The Winds of Change: Samuel Anoints David
Sermon text for April 20, 2008:
I Samuel 15:34-16:13
The winds of change are blowing, always blowing, and the people of Israel are out of breath just trying to keep up. At their insistence, Samuel anointed Saul as king to rule over them. And far from being more secure as they had hoped, the wars with the Philistines seem to have increased. The wars! The changes! The wind is always blowing and there is no time to just sit and rest. Perhaps by this time, some of the people are questioning their decision to reject the leadership of God and choose a king to rule over them.
In the beginning, God envisioned Israel as an egalitarian society where each one was equal and where citizens could live without fear. But with the anointing of King Saul, all of that has changed. For the first time, Israel developed social classes. Those close to King Saul were more privileged than others and fear gripped the land. Even Samuel is afraid of Saul. If he goes against King Saul in a public way he might be killed. So in choosing a king over God, the people have unwittingly silenced God. And, as it was in Samuel’s youth, once again “the word of the Lord was rare …. and there was no frequent vision.” Now if God is speaking, Samuel is afraid to tell the people what God says. The winds of change! The winds of war! The winds of fear! Israel is far removed from the comfortable egalitarian, agrarian nation of only a few decades before.
When King Saul began his reign he understood himself to be a servant of God and he often sought Samuel’s counsel. But as he experienced power, all that began to change. Saul no longer saw himself as God’s servant. Samuel, who at one time was the chief counselor to the King, was silenced and now he lived in fear.
Samuel is in the uncomfortable position of being caught between God and Saul. Saul is fearsome – even ruthless, but God still expects to be obeyed. And when God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint a new King he was terrified. To do what God commanded was an act of treason and punishable by death. Samuel tried to reason with God, “if I do what you want and Saul hears he will kill me.”
The story has all of the intrigue of a first rate spy novel, but it also has humor. God and Samuel conspire with one another to outwit Saul. According to the plan Samuel was to take a young heifer and pretend to be going to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice. Once in Bethlehem, Samuel was to invite a man named Jesse to join him. Unbeknownst to Saul or Jesse one of Jesse’s sons will be the second king of Israel.
At Samuel’s request, the sons of Jesse are paraded before Samuel one after another and Samuel thinks each of them looks like the new king. But God rejects one son after another, until Samuel is perplexed. God said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees. The Lord looks upon the heart.” Samuel discovers there is still one son whom he hasn’t met. And now for the first time we hear about David.
When Samuel meets David he sees a cute little boy. He sounds like the kind of kid you would want your grandchildren to befriend. He had ruddy cheeks and beautiful eyes. From the author’s description, David sounds charming. But charming might not cut it in a battle against the Philistines. God saw something in David that no one else could see and said to Samuel, “Anoint him, this is the one I have chosen.” So Samuel anointed David in front of his brothers and the Bible says that from that day forward the Spirit of the Lord was a mighty force in David’s life.
I can’t help but wonder how David experienced his anointing that day. He was King, but he went back to work tending his father’s sheep. The gift seems to be taken for granted, or maybe David needed time to let God’s gifts develop. Some of God’s gifts must be nurtured before being invested in the People of God. So David went back to tending sheep.
Jesus spent time in the wilderness.
Paul spent fourteen years in Arabia before he began writing and preaching.
The witness of scripture is that the winds of change rarely blow in the direction we think they should. And sometimes the direction seems to make no sense at all. Sometimes it takes an act of will to believe that God knows which way the wind is blowing and that God means everything for our good. God always chooses the least likely person to do important work.
As I mulled over this common biblical theme of God choosing the most unlikely people to carry out God’s plan, it seemed to me that the message might be especially for us. Ten years ago this congregation named about 400 people on its roles. You were strong and vital, in almost everyway. The winds of change were blowing, but most of the changes were positive. But then the winds of change began to blow in a way that no one could have guessed. The winds blew in trouble and now you are struggling. Your numbers are somewhere near 140 and many of you feel defeated. Many of you have no confidence in the future.
In some ways, my own life has been on a path similar to yours. Ten years ago I was the pastor of a large church with a large staff. In my professional life, the winds of change were favorable. But then the unexpected happened. I hurt my back and eventually had to resign from my position.
As a congregation you were large and successful. Professionally I was pretty much at the top of my game. Now I wonder if there is another place for me to minister when I leave here, yet I acknowledge that I have been preparing to leave for a year and will rejoice when your new pastor arrives.
The story of David may be written for us. No one who looked at David at the time of his anointing saw a king, but God could see what others could not. The little boy became a man. The shepherd became a warrior. I believe that God sees something at First Presbyterian Church of Lakewood that none of us can see. We know that the winds of change are blowing. Even as God changed a shepherd into a king, I believe that God has a wonderful future in store for you.
