Paul, speaking in Antioch on his first missionary tour, said: “And after these things, God gave Israel judges until Samuel the prophet. And then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I have found David ben Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.’ From the offspring of this man, according to promise, God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus.” (Acts 13:20–23).

Outline of Chapter 16:

       vv.    1–5        God Sends Samuel to the House of Jesse

       vv.    6–10      Jesse Brings Seven Sons to Stand Before Samuel

       vv.   11–13      Jesse Brings David out Before Samuel

       vv.   14–18      Saul Is Terrorized by an Evil Spirit/A Servant Suggests Music-Therapy

       vv.   19–23      Saul Sends for David

Charts and Maps:

       v.      2           Where Have Sacrifices To God Been Offered?

       v.      2           Parallels Between the Sacrifice of Samuel and Our Lord to Come

       v.      2           Is this Modus Operandi of Samuel Legitimate?

       v.      2           Examples of Normal Situations Where Not Everything is Revealed or Where Lying is Appropriate

       v.      5           A Brief Look at Sanctification in the Old Testament

       v.     11           Contrast the Jacob and Jesse’s Treatment of their Youngest Sons

       v.     11           How Do We Account for the Missing Son of Jesse?

       v.     13           Old Testament Saints Who Received the Spirit of God

       v.     18           Which Old Testament Saints Are Said to Have God with Them?

       v.     22           Joseph and David

       v.     23           Why Did God Not Immediately Install David as King Over Israel?

       v.     23           Why God Places David in the Palace of Saul

I ntroduction: Although I have broken 1Sam. 16 into 5 parts, this chapter actually presents us with two parallel situations: in the first, God sends Samuel to David (vv. 1–13); in the second, Saul send his own servant to David (vv. 14–23). Let’s cover the first half of the chapter first: God sends Samuel to the house of Jesse, who has eight sons, one of whom will become the next king. Samuel will meet Jesse’s first seven sons, none of whom prompts Samuel by the Holy Spirit to recognize him as Israel’s next king. Then Jesse recalls that he does have one more son, although the implication is that he can’t see this young boy as a king. He brings David in before Samuel and Samuel anoints David as the next king of Israel, and God the Holy Spirit rests upon David.

The second half of 1Sam. 16 appears to be simultaneous to this. The Holy Spirit is withdrawn from King Saul, and he is plagued by an evil spirit instead. Saul’s servants suggest music-therapy as a solution, and one of them knows about a young man named David who plays a harp or lyre quite well. Saul sends his servants to fetch David to serve him. So David is called upon by God to serve Israel and by Saul’s servants to serve Saul.

In more detail, we have God coming to Samuel, who is grieving over Saul, and God tells Samuel not to grieve over Saul, as He has rejected him from being king. End of story (v. 1). Samuel is somewhat concerned, realizing that his trip to anoint another king could rouse deadly anger and retribution from Saul. God tells Samuel to take a heifer with him, with the explanation that the heifer is to be sacrificed, should anyone inquire about Samuel’s trip (vv. 2–3). As we will see, there is apparently a fair amount of rumors circulating, so that when Samuel arrives in Bethlehem, the home of Jesse, David’s father, he is asked if he comes in peace (v. 4). Jesse and his sons are invited to this sacrifice, and Jesse is asked to bring his sons out before Samuel. Son after son passes before Samuel, and all seven are rejected (vv. 5–10). When it appears as though the last son has come before Samuel, he asks Jesse, “Don’t you have any more sons?” Jesse also has his youngest son, David, who he did not bring before Samuel. So David is brought out, and Samuel anoints him (vv. 11–13). The Holy Spirit comes upon David, and leaves Saul (vv. 13–14).

Then God sends an evil spirit to terrorize Saul; his behavior is such that this becomes a discussion between Saul and his servants. One suggests that a musician be brought in to soothe Saul during his affliction, and another suggests that this man be David (vv. 15–18). Saul dispatches a servant to fetch David from his family, and Jesse sends David along with a gift (vv. 19–20). David tries out before Saul, and Saul likes David tremendously. He asks his father to allow David to go into full-time service to the palace (vv. 21–22). It came about that when David played, the evil spirit would depart from Saul (v. 23). Also, we find out that Saul makes (or will make) David his armor bearer (v. 21).

As McGee points out, this chapter will show us a contrast between David, who is God’s chosen; and Saul, a man who looks like a king, but who disobeys God at every turn.

