1 Samuel 16:13

One 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.

God 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.

We 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).

The 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.

Anointing, 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.

In 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.

Saul'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!

David 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.