And he chose David his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds
Psalm 78 looks back over Israel's history. Most of it records failure: a people who forgot what God had done and turned away again and again. Verse 70 is where the story turns: God makes a choice, and the choice falls on a young shepherd.
God's choice of David did not come at a high point in Israel's life. It came when the nation had nothing left.
Raising David to be king marked a distinct stage in God's dealings with Israel. The nation had turned away from God and lost everything. His grace in raising David up was extraordinary. This divine action is like a giant waking from sleep, powerfully stirred. The Philistines had carried off the ark. But "He chose David also, His servant," and through him God rolled back the tide of disaster. His people had safety, food, and guidance. That intervention of about three thousand years ago pictures the far greater intervention of God, through Christ, which is still to come.
The verse says God chose. That word matters. By the ordinary rules of inheritance, the honour belonged to Joseph's line.
After describing the ruin of Israel, Psalm 78 shows us Jehovah waking up. But it sets aside all rights of inheritance, and all testimony to His earlier dealings with Israel. For the birthright was Joseph's — yet "He CHOSE the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which He loved. He CHOSE David His servant." This psalm reaches further than the history we are looking at. Still, it applies election to David and to Zion.
Samuel had to learn this. At Jesse's house he first looked at David's older brother Eliab.
Samuel, deceived by appearances, thought Eliab was suited for the service of the Lord, the chosen ruler over God's inheritance. But he left Eliab where the Lord left him — "refused" — and the rest of Jesse's sons too. Then, at the Lord's command, they brought David in from the sheepfolds. His own family thought little of him and had not even called him to the sacrifice. God must be sovereign, or ruin would be universal and beyond remedy. God refuses, and God chooses, and there is no unrighteousness with Him. This was Samuel's lesson, and it is ours.
Each phrase carries weight: who chooses, what God calls David, and where God took him from.
"He chose David" — the Lord chooses the shepherds; they are not appointed by men. "David … His servant" — shepherds are servants of God. Christians talk a lot about "leadership" or even "servant-leadership". Scripture simply speaks about servants. "And took him from the sheepfolds" — the Lord found David where he was. Let us not forget where we came from, where the Lord has found us.
David's family gave him the job they valued least. God used it to prepare him.
The family treated minding the sheep as fit work for the youngest son. It was not even a large flock, but because he was "faithful in that which is least," God would entrust him with greater matters. Look at this young lad following his father's flock with a watchful, gentle eye on them. This marked him out as a man especially suited to be the "shepherd of Israel," a fitting picture of Him who was to be "the Shepherd of the sheep."
Because God took His king from a flock, the verse also tells us what kind of rule God approves of.
God's ideal king is neither selfish nor a tyrant. He is a wise shepherd of the people. He serves knowing that the people belong to God, and that he — the king — is only God's honoured servant in rule.
God's choice of David looks forward. The king He took from the sheepfolds was not the last word.
These passages show that God raised David to the rank of king by a special act of divine power. They also show that David was only an imperfect forecast of the infinitely greater One who was to come from his line as a man.
- Ruin first. God chose David after the nation had failed. The choice was pure grace, not a reward.
- Choice, not claim. The birthright belonged to Joseph's line. God set inheritance rights aside. He refuses and He chooses, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
- Sheepfold, not palace. The Lord found David doing the job his family valued least. God trusts the faithful in the least with more.
- Servant, not ruler. Shepherds are God's servants. The king is God's honoured servant in rule. The people belong to God, not to him.
- David, then Christ. The shepherd-king is only an imperfect forecast of the far greater One from his line — the true Shepherd of the sheep.
From following the suckling-ewes, he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.
Psalm 78 spends seventy verses on Israel's ruin. Then it ends with a choice: God takes a young shepherd from among the nursing ewes and hands him a nation.
After all that failure, God does not repair the old order. He makes a fresh choice. One writer notes how the psalm sets aside every claim of natural right:
After describing the ruin of Israel, Psalm 78 shows us Jehovah awaking. But it sets aside all rights of inheritance, and all testimony to His former dealings with Israel. The birthright was Joseph's, and yet "He CHOSE the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. He CHOSE David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds." This psalm reaches further than our present history, but it applies God's election to David and to Zion.
Nothing was left to build on. The priesthood and the ark had both failed before God made this choice:
Scripture identifies Zion with David and his sovereignty. It also identifies Zion, very plainly, with the sovereign grace of God. This was at a time when everything entrusted to man had failed in Israel. The priesthood had broken down, and the ark had gone into captivity in the enemy's land... All might seem to have gone, but it was not so.
Each clause carries a lesson for anyone who cares for others:
"He chose David" — the Lord chooses the shepherds; they are not appointed by men. "David… His servant" — shepherds are servants of God. Christians say a lot about "leadership" or even "servant-leadership", but Scripture simply speaks about servants. "And took him from the sheepfolds" — the Lord found David where he was. Let us not forget where we came from, where the Lord has found us. "From following the nursing ewes" — David knew about special needs among his sheep. "To shepherd Jacob His people, Israel His inheritance" — never forget: the sheep are the Lord's sheep, not ours! "Feed my lambs… Shepherd my sheep… Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17).
(Older translations read "the ewes great with young" and "to feed Jacob his people.")
Hidden service came before public service. Scripture repeats the pattern:
Joseph, in prison, learned to rule in obscurity before he governed in public, next to the mighty Pharaoh. Moses spent forty years at the back of the desert. Then he led God's people across that wild land for forty years more. David struck down the lion and the bear in secret before he killed the giant in public. He cared for his father's sheep in the wilderness before God called him to care for His people. From the sheepfold to the throne is the moral order in which God lifts a man up.
Another writer points out how small the flock was, and why that mattered:
Minding the sheep was considered fit service for the youngest of the family. Nor was it a large flock, but being "faithful in that which is least," God would entrust him with greater matters... This marked him out as a man specially suited to be the "shepherd of Israel," a fitting type of Him who was to be "the Shepherd of the sheep."
David came to the nation straight from a flock. That sets a standard for everyone who holds power:
God's ideal king is therefore neither selfish nor a tyrant. He is a wise shepherd of the people. He serves knowing that the people belong to God, and that he, the king, is only God's honoured servant in rule. In this spirit David prayed for the people when the plague was raging. He pleaded with Jehovah to spare the sheep, and punish him instead (2 Sam. 24:17).
One writer sees in this choice a greater Shepherd than David:
The crowning fact is His sovereign grace. He chose Judah and Mount Zion, which He loved, and built His sanctuary there. He chose David His servant to shepherd Jacob His people and Israel His inheritance. Here we may well think of the Son of David, God's Anointed. In Him God makes His sovereign grace known, and He will yet shepherd Jacob and Israel His inheritance.
Others draw the same line through the whole psalm's close:
In sovereignty He "chose" the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion for His sanctuary, and David to feed His people. Zion thus becomes the symbol of grace, and David the type of Christ, the One through whom all the grace is ministered.
- Chosen — the psalm ends in a choice, not a reward. God sets aside every right of inheritance and chooses Judah, Zion and David.
- Grace — the choice came at the lowest point, after priesthood and ark had failed. That is what makes Zion and David lasting pictures of grace.
- Sheepfold — God found David where he was, among ewes that needed special care. The hidden years were his training, and faithfulness with a small flock fitted him for a nation.
- Servants — Scripture calls those who care for God's people servants, not leaders. The flock is never theirs. The sheep belong to the Lord.
- Shepherd-King — shepherd-rule leaves no room for selfish or harsh power. David points on to the Son of David, who will yet shepherd Jacob and Israel, God's inheritance.