And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD 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?
Nature's Best on Display
This was not a poor showing. Jesse's sons were nature at its best, and still God refused them all.
C. H. MackintoshOutward 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.
Birthright Counts for Nothing
Being the eldest counted for nothing here. God's choice ran the opposite way.
J. N. DarbyHere 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.
The Son Nobody Counted
Seven sons stood before the prophet. The eighth was out with the sheep, and he never entered his father's mind.
Leslie M. GrantJesse 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:
C KnappHow 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."
Why the Seven Had to Be Refused
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.
C. H. MackintoshIf 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:
C. H. MackintoshTruly "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 Refused, the Eighth Anointed
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.
The Bible Treasury"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.
Summary
- 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.