NOT CHOOSERS, BUT CHOSEN
1 Samuel 16:1-13
Fourth Sunday in Lent, Year A
Analysis by Matthew DeLoera
1The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4Samuel did what the LORD commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the LORD.” 7But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” 11Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The LORD said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
From Wikimedia Commons
“He chooses us in order to give us everything he has – his body, his blood, even his whole life – that we might have life in him and his rule of eternal life, while taking our sin and death upon the cross, as he lovingly promises us.”
DIAGNOSIS: Life’s Choices
Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem) – A Father’s Choice
The prophet Samuel has arrived at Bethlehem under the pretense of conducting a sacrifice to the Lord (v. 2). But secretly he intends to anoint a new king for Israel – one from the sons of Jesse (v. 3). The old king is rejected, and it is time to move on (v. 1). So Samuel invites them to be sanctified and come to the sacrifice (v. 5). But Jesse holds back a secret from Samuel. Only when the Lord and Samuel have found each of the seven sons presented by Jesse to be lacking is this secret disclosed. He asks Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse then admits to having kept his youngest son at home, tending the sheep (v. 11). Samuel calls upon Jesse to send for this youngest son. David is that young shepherd, chosen by God, and he is the one to be anointed king “in the presence of his brothers” (vv. 11-13).
Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem) – Making Choices in Fear
Samuel’s fearsome reputation precedes him. He appoints kings (1 Sam. 10:24) and keeps their ear. He’s “old and gray” (1 Sam. 12:2) yet able to call down a violent show of force from God (1 Sam. 18). “All the people greatly feared” him (1 Sam. 12:18). Does such power ever come to a humble village to give, or only to take? No wonder the Bethlehemite elders trembled and asked, “Do you come peaceably?” (v. 4) So perhaps Jesse has this in mind. Was it pride that he presents only his most prized sons? After all, it was eldest Eliab who first caught Samuel’s eye as a would-be king. But as Samuel disregards each of them, seeking yet another, perhaps Jesse’s pride now turns to trepidation for holding back one other son, one that he did not consider worthy to come forward. What if youngest David was Jesse’s true sentimental favorite – one whom Jesse may have been seeking to protect (we might remember Jacob’s and Joseph’s stories here)? When power and authority come knocking, don’t we always fear they’ve come for whatever we hold dearest? What wouldn’t we do to protect our own? And even if we stave off today, what about next time?
Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Eternal Problem) – Losing our Lives
Nonetheless, David would be the one anointed. God’s will is the true power and authority, and it will not be denied. So for us, it is terrifying to stand before God and to have the truth of our lives exposed – that we do not trust God in spite of all of God’s gifts, and that we live in fear.
In this season of Lent, even the call to discipleship can be a risk that we would rather not take: “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mk 8:34). We fear this emptying of ourselves, and prefer to cling to our fleeting lives instead of the cross that is set before us. Indeed, “the Lord looks on the heart” (v. 7). But with our hearts far from God and God’s will, our lives are lost. “Those who want to save their life will lose it” (Mk 8:35).
PROGNOSIS: Chosen for Life
Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Eternal Solution) – Losing our Death
However, through the line of David God will send for us a new king in Jesus the Christ. Jesus understands his Father’s will as that which he has come to accomplish for our sake. This is the way he will rule for us, by picking up his cross and carrying it to the place where he will be lost, dying on the cross with and for us. And he is not simply taken away in death, but raised from the dead, overcoming all the judgment against us. He makes his place with us, the most unlikely of folks who neither trust our own place nor sense of worthiness. He chooses us in order to give us everything he has – his body, his blood, even his whole life – that we might have life in him and his rule of eternal life, while taking our sin and death upon the cross, as he lovingly promises us.
Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution) – Chosen and Seen by Christ
In faith, we trust that Jesus’ gift means we have nothing to fear. There are no powers or principalities from this old world that can separate us from his love. When such powers come knocking at our door, we have already died and have been made alive in Christ. Through Christ who has chosen us, how fleeting these powers are – they will not last or rule over us! They may look upon us in all our weakness, even as mortals “look on the outward appearance” (v. 7). Yet we may rejoice that we are fully seen by the only power and authority that really matters, and that “the Lord does not see as mortals see” – for “the Lord looks on the heart” of faith that trusts the promise (v. 7).
Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution) – Neighbors Chosen
But now our concern is not even primarily for ourselves. In Christ, we move on in promise. We have been gifted with his compassion and love, and by this grace, our care for our neighbors outweighs even those deepest fears that might have once hung around our necks like millstones. Who or what do they fear coming for them? What powers and authorities are threatening to take everything from them? So, we may or may not be surprised to find ourselves choosing them, to give what we have and even our own lives for their sake, with Jesus’ promise ringing in our ears – “those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it” (Mk. 8:35).
