Introducing David

1 Samuel 16

            Enter David. We first heard his name in Ruth, but he’s been nowhere to be seen since. Understandable since he is just a child. He is so young and insignificant that his dad, Jesse, doesn’t even bother to call him in from the field when Samuel shows up. He is the 8^th of 8 sons; seven being the meaningful number, David is one son too many. He’s not even a spare; he’s an afterthought.

            But the Lord doesn’t look at appearances like humans do. He looks at the heart. Way back in 13:14 the Lord had said He would snatch the kingdom from Saul and give it to a man “after His own heart.” David isn’t perfect. We’ll find that out in the next few weeks. But he is pious and faithful to the Lord. (Witness the sheer number of psalms credited to him—73, almost half!)

            Ironically, the Lord places David right under Saul’s nose. The Lord removed His spirit from Saul, and an evil spirit tormented him. Music seemed the right answer to Saul’s advisors. Two things to note: first, yes, even the evil spirits are at the command of God. Notice how often the demons must obey when Jesus commands. That insight probably raises more questions than it answers, and maybe we can address it in Bible class one of these days. Second, whatever David’s role in Saul’s court, Saul does not recognize David in the next chapter, so it must have been rather minor.