1 Samuel 16:1: “The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since 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.’”
In our passage today, Saul is still the reigning king of Israel though he has been rejected by the Lord. Saul was given specific orders from the Lord, and Saul chose his way instead of fulfilling the Lord’s commands. It was a small tweak but an important tweak. As God’s anointed king, Saul was to obey the word of the Lord completely. Saul was Israel’s king under the true King, the Lord. Saul’s act of disobedience led to God’s rejection of him as king. For the rest of the kingship, Saul will fervently hold to his crown while knowing that he is no longer God’s chosen instrument.
Meanwhile, God has called the prophet Samuel to anoint a new king. As Samuel views the sons of Jesse, he assumes he can pick God’s chosen man. How wrong he is! God has chosen David, the youngest of the sons and the one working as a shepherd to lead his people. Based on Samuel’s and Jesse’s response, David would not have been their choice for a king. Nevertheless, David was God’s choice.
What does the Lord want us to take from this text? First, God’s commands are to be obeyed wholeheartedly and completely. Second, God works in ways that we cannot begin to fathom. Why would he choose the youngest son and apparently the least likely son? The Lord is the true king, and the true king operates outside of our logic and understanding.
There are certainly things in the world today that we cannot understand. Why has this coronavirus reeked such havoc among the world? Answers to that question are not yet revealed; however, the most important question we can ask ourselves is — how shall we live in light of this virus? Just as the Lord had a plan for Israel’s king, he has a plan for this virus. While we watch, wait, and pray, can we choose to trust and obey God wholeheartedly and completely?