I Samuel 16:11 NKJV
a. Are all the young men here? Samuel had a problem. God told him of Jesse, I have provided Myself a king among his sons (1 Samuel 16:1). Yet here were the seven sons of Jesse and God did not choose any of them. Since Samuel knew God’s word was true he knew there must be another son of Jesse who was not at the sacrificial feast.
b. There remains yet the youngest: This shows the low regard David had among his own family. First, his father didn’t even mention him by name. Second, he wasn’t even invited to the sacrificial feast. Third, he was only called to come because Samuel insisted on it.
i. “So small was David in his father’s esteem that it wasn’t considered necessary to include him in the family when the prophet of God called them to sacrifice.” (Redpath)
ii. When we consider that David was the youngest of eight sons, we aren’t surprised at the low regard he had in his own family. It wasn’t because David’s character or conduct was unworthy; it was simply because he was the youngest of eight sons.
iii. God often chooses unlikely people to do His work, so that everyone knows the work is God’s work, not man’s work. He wants to work in a way so that people regard His servants as they regarded Samson: they wondered at the secret of his strength (Judges 16:5).
iv. “You may not be intellectual or well thought of in your family circle; you may be despised by others for your faith in Christ. Perhaps you had only a little share in the love of your parents, as David did. But remember that those who are rejected of men often become beloved of the Lord.” (Redpath)
c. And there he is, keeping the sheep: David was called for this great anointing when he was out keeping the sheep. David simply did his job and was faithful in small things and what his father told him to do.
i. Keeping the sheep was a servant’s job. The fact that David was out keeping the sheep showed that the family of Jesse was not especially wealthy, because if they were wealthy a servant would be keeping the sheep. But they were not affluent enough to have servants.
ii. Keeping the sheep meant you had time to think. David spent a lot of time looking over the sheep and looking at the glory of God’s creation. God built in him a heart to sing about His glory in all creation (Psalm 19:1-4 and Psalm 8 are good examples).
iii. Keeping the sheep took a special heart, a special care. It meant you knew that sheep needed the care and help of a good shepherd. You learned that you were a sheep and God was your shepherd. During these years, God built in David the heart that would sing about the LORD as his shepherd (as in Psalm 23).
iv. Keeping the sheep meant you had to trust God in the midst of danger. David had lions and bears and wolves to contend with and the sheep had to be protected. “The country round Bethlehem was not a peaceful paradise, and the career of a shepherd was not the easy life of lovesick swains which poets dream.” (Blaikie)
v. David’s years keeping the sheep were not waiting time; they were training time. David was a great man and a great king over Israel because he never lost his shepherd’s heart. Psalm 78:70-72 speaks of the connection between David the king and David the shepherd: He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. (Guzik)
Beloved of the Lord!
Redpath’s commentary above gives us hope!
Beloved of the Lord is an interesting phrase found throughout the Bible.
Look what this scripture says to those who are in Christ!
”But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,“
II Thessalonians 2:13 NKJV
When man fails you, remember you are beloved of and by the Lord.
Blessings
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