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.
William KellyThis 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:
J. G. BellettA 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.
J. N. DarbyGod 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.
James L. HarrisHe 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:
C. H. MackintoshAnd 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:
W. W. FeredaySamuel 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:
H. L. RossierSamuel, 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.
J. G. BellettHe 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.
And he sent and brought him in. And he was ruddy, and besides of a lovely countenance and beautiful appearance. And Jehovah said, Arise, anoint him; for this is he.
God sends Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint a new king, and seven sons pass by first. This verse brings in the son nobody thought to invite — a shepherd boy — and God names him on the spot.
Samuel had already looked at seven impressive men and passed over every one. God let everything Jesse valued pass by.
J. N. DarbySamuel, by the Spirit of prophecy (1 Sam. 16), goes down to Bethlehem, to select from among the sons of Jesse one who should be king in place of Saul. He causes them to pass before him. Seven come in. Samuel asks, "Is there not another?" Yes, a lad keeping the sheep. "Send and fetch him." David comes, and the Spirit of prophecy marks him out as the LORD's anointed. Everything great in Jesse's eyes is allowed to pass unnoticed. The seven were fine-looking men. Yet the one preferred and taken up is the lad keeping the sheep — the eighth, the weak one!
The words "arise, anoint him" answer a doubt that was in the room before David ever walked in.
C. H. Mackintosh"There remains yet the youngest." Surely he could not be the chosen one, thought Jesse. Man cannot understand the ways of God. The very instrument which God is about to use is overlooked or despised by man. "Arise, anoint him, for this is he" is God's perfect reply to the thoughts of Jesse and Samuel.
"Ruddy" is a colour word. One writer reads it as a note on David's colouring rather than a moral comment:
Arno Clemens GaebeleinHe is brought in. "Now he was ruddy (literally, 'reddish,' perhaps referring to auburn hair) and had beautiful eyes and was handsome; and the LORD said, Arise, anoint him, for this is he." David the son of Jesse was anointed and the Spirit of the LORD came upon him. And so David became the LORD's anointed. David means "beloved"; he is a shepherd.
Verse 7 had just warned Samuel not to judge by appearance — yet verse 12 pauses to describe how David looked. Both facts stand together.
The Bible TreasuryTwo things characterised him — his beauty, and his outward appearance. Saul was remarkable for the latter (1 Sam. 9:2), but his heart was not right with God. Eliab, David's elder brother, also had an appearance to commend him. But the LORD told Samuel, "The LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." (1 Sam. 16:7.) … So God alone could see fully what was in him, and yet he did not lack what man could admire. He was to lack nothing that suited a king.
David was out with the sheep when they fetched him. That job says what God means a king to be.
C. H. MackintoshAnd how happy it is to note David's occupation. "Behold, he keeps the sheep." The Lord came back to this later, when He said to David, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over My people Israel." Nothing pictures God's thoughts about kingship more beautifully than the work of a shepherd. Indeed, when a king does not rule in the spirit of a shepherd, his office fails of its purpose. King David took this to heart, as we hear in those touching words, "But these sheep, what have they done?"
Samuel anoints David in front of his family, and the meal waits for him. One writer sets that beside the anointing of Jehu, done in secret.
H. L. RossierHow much this scene differs from the one that accompanies the anointing of David! Here this young prophet must call Jehu away "from among his brothers." He leads him far from all eyes into "an inner chamber," and anoints him with no witnesses, in haste and in secret. Samuel, by contrast, anoints David king of grace "in the midst of his brothers." They do not sit down at the table until David arrives, and the family feast brings them together for a shared meal. After that, Samuel rises up in peace and goes to Ramah (1 Sam. 16:11-13).
Commentators read David here as a picture of Christ, and the colour word carries that forward into the Song of Solomon.
Various"My beloved is radiant and ruddy." The ruddy colour in the face speaks of health and vigour. David, who was a type of Christ, was ruddy (see 1 Sam. 16:12; 17:42). None were ever so full of energy for God as the Lord. In Hebrew, the word translated "ruddy" here is the same word translated "red" in Numbers 19:2: "a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come." … Put these passages side by side, and the ruddy or red colour seems to mean the Lord's complete consecration and devotion to God, even to death.
- Overlooked — God passed over everything that impressed Jesse. He took the eighth son, the one left with the sheep.
- Seen — Men could admire David's looks. God chose him for the heart only He could see.