The winds of change are blowing for me, as well, and I cannot see the future. So, even as I am praying for you, I ask you to pray for me that I will go wherever God wants me to go and become whomever God wants me to be for the next stage of my life.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
I Samuel 15:34-16:13
The winds of change are blowing, always blowing, and the people of Israel are out of breath just trying to keep up. At their insistence, Samuel anointed Saul as king to rule over them. And far from being more secure as they had hoped, the wars with the Philistines seem to have increased. The wars! The changes! The wind is always blowing and there is no time to just sit and rest. Perhaps by this time, some of the people are questioning their decision to reject the leadership of God and choose a king to rule over them.
In the beginning, God envisioned Israel as an egalitarian society where each one was equal and where citizens could live without fear. But with the anointing of King Saul, all of that has changed. For the first time, Israel developed social classes. Those close to King Saul were more privileged than others and fear gripped the land. Even Samuel is afraid of Saul. If he goes against King Saul in a public way he might be killed. So in choosing a king over God, the people have unwittingly silenced God. And, as it was in Samuel’s youth, once again “the word of the Lord was rare …. and there was no frequent vision.” Now if God is speaking, Samuel is afraid to tell the people what God says. The winds of change! The winds of war! The winds of fear! Israel is far removed from the comfortable egalitarian, agrarian nation of only a few decades before.
When King Saul began his reign he understood himself to be a servant of God and he often sought Samuel’s counsel. But as he experienced power, all that began to change. Saul no longer saw himself as God’s servant. Samuel, who at one time was the chief counselor to the King, was silenced and now he lived in fear.
Samuel is in the uncomfortable position of being caught between God and Saul. Saul is fearsome – even ruthless, but God still expects to be obeyed. And when God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint a new King he was terrified. To do what God commanded was an act of treason and punishable by death. Samuel tried to reason with God, “if I do what you want and Saul hears he will kill me.”
The story has all of the intrigue of a first rate spy novel, but it also has humor. God and Samuel conspire with one another to outwit Saul. According to the plan Samuel was to take a young heifer and pretend to be going to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice. Once in Bethlehem, Samuel was to invite a man named Jesse to join him. Unbeknownst to Saul or Jesse one of Jesse’s sons will be the second king of Israel.
At Samuel’s request, the sons of Jesse are paraded before Samuel one after another and Samuel thinks each of them looks like the new king. But God rejects one son after another, until Samuel is perplexed. God said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord sees not as man sees. The Lord looks upon the heart.” Samuel discovers there is still one son whom he hasn’t met. And now for the first time we hear about David.
When Samuel meets David he sees a cute little boy. He sounds like the kind of kid you would want your grandchildren to befriend. He had ruddy cheeks and beautiful eyes. From the author’s description, David sounds charming. But charming might not cut it in a battle against the Philistines. God saw something in David that no one else could see and said to Samuel, “Anoint him, this is the one I have chosen.” So Samuel anointed David in front of his brothers and the Bible says that from that day forward the Spirit of the Lord was a mighty force in David’s life.
I can’t help but wonder how David experienced his anointing that day. He was King, but he went back to work tending his father’s sheep. The gift seems to be taken for granted, or maybe David needed time to let God’s gifts develop. Some of God’s gifts must be nurtured before being invested in the People of God. So David went back to tending sheep.
Jesus spent time in the wilderness.
Paul spent fourteen years in Arabia before he began writing and preaching.
The witness of scripture is that the winds of change rarely blow in the direction we think they should. And sometimes the direction seems to make no sense at all. Sometimes it takes an act of will to believe that God knows which way the wind is blowing and that God means everything for our good. God always chooses the least likely person to do important work.
As I mulled over this common biblical theme of God choosing the most unlikely people to carry out God’s plan, it seemed to me that the message might be especially for us. Ten years ago this congregation named about 400 people on its roles. You were strong and vital, in almost everyway. The winds of change were blowing, but most of the changes were positive. But then the winds of change began to blow in a way that no one could have guessed. The winds blew in trouble and now you are struggling. Your numbers are somewhere near 140 and many of you feel defeated. Many of you have no confidence in the future.
In some ways, my own life has been on a path similar to yours. Ten years ago I was the pastor of a large church with a large staff. In my professional life, the winds of change were favorable. But then the unexpected happened. I hurt my back and eventually had to resign from my position.
As a congregation you were large and successful. Professionally I was pretty much at the top of my game. Now I wonder if there is another place for me to minister when I leave here, yet I acknowledge that I have been preparing to leave for a year and will rejoice when your new pastor arrives.
The story of David may be written for us. No one who looked at David at the time of his anointing saw a king, but God could see what others could not. The little boy became a man. The shepherd became a warrior. I believe that God sees something at First Presbyterian Church of Lakewood that none of us can see. We know that the winds of change are blowing. Even as God changed a shepherd into a king, I believe that God has a wonderful future in store for you.
The winds of change are blowing for me, as well, and I cannot see the future. So, even as I am praying for you, I ask you to pray for me that I will go wherever God wants me to go and become whomever God wants me to be for the next stage of my life.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 1:50 PM
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