There are detractors from this text who suggest that these chapters are the product of Davidic apologists who want to make his rise to power along with the execution of Saul’s relatives more palatable. This is nothing more than an attempt to imply that this is not God’s Word, but simply a collection of fables. Like all of Scripture, it either is God’s Word or it is not. However, there is no indication that these chapters were collected and inserted simply to make David look good and Saul look bad. A full portrait of David will be given us—warts and all.

Gnana Robinson seems to go out of his way to buck tradition by acting as an apologist for Saul and accusing Samuel of staging a coup by anointing David. As we will see, David, although crowned king, will do nothing to usurp Saul’s rulership, as Saul is God’s anointed one. He knows at an early age that he has been chosen by God to rule Israel; however, David is very patient in that regard. However, it is true, as Robinson points out, that David will not have to start from scratch, as Saul did. Saul did not begin as a great military leader; he was called upon to do that. Saul did not assume control of an organized kingdom, but had the chore of organizing Israel into a cohesive whole. However, the key to Saul’s failure and David’s success was obedience to God.

Let me draw an analogy here: if you choose, in your life, to exercise and to eat natural, whole foods, then physically, you will develop differently from one whose lifestyle is wholly sedentary and who eats nothing but high fat, fast foods. Of course, genetics plays a part here, but assuming a similar genetic makeup, then the first, by simple, natural law, will develop a healthier body. Our success in life is also a matter of our free will. God has made it fairly clear what is right and what is wrong, and our obedience to God is going to naturally result in a better life. Therefore, we can expect that Saul, in his rationalized disobedience (e.g., 1Sam. 15:15, 20, 24), will fair worse in life than David, who was generally obedient, and, when he wasn’t, quickly owned up to his mistakes.

God Sends Samuel to the House of Jesse

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text                       And so says Y^ehowah unto Samuel, “Until when you, you mourning unto Saul (and I, I rejected him from being king over Israel)? Fill your horn [with] oil and go; I send you unto Jesse the Bethlehemite [lit., a house of the Lach^emîy] for I have seen from his sons for Me a king.”

Septuagint                             And the Lord said to Samuel, “How long do you mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and come, I will send you to Jessæ, to Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me.”

Significant differences:          No significant difference.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

CEV                                       [The Lord was sorry he had made Saul the king of Israel.] One day he said, “Samuel, I’ve rejected Saul, and I refuse to let him be king any longer. Stop feeling sad about him. Put some olive oil in a small container and go visit a man named Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem “I’ve chosen one of his sons to be my king.” [the CEV places the last portion of 1Sam. 15:35 with 1Sam. 16:1]

NLT                                Finally, the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel. Now fill your horn with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my new king.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

God’s Word™                         The Lord asked Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul now that I have rejected him as king of Israel? Fill a flask with olive oil and go. I’m sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem because I’ve selected one of his sons to be king.”

JPS (Tanakh)                        [Samuel never saw Saul again to the day of his death. But Samuel grieved over Saul, because the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.] and the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and set out; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have decided on one of his sons to be king.” [The last verse of the previous chapter was a part of this paragraph in the JPS, so I have included it for context]

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

NASB                                     Now the Lord said to Samuel, “Howlong will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have selected a king for Myself among his sons.”

Young's Updated LT              Jehovah says unto Samuel, “Till when are you mourning for Saul, and I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go, I send you unto Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have seen among his sons for Myself a king.”

What is the gist of this verse? Samuel had been mourning for Saul, and Jehovah God asks him how long he would keep that up, seeing as how He had rejected Saul as king. God tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil and go to the house of Jesse, who lives in Bethlehem, because God has chosen one of his sons as the next king over Israel.

To give us a chronological handle on this time period, the NIV Study Bible places this incident around 1025 b.c.

Translation: Then Y^ehowah said to Samuel, “How long will you [behave as though you] are [in] mourning regarding Saul... Even though Samuel completely cut his ties with Saul in the previous chapter, this did not mean that Samuel was without feeling. Certainly, Saul had failed and failed badly, to a point where God chose not to use him anymore. However, Samuel certainly was affected by Saul’s situation, and he mourned for him as though he were a friend who had died (1Sam. 15:35). It is interesting that the Hithpael can also mean that Samuel was going through the motions and ceremony of mourning, which implies that he had reached a point where it was not necessarily heartfelt (although it certainly began that way). In my opinion, Samuel probably mourned out of genuine affection for Saul and that none of this was an act. However, his mourning for Saul and the circumstances behind it apparently are well-known throughout the kingdom (as we will see when we come to v. 4).