- Named — "Arise, anoint him, for this is he" is God's direct answer to the doubts of both Jesse and Samuel.
- Shepherded — The sheepfold trained David for the throne. A king who does not rule like a shepherd misses the point of the crown.
- Foreshadowed — Samuel anoints David openly, among his brothers, at a shared table. Commentators read the ruddy shepherd as a picture of Christ, devoted to God even to death.
And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit of Jehovah came upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
God's choice for Israel's next king falls on the youngest brother in the family, and the oil goes on David while the others stand and watch. Three questions follow: why this son, what the oil did, and why God's chosen king then spent years as a wandering exile.
One writer calls the choice pure grace, and treats it as the opening of David's story, not its close:
C. H. MackintoshOne can only say, blessed be the grace which took up one to be ruler over His people, a man who showed the very qualities most suited to his work. So David is now fully before us as the Lord's anointed, and we have to follow him through all his wanderings and changes of fortune, while he is rejected by men and waiting for the kingdom.
Samuel does not choose the king. He is told:
Leslie M. GrantGod gives His direct word to Samuel that this is His choice. Then Samuel "anointed him in the midst of his brothers." It was not a private matter like the anointing of Saul, for David was a man after God's heart, clearly a picture of Christ, who is God's final choice for King. From that time we are told that the Spirit of the Lord came upon David. This was a special empowering God gave him, to enable him to act in a way and with a wisdom fitting for kingly dignity.
One writer traces what those brothers did later:
Ernst-August BremickerWe are not told what they thought when their youngest brother came to the front and received honour like this. Later on, at least some of them had unfriendly thoughts about him. When their father sent him to them, they rejected him (1 Sam. 17:17–30). The thought that one day he would be king and ruler over Israel was not acceptable to them. In the same way the "brothers" of the Lord Jesus said, "We do not want this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14).
Even the container matters. A flask of oil for Saul, a horn for David — and one writer sees God's care in that detail:
The Bible TreasuryThe Lord was about to teach His servant something essential before David's anointing. Just then Samuel broke in with his fears. In Saul's case there were no such instructions. For David, God ordered everything — down to so small a matter as a horn full of oil, instead of the "scanty and brittle" flask used for Saul.
The verse ties the oil to the Spirit, who "rushed upon" David. Older translations say "came upon," as the writers quoted here do. That link gives the ceremony its meaning:
A. J. PollockAnointing, as a symbolic word, carries a definite meaning. In Old Testament times three classes of people received the anointing — priests, prophets, kings. Oil was poured on their heads. Though it was a rite, it carried a definite result... Scripture links anointing with oil to the giving of the Spirit. For the priest, it enabled him to take up the priestly position and service. For the prophet, the prophetic position and service. For the king, the kingly position and service.
Another writer carries the horn over to Christ:
Samuel RidoutIn Acts 10:38 we read: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power." May not the horn of oil in the anointing of David have suggested that power? So our Lord was not only designated, but also qualified, for His work.
What David received, Saul lost. From here the two men stand side by side:
The Bible TreasurySaul's anointing is cancelled. There cannot be two anointed kings before God. The effect is enormous for both Saul and David. From that day forward the Spirit of the LORD came upon David, and an evil spirit from the LORD came upon Saul. On David the Spirit remained. On Saul the attacks of the evil spirit seem to have come and gone, though he was Satan's constant instrument. When the Spirit of the LORD left Saul, he did not sink back into the ordinary condition of other men. He was as marked from that day forward as David was. But what an awful difference!
The oil made David king in God's reckoning. It did not put him on the throne:
C. H. MackintoshDavid knew he was anointed king, but Saul occupied the throne. He was quite content to wait on God and, in meekness, to leave the timing to Him. Until then, the Spirit of Christ led him in the path of an exile. His road to the throne lay through many sorrows and difficulties. Like his blessed Master, whom he pictured, he was called to suffering first and glory afterwards.
- Chosen — God passed over the older brothers and took up the youngest. The anointing is grace, not a reward.
- Marked — Saul's anointing was private. David's was public, in front of his family, naming him as God's king.
- Equipped — the oil was not only a badge. The Spirit came on David and gave him the wisdom and strength the office demanded.
- Divided — the same moment that filled David emptied Saul. There cannot be two anointed kings before God.
- Waiting — anointed, but not yet on the throne, David waited instead of grabbing. Like his Master, whom he pictured: suffering first, glory after.