God
told Samuel, “I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite for I have selected a
king for Myself among his sons” (1 Sam. 16:1). When Jesse’s sons came before
him, Samuel looked at Eliab and assumed he was the chosen one. Samuel could have made a big mistake here because apparently Eliab looked
like a king. God told Samuel Eliab wasn’t the one. After Samuel saw all seven, he said, “The Lord has not chosen these” (16:10).
Samuel
couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Since none of the seven were the king, it
must mean another son was somewhere else. It’s interesting that God didn’t
tell Samuel this. He had to figure it out himself. Samuel asked, “Are these all
your children?” Jesse told him the youngest was tending sheep. When David was
brought to him the Lord said, “Anoint him, for this is he” (v.12).
What can we learn
from this?
The Lord gave Samuel instructions, but He didn’t tell him everything. God
could have told Samuel at the beginning to anoint the youngest son, David.
But Samuel had to go through the process of elimination. It’s like dating seven
people and eliminating them before you find the right spouse. Some people
choose to marry someone because they “look good,” just like Samuel almost chose
Eliab for this reason. We find out later that Eliab was afraid to fight Goliath
(17:28). But David wasn’t afraid, which is why God chose him as king.
Many
times God will tell you to do something, such as accept a job in a different
city. But He won’t tell you everything about the situation. He will give you further instructions after
you’ve obeyed what He has already told you to do. God will lead you to
Point A, and after you’ve done that, He will take you to Point B.
Are
you obeying what He has already told you? If God has spoken to you, it will
come to pass, but it may not happen until later. Even though Samuel anointed
David as king, it wasn’t until years later that David actually became the
king of Israel (1 Chron. 11:9). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com www.makinglifecount.net
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BIBLE STUDY: Did
Two Different People Write the Book of Isaiah?
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