And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, Jehovah has not chosen these.
Samuel has come to Bethlehem to anoint a king. One by one, seven sons of Jesse walk past him, and God turns down every one. Two questions follow: what was wrong with the seven, and what was God looking for?
This was not a poor showing. Jesse's sons were nature at its best, and still God refused them all.
Outward attraction had nothing to do with the Lord's choice. He looks beneath the polished surface of people and things, and judges by His own principles, which never fail... So the best that nature could produce passed before the prophet, but all in vain; nature could produce nothing for God or for His people.
Being the eldest counted for nothing here. God's choice ran the opposite way.
Here God sets aside all boasting in natural advantage and birthright. He chooses the youngest son, despised and forgotten by everyone, the one who kept the sheep; "for the LORD sees not as man sees." Samuel, taught by God, does not hesitate. He can accept none of the seven who are at home.
Seven sons stood before the prophet. The eighth was out with the sheep, and he never entered his father's mind.
Jesse had not even considered his youngest son for such an honour, just as the Lord Jesus is the last man people think of as the One to rule over them. The youngest was keeping the sheep. He was not thought important enough even to be present at the sacrifice. But what keeping sheep pictures is precious to God. Saul, in contrast, was looking for his father's donkeys, which he never found. God's thought of a king is one with a shepherd's heart, who would truly care for the people.
The danger runs the other way too. We are quick to trust what a person looks like, and one writer turns that on the reader:
How fast we forget the lessons of past experience! How ready we are to look "on the outward appearance," and so let it deceive us again and again... Scripture says this of the gentle and humble One who came in His Father's name: "He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."
If God had taken any of the seven, people could have credited the choice to breeding, height or birth order. The refusal guards God's glory.
If Eliab, or Shammah, or Abinadab, or any one of the "seven sons" of Jesse had had the anointing oil poured on his head, human pride could have boasted in the presence of God. But then David — the forgotten David — appears. In him we see one who would give all the glory to the God who was about to put the royal sceptre in his hand.
This is God's settled way of working, and one writer ties it to a line from the New Testament:
Truly "the LORD sees not as man sees," for "God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world... so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." (1 Cor. 1:27-29)
Seven sons pass by here, so David is the eighth — yet the family list in 1 Chronicles makes him the seventh. Commentators differ: some think one son died young, and others find meaning in the numbers themselves.
"Eight" is right in Samuel, and "seventh" in Chronicles. Both are God's word, and each fits the truth God is teaching in that book... Seven is linked with rest in creation, and eight with rest in resurrection power and glory. As the eighth son in Samuel, David points to the true David who will restore everything and reign over Israel Himself as the risen Man... Eight means God stepping in with grace when everything is lost.
- Reviewed. Seven sons of Jesse walked past the prophet — the family's best. Nature could produce nothing for God or His people.
- Refused. God set aside age, height and birthright. If He had anointed one of the seven, human strength could have taken the credit.
- Overlooked. The forgotten son was out keeping sheep, and God's king must have a shepherd's heart. He pictures the Lord Jesus, the last man people want ruling over them.
- Reversed. God chooses what the world calls weak and despised, so that no one may boast in His presence.
- Risen. David is the eighth, after seven refusals. He points to the true David who reigns as the risen Man, when God steps in with grace after everything is lost.
And Samuel said to Jesse, Are these all the young men? And he said, There is yet the youngest remaining, and behold, he is feeding the sheep. And Samuel said to Jesse, Send and fetch him; for we will not sit at table till he come hither.
Samuel has passed seven of Jesse's sons before him, and God has refused every one. So the prophet asks whether the family is complete. The answer uncovers a son his own father had not thought worth calling. Nothing goes ahead until that son arrives.
Jesse's reply sounds like an afterthought. One writer sets this forgotten son beside the king Israel admired.
This chapter shows us, in a very striking way, the clear sentence of death on all the thoughts of man. What lesson could teach us anything more solemn than the contrast between Saul and David? Everyone admired Saul, and he was chosen because of his outward appearance. David was forgotten even by his own father — and this was after the prophet had raised the question. He was of no account in the eyes of a single member of the family. Yet this was the man destined for the throne.
The neglect went further than forgetfulness. David had been left out of the gathering altogether. One writer hears scorn in the way his father speaks of him:
A rod out of the stem of Jesse is His object. He is a root out of dry ground, with no beauty in the sight of men. His father, "according to the flesh," says of him with scorn, "There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep." He is the one whom man was despising and the nation abhorring, as they did with a greater than he.
Samuel had already seen seven sons and set them aside. God's choice landed where no one was looking.
God lets everything that is great in Jesse's eyes pass unnoticed. The seven were fine-looking men. But it is the lad keeping the sheep, the eighth, the weak one, whom God prefers and takes up!
"He is keeping the sheep" sounds like a reason to leave him where he was. But the wilderness was where God had been teaching him.
He had not been alone in the wilderness. He had been under God's teaching. He had been preparing for public service in a secret school. His teacher was the One who does not look on the outward appearance, and who does not see as man sees. Now it must be the same with us. There must be a living before the Lord. Unless our souls are exercised before Him, He will not use us as instruments in His service. We may think He will; but it will not be so. God will always deal in secret with the soul He intends to serve Him in public.
The job itself matched the office God was about to give him:
And how good it is to notice David's occupation: "Behold, he is keeping the sheep." The Lord referred to this later. He said to David, "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel." Nothing can show God's thoughts about the office of king more sweetly than the work of a shepherd. In fact, when a king does not carry it out in the spirit of a shepherd, it fails of its purpose.
Samuel refuses to begin. One writer points to the literal Hebrew noted in the margin:
Samuel heard that there was a shepherd lad. He said to Jesse, "Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here." Note the margin: "Hebrew — sit round." The circle would not be complete without David. He had to be in the centre.
The waiting meal marks the whole scene as one of favour. One writer sets it beside another anointing, done in secret and in haste:
Samuel, by contrast, anoints David king of grace "in the midst of his brothers." They do not sit down at the table until he arrives. This family feast brings them together for a shared meal. After that, Samuel gets up in peace and goes to Ramah.
David was content with his place, both before the call came and after it.
He was the neglected one of the family. But he was content to be so. He was willing to tend the sheep in the field, while his more respected brothers stayed at home to receive the guests and do the honours of the house. … As scorn had not cast him down, so honours do not puff him up. As soon as the occasion is over, he is back again among the flocks.
- Overlooked. Jesse counted seven sons and forgot the eighth. The man destined for the throne meant nothing to a single member of his own family.
- Chosen. What man passes over, God takes up. He leaves the seven fine-looking sons aside and prefers the weak one, the lad with the sheep.
- Trained. The wilderness was not a waste of him but a school; God deals in secret with the soul He means to use in public.
- Fitted. David's work matched his calling. Ruling fails of its purpose unless a king carries it out in a shepherd's spirit.
- Centred. The circle is not complete without him. No one sits down until the chosen one arrives, and Samuel anoints him among his brothers in peace.