Application: There are times where situations affect us profoundly and that our behavior falls into certain patterns which continue and sometimes continue past the time that they are necessary. A more concrete example: we are dumped by a potential loved-one and we go through a set of behaviors which are a form of grieving. However, it is possible that we continue these behaviors past a point where they are no longer therapeutic, but have become ceremonial instead. This describes where Samuel was; perhaps he wore black, perhaps he was offering sacrifices; it is not clear exactly what it was that he was doing; however, God tells him here to stop mourning and to get back to his responsibilities. There are times when we have to get over our grieving and return to our own God-give responsibilities.

In the previous chapter, I pointed out why Samuel grieved so. We may be a bit more cavalier, thinking, Saul made his bed—so let him lie in it. However, there was a mutual respect between Saul and Samuel, if not an enduring friendship. Is Saul flawed? Certainly; very much so. However, aren’t your friends flawed? Don’t they have their weaknesses and foibles? By the way, if you are thinking no, then you obviously do not know your friends very well. As we know from the kings of surrounding nations, Saul will be removed from his throne either by death and/or revolution. Furthermore, Saul, while he is alive, is cut off from God, and therefore, cut off from Samuel. Therefore, even though there is this bond between them, there is no more contact between them. So, to Samuel, it is as though his friend has died. On top of this, as long as Saul is alive and functioning in disobedience to God, the nation Israel suffers. Therefore, Samuel is going to grieve for his old friend Saul and he will simultaneously grieve for the nation Israel, as their destinies are intertwined. In this verse, God tells Samuel, “It is time to stop your grieving. What’s done is done. It’s time to move on. Saul is responsible for his own actions and I have taken care of the nation Israel.”

Application: There are a myriad of reasons in this life to feel sad, to grieve, to stop and take a moment. However, regardless of the circumstances, whether they appear to impact negatively upon you or a loved one, there is a time to pick up, wipe the tears from your eyes, and to function within the realm of God’s plan. God does not deny us our sadness. To everything there is an appointed time; a time for every event under heaven...a time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance (Eccles. 3:1, 4). However, there is a time during which we need to return to His plan for our lives, despite the heartaches that we have suffered.

Translation: ...([as] I have rejected him from being king over Israel)? The key here is that God had rejected Saul as king. He was a lame-duck president, if you will. His power and authority was more symbolic than actual. As far as God was concerned, He was done with Saul. The first major offense which Saul committed was to assume the priestly authority which belonged to Samuel in 1Sam. 13:8–10. Saul arrived almost immediately afterward and, rather than outright admitting his sin, Saul danced around the issue (vv. 11–12). Samuel told him, “You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of Jehovah your God, which He commanded you; for now Jehovah would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom will not endure. Jehovah has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart and Jehovah has appointed him as ruler of His people, because you have not kept what Jehovah commanded you.” (1Sam. 13:13b–14). Who redeemed Saul was his son Jonathan. Because of Jonathan’s bravery and faith in God (1Sam. 14), Israel defeated the Philistines, thus extending Saul’s rule. However, in the previous chapter, Saul was given a simple and clear task from God to complete and he not only does not do what God instructs him to do, but, as in 1Sam. 13, he dances around his personal responsibility in the matter (1Sam. 15:13, 15, 20–21). Finally, Samuel told him, “Rebellion is as the sin of divination and insubordination is iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from ruling.” (1Sam. 15:23). He continues in vv. 28b–29: “Jehovah has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to your friend who is better than you. Furthermore, the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind, for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” The point that Samuel was making was that there were no more appeals; Saul was finished as king. There was nothing that he could say or do. This apparently his Samuel as hard as it did Saul, and Samuel went through a grieving process. After all, if Saul does not voluntarily step down (which kings rarely do), then the only way that he will be removed from the throne is by death. Perhaps an analogy would help—if a very close, loved one of yours was diagnosed with terminal cancer, you would begin the grieving process as soon as you found out. That is where Samuel was. Saul had essentially been given a death sentence by God, Who does not change His mind.

Translation: “Fill your horn [with] oil and go... Animal horns were often hollowed out and then used as containers. Filling the horn with oil meant that Samuel was going to anoint another person king over Israel. He had done the same when Saul was selected by God (1Sam. 9:16 10:1). It was time, insofar as God was concerned. So here we have to imperatives, meaning that it was time to get off his mourning ass and do what needed to be done.