Quit moping Samuel!
We’ve got work to do.
We’re not gonna wait any longer.
Saul is history.
I’m sorry I selected him.
And you never liked him, anyway.
No sense crying over spilt milk.
Water under the bridge.
Water over the dam.
So it goes.
Fill your horn with oil and get going Samuel.
I’m sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem.
I have found me a king!
A trip of about 20 miles or so … from Saul’s home in Ramah to Bethlehem …
Off the beaten path.
Out of the ordinary.
But Samuel is no dummy.
If Saul finds out what I’m doing, he’ll be furious … he’ll kill me.
Maybe so, says God.
But let’s not think of the negative!
Let’s not ponder the worst.
Here, I’ve got an idea.
Take a heifer.
When you get to Bethlehem, tell them you’re there to worship, to make a sacrifice … a festival … a time of celebration … a barbecue … a picnic for the town!
And be sure to invite Jesse.
Only then will I make it clear to you what comes next.
Samuel shows up, with heifer in tow.
The town elders shake in their boots.
Samuel is Saul’s righthand man … famous and fierce … What is he doing here?
It can’t be good.
Have we done something wrong?
Everyone’s afraid.
Samuel is afraid of Saul.
The elders are afraid of Samuel.
This is not the fear of faith.
This is anxiety … raw anxiety.
The anxiety of the unfamiliar, the unknown, the uncertain, the unpredictable.
Everyone’s anxious; everyone’s nervous … sweaty palms and churning stomach!
But Samuel obeys the LORD.
Let’s party, says Samuel.
Here’s a heifer I brought with me.
I want to worship the LORD here.
Go make yourselves holy.
Get ready for a feast.
And a feast it was.
Sacrifice was a time of festivity.
Sure, there were sacrifices for sin and sorrow and wrong-doing, and they were somber affairs … but this was a sacrifice of joy - purification and well-being … only certain parts of the animal were burned on the altar, the rest was available for a picnic.
I think of family picnics … Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day … hamburgers and hotdogs sizzling on the grill, clouds of blue smoke rising into the air … a big green bowl of Gramma’s potato salad, Aunt Marie’s jello with little oranges and marshmallows, Uncle Ben’s horseradish, strong enough to curl the hair on your head, and all those fabulous pies … kids running around, ducking behind trees, shouting and jumping … playing games … everyone having a good time, getting caught up on all the news, who’s getting married, who’s pregnant, who’s sick, and we all miss Uncle Jim who died last year, and cousin Bob who ran away with the neighbor’s wife, and no one knows where they are.
A family get-together … food and drink and all that talking.
Everyone at ease.
Full belly.
A few beers.
And Samuel with a keen eye.
He asks to meet Jesse’s boys, and Jesse is pleased to comply … What’s he looking for? Why does he want to meet my boys? Maybe he’ll take them back to the palace. High places. Big things. Fame and Fortune. The lucky break.
Sort of like an audition for “America’s Got Talent.”
Samuel looks at the boys, one by one.
Samuel’s no one’s fool.
He’s got a keen eye, for sure.
And when Samuel sees the first son, Eliab, Samuel thinks to himself, This has got to be the one.
No need for any more fuss.
But the LORD says to Samuel, Uh uh, nothing doing.
Don’t waste your time or mine on appearances … I look at the heart, and I’m looking for man with a heart … a heart after my own heart!
So the next six sons are presented, and each time God says, Not the one!
Samuel asks Jesse, Do you have another son?
Yes, but he’s just a boy, he’s the youngest … we sent him out to look after the sheep while we’re at the picnic.
The eighth son … if seven is the full number, then eight is a brand new universe … God created heaven and earth in seven days, and rested.
A new born son is circumcised on the eighth day - because a child is always new day, a new world, a fresh expression of hope - the first day of whole new dimension.
The eighth son of Jesse … out in the fields …
For reasons unknown to us, Jesse sent young David to the fields while he took the other seven boys to the party.
Didn’t Jesse have a hired hand?
Someone else to help?
Why did he send little Davy away?
Sometimes things happen in a family.
Brothers turn against brothers.
Parents play favorites.
Sisters fight with each other.
I’m not talking about the usual stuff … I’m talking about really mean stuff … when love grows twisted and toxic … the hurt goes deep, and goes on and on.
Who knows?
Little Davy was sent to the fields, while the rest of the family went to the party.
Bring him here, says Samuel.
We can’t proceed until he gets here.
Jesse sends for the boy.
Wonder how long that took.
There they all stand, looking at each other.
No one dares to challenge Samuel, that’s for sure.
So they wait … hands in their pockets, kicking stones.
When David finally gets there, Samuel sees a fine looking young man … mahogany in appearance … reddish brown … a ruddy complexion … beautiful eyes … just plain good lookin’.
David’s a fine specimen of a young man.
But more than that, he’s got heart!
God’s heart.
He’s the one, says the LORD.
Don’t waste any more time.
Anoint him now!
Right in front of the brothers … Davy in his jeans and flannel shirt, stained and sweaty.
Wonder what his brothers thought.
What’s wrong with us?
Are we chopped liver?
We’re smart.
Good looking.
Experienced.
And our little snot-nosed brother is the hit of the party?
But so it goes!
God’s ways are not our ways.
Sometimes the first is last.
And sometimes the last is first.
To God be the glory!
Amen and Amen!
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