1 Samuel 16

David is Anointed

Summary: God sends Samuel on a covert mission to find Jesse’s son David (v.1). Samuel arrives in Bethlehem incognito under the pretext of offering a sacrifice to avoid suspicion. Jesse’s sons are presented as potential candidates, but God selects David based on his heart, not his outward appearance (v.7). Samuel anoints David with oil as God’s chosen one (v.13), after which the Spirit departs from Saul (v.14). David is providentially brought to Saul to play the harp, which soothes Saul’s troubled spirit (v.22-23). This pivotal chapter marks a significant shift: God’s favor transitions from Saul to David, signaling a turning point in the narrative of 1 Samuel.

(16:1) The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

God doesn’t tell Samuel to stop grieving, but only asks him “how long” he will grieve.

(16:2) But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’”

Samuel had authority over Saul, but he was also afraid of Saul’s violence. He had to travel incognito, offering a sacrifice while he was there (Lev. 3:1).

(16:3) “Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

This sacrifice was “invitation only.”[] Only Jesse’s family was allowed to be there.

(16:4-5) Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

⁵ Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

Samuel’s reputation of killing Agag may have preceded him. This might be why the elders of the city “trembled” and wanted to know if Samuel had “come in peace.”

(16:6-7) When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

⁷ But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Samuel may have thought that a man’s height and stature was important. After all, Saul was a tall man (1 Sam. 9:2), and Samuel mentioned this fact to the people (1 Sam. 10:23-24). But God tells Samuel that he needs to look at the heart of the man—not at his height (cf. 1 Kings 8:39; 1 Chron. 28:9; Isa. 11:3; 55:8-9; Lk. 16:15).

(16:8-10) Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” ⁹ Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.”

“Seven sons.” Chronicles states that Jesse had seven sons in total—not eight (1 Chron. 2:13-15). Baldwin[] thinks that it is very plausible that one of the sons died young.

Jesse brings his seven sons to stand in front of Samuel for a prophetic inspection. Samuel somehow knew that God has not chosen them, and he must’ve wondered why none of them were chosen. Yet, as it turns out, Jesse has an eighth son (1 Sam. 17:12).

(16:11) So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

“There is still the youngest.” The “youngest” (haqqāṭān) literally means the “smallest.”[] David stood in sharp contrast to Saul, who was quite tall. Jesse must’ve been perplexed over the idea that his youngest son David could be a kingly candidate—especially since he was also a shepherd. Perhaps this is why Jesse didn’t bring up his name in the first place.

“He is tending the sheep.” The concept of the King (Messiah) being a shepherd becomes a major theme throughout the rest of the Old and New Testament (Ezek. 34; Jn. 10).

(16:12) So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

David’s face was “ruddy” (NASB) or “glowing with health.” That is, his cheeks had a reddish hue (ʾadmônî). David was handsome, but that is not why God chose him (v.9). Of course, David wasn’t passed over because he was handsome either. Rather, God saw a heart of faith in David.

(16:13) So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

“Anointed him… the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David.” God wanted David’s father and brothers to witness what he was doing. Later, Isaiah associates “anointing” with the Holy Spirit (Isa. 61:1).

Once Samuel anointed David, Samuel’s career effectively comes to an end. Youngblood writes, “Although [Samuel] makes additional appearances later on, he no longer plays an active role in the books that bear his name. The anointing of David was the capstone to Samuel’s career.”[] Like Jesus, David was declared to be the king, but there was a gap of time before he was recognized as the king.

Meanwhile, Saul loses the Spirit and God’s anointing as king…

(16:14) Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

God began working through David—not Saul (cf. 1 Sam. 18:12). God brought this spirit to Saul as a form of judgment, and Saul needed to turn to David for relief. Later, this same evil spirit encouraged Saul to turn violent toward David (1 Sam. 18:10; 19:9).

In our text above, God sent this spirit as a form of judgment. Indeed, given the wide semantic range of the term “tormenting” (rāʿâ), Bergen[] holds that this could even refer to an “angel of judgment.” This was not a capricious judgment. Rather, Saul had brought himself under judgment because he broke God’s law.

God has two types of wills: a directive will and a permissive will. God’s directive will can be defined as God actively doing something. By contrast, God’s permissive will can be defined as God allowing something to take place. For example, we might say that God is “signing off” on something, permitting it to occur.

While these categories exist in God’s character, Scripture often blurs the lines in explaining events. Often times in Scripture, demonic activity appears to be directly caused by God, but other passages make it clear that God was merely permitting this. For instance, 2 Samuel 24:1 explains that God caused David to number the people, but 1 Chronicles 21:1 explains that it was Satan who moved him. In Luke 22:31, we see that Satan has to ask “permission” to attack humans. Therefore, if he wants to do something, this is only possible if God permits him in his sovereignty. Likewise, 1 Kings 20:23 explains, “The Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets.” This passage attributes the coming of an evil spirit directly and solely to God. However, in context, the evil spirit actually volunteered to do this (v.21), and God gave him permission to do it (v.22). Moreover, Satan was the one to afflict Job (Job 1-2), but at the end of the book, Job’s friends are said to comfort him “for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him” (Job 42:11).

In conclusion, God often uses language to explain that he was causing a demonic event, so that he can communicate his sovereignty and control over Satan. Kaiser notes, “Scriptural language frequently attributes directly to God what he merely permits.”[] By claiming that he caused it, he is securing his authority over all things—even if he wasn’t directly causing all things. To the original audience (who was terrified of the demonic), this was probably a comforting message—even if it difficult for modern people to comprehend as we take for granted the sovereignty of God over the demonic.

(16:15-18) Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶ Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.” ¹⁷

So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸ One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the LORD is with him.”

Why would music have an effect on an evil spirit? Tsumura notes that ancient cultures used “music against demons,” but in this case, he merely believes that this had “therapeutic power” on Saul’s condition.[] Likewise, Evans refers to this as “music therapy.”[] Other passages note that musical instruments were associated with the prophets (1 Sam. 10:5; 2 Kings 3:15).

(16:19) Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”

David turns from a shepherd to the armor bearer of the king overnight. Saul didn’t realize that this servant would actually become the next king of Israel.

(16:20) So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.

Jesse wanted David to bring gifts for the king (Prov. 18:16).

(16:21) David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers.

Saul begins his relationship with love toward David, but Saul’s pride would later poison this love toward the young man.

(16:22) Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”

Saul tells Jesse that he wants David to work for him full-time.

(16:23) Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

See comments on verse 18.

Concluding insights

Saul is unaware of the fact that God had departed from him, and he moved on to David (v.14). People who are caught in unbelief and sin are often the last to know that God’s Spirit has departed from them. Of course, as believers in the new covenant, we are never separated from the Holy Spirit; we are sealed (Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30). But God’s power can depart from us.

God looks for people’s character—not appearance (v.7). Incidentally, elders are raised up by God based on their character—not their appearance (1 Tim. 3; Titus 1).