWH's chosen had not been found. We can now imagine Jesse getting a little disheartened as each son was rejected and even Samuel must have been getting puzzled.
‘ And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and, see, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and fetch him, for we will not sit down until he come here.” '
Once he had had to reject all Jesse's sons who were present he knew instinctively that there must be another son. For he knew that YHWH would not have misled him. So he turned to Jesse and asked him whether all his sons were there. The reply came that the only one that was left was the youngest who was looking after the sheep. So Samuel declared that he must be fetched, and that they would not sit down for their meal until he had arrived.
‘ And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and with it all of a beautiful appearance, and handsome (goodly) to look on.” And YHWH said, “Arise, anoint him. For this is he.” '
So Jesse sent for his youngest son and brought him in. He was ‘ruddy' probably means that he had reddish hair which was unusual for Israelites, for they usually had black hair. He was also radiant and handsome. But what was most important was that YHWH said, ‘Arise and anoint him, for this is he.' Here was the chosen one of YHWH.
‘ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of YHWH came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.'
So Samuel took his horn of oil and anointed David in the midst of his brothers. We are not told whether they knew what the significance was of what he was doing. Perhaps only Jesse knew, for it was not after all something that could be allowed to get out. But all that really mattered was that YHWH knew. David himself may simply have seen it as a sign of God's promised blessing. Samuel could tell him later of its full significance.
But the most important thing was that as a result ‘the Spirit of YHWH came mightily on David from that day forward'. In this lies the explanation for all his future exploits about to be outlined. From this day on he was totally God's man, and God accompanied him in all that he did, and arranged for him to receive the training necessary for him to be a good and effective king. David may well have felt nothing, and not even have known that it had happened. It was the future that would bring it out.
Then, his responsibility fulfilled, Samuel returned to Ramah. He had no real appreciation of quite what he had accomplished, but he knew that the future was now secure. It was all left in the hands of YHWH.