A Providential Meeting of Kings
I Samuel 16:13-23
“A young man came to visit me with a question on
his mind. He asked, “I prayed to receive Jesus as
my Savior, but why has nothing really changed in
my life?” I asked him, “Who is running your life?”
He replied, “I am!” I inquired further, “Has anyone
informed you that Jesus wants to be your Lord and
run your life?” “No one has,” he answered. I then
asked him, “Would you be willing to pray right now
and give Jesus complete charge over your whole
life?” He said, “Yes, I will.” He was very willing.
After he accepted Jesus as his Lord and gave Him
full authority and control, the young man’s life
changed. He reported having a new desire to be
with Christians, to pray, to read his Bible and also
to share about his new life with others.
Allowing the Lordship of Christ in our lives, that is
allowing the Lord Jesus Christ to own and manage
our lives as our Lord, is actually a step toward real
freedom. Every person must wrestle through the
question of who will own and manage his or her
life. This involves coming to a place of
acknowledging Jesus Christ as Lord, including
surrendering and yielding his or her will to Jesus
Christ. Jesus Christ will never be an assistant.
Our role is always subordinate to His role. He
cannot play a back-up position. He will either have
full authority or no authority. If we ever think we
can share the top spot, we are just fooling
ourselves. Either we are in charge or we have
surrendered to Him, and surrender can never be
forced…He needs to be number one, every day, all
the time! He wants us to follow Him 100%.
Les Goertz, Not-Yet Christian, Miles Marker Press.
Last week we talked about God choosing David to be the
next king of Israel. He had Samuel anoint this young
shepherd unbeknownst to the current king Saul.
We talked about how David’s claim to fame being a man
after God’s own heart was more about God choosing him
than him choosing God.
Today we are going to read the remaining verses in I
Samuel 16. What we are going to see is God’s providence
in bringing David into Saul’s life.
For context we need to include verse 13 in our study
today even though we already read it last week.
1 Samuel 16:13-14
The Spirit comes upon David and Departs from Saul
In verse 13 we read that the Spirit of the Lord rushed
upon David from that day forward. The Spirit was never
going to leave Him.
Saul had received the Spirit back in
I Sam 10:9-11 “When he turned his back to leave
Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these
signs came to pass that day. When they came to
Gibeah, behold, a group of prophets met him, and
the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he
prophesied among them. And when all who knew
him previously saw how he prophesied with the
prophets, the people said to one another, “What
has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among
the prophets?”
But now that the Spirit has rushed upon David, He has
left Saul. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it gets worse for
Saul.
Now Saul is being tormented by a harmful spirit from the
Lord.
The term evil should not be thought of in moral terms,
the word translated evil means misery, distress or harm.
Saul is going to be utterly miserable because of his
disobedience.
Please don’t misunderstand this verse.
In God’s sovereignty He allowed the spirit to come upon
Saul.
God doesn’t send evil, nor does He tempt us with evil.
I believe it to be a consequence of his rejection of God.
1 Samuel 15:26 “And Samuel said to Saul, “I will
not return with you. For you have rejected the
word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you
from being king over Israel.”
God allowed the harmful spirit to come upon Saul.
This was not an indwelling or demon possession.
As we read the text we will see that the spirit will come
and go.
Two other times in 1 Samuel we read of the harmful spirit
coming upon Saul again. Chapter 18 and 19.
It was not a constant issue; it was intermittent.
Let’s take some time to talk about the difference between
the Holy Spirit coming upon someone and indwelling
them.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would often come upon
someone for a particular time or task to be accomplished.
In the New Testament the Holy Spirit comes into the
bodies of believers to stay permanently.
There is no chance of a true believer ever losing their
salvation or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 1:13-14 “In him you also, when you
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with
the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of
our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to
the praise of his glory.”
I Samuel 16:15-16
Saul’s Servants Give Wise Counsel
Isn’t it interesting that others have the ability to see our
spiritual condition better than we can sometimes?
Saul’s servants tell Saul that he needs music therapy.
They believe the music will help provide relief from the
harmful spirit.
Let’s take a moment to think about the power of music.
The Power of Music
Can you recall the lyrics to the songs you used to listen
to on the radio when you were younger?
Do you remember the words and the tune to your
favorite hymns?
What about music during movies?
The score of a movie is powerful.
It evokes emotion. You can tell when the enemy walks in
because the ominous music plays.
You can tell when the directors want you to be happy
because upbeat music plays.
Music is powerful and is definitely able to impact your
mood.
I have heard some songs, and I use that word loosely,
that almost cause me to have a panic attack.
We definitely need to be careful what we listen to.
Saul’s servants knew this, so they asked Saul to
command them to seek out a skillful musician to play
when the harmful spirit was upon him and the music
would calm him.
1 Samuel 16:17-19
Not only did Saul’s servants know how to get rid of the
harmful spirit, they knew someone who had the skills to
do it.
One of the servants recalls seeing the son of Jesse the
Bethlehemite playing the lyre.
Saul asks his servants to provide for him a man who can
play well.
Isn’t it interesting that the man Saul’s servants provided
was the one and only man that God had provided to be
the new king. If only Saul knew…
Saul wasn’t in Bethlehem when Samuel anointed him
king.
Then the Scripture gives us a recap of David’s
qualifications.
David’s Resume
David is Musically Gifted – he can play the lyre with skill.
We know that David authored 73 of the Psalms.
David is Militarily Minded – as a shepherd he had to
protect his sheep from danger. He killed a bear and a lion
while fulfilling his duty. This also foreshadows his military
prowess that is to come once he starts to lead the nation
of Israel in battle.
David is Socially Competent – the servant says he is
prudent in speech. He knows what to say and when to
say it. One of my favorite things David says is when he
fights Goliath and he mocks him for coming at him with a
sword and a spear and a javelin. He tells him he is
coming to him in the name of the Lord.
David is Physically Attractive – even though that wasn’t
the reason God chose him, David was a handsome man.
David was Spiritually Empowered – we know David is a
man after God’s own heart. We know that the Spirit of
the Lord is upon him. This is the most important item on
his resume.
After hearing these wonderful qualifications, Saul has his
servants send a message to Jesse to send his son David.
I Samuel 16:20-23
Jesse gets the message from the king, so he immediately
gets David from the field and sends him with a gift
basket to Saul.
David Finds Favor with Saul
When David arrives Saul immediately takes a liking to
David.
The Scripture says Saul loved David greatly. This is likely
the way a king would love his subjects.
It’s ironic because David, the new king, is serving Saul,
the outgoing king.
If Saul only knew… When Saul does find out that God has
chosen David to be the next king, his attitude towards
him changes. He attempts to kill him twice.
But for now, Saul is grateful for such a skilled musician.
He has found favor with the one he is going to replace.
Saul also makes David his armor bearer. A trusted
position to be sure. He then sends word to Jesse asking
for David to stay indefinitely, because he has found favor
in the sight of the king.
Every time the harmful spirit came upon him, David
would play and the music would refresh Saul and the
spirit would leave.
Isn’t it interesting how God brought these two kings
together through His divine providence?
God is always working.
APPLICATION
David didn’t interfere with what God was doing in this
story.
Isn’t it interesting that he went back to the field to tend
the sheep after Samuel anointed him king. What an
incredible display of humility.
We must:
Surrender to God’s Plan
Even when we can’t see exactly what He is up to, we
know that He is working all things for good for those who
love Him and are called according to His purpose.
What area of your life are you holding on to that you
need to surrender?
Many of us like to be in control, God’s plan is always so
much better than the plans we come up with.
He doesn’t need our help, he needs our obedience.
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