And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD 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.
The son nobody counted
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.
What the description actually says
"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.
Seen by God, and not unattractive to men
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.
Fetched from the sheep
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?"
Anointed openly, at a shared table
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).
Ruddy — a word that points beyond David
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.
Summary
- 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.