1 Samuel - Chapter 16 with Psalm 23 and Psalm 100

I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at vab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are covering chapter 16 of 1 Samuel, which is where David is anointed king and begins his service with the reigning King Saul. We will also look at two Psalms, numbers 23 and 100. If you remember from yesterday, due to sin, King Saul was informed by Samuel that since Saul rejected the word of the Lord, then the Lord has rejected Saul as king. Chapter 15 verse 23 When Samuel tried to leave, Saul grabbed the hem of his robe, and it tore. It just dawned on me that Saul must have been bowing down on the ground for him to grab the hem of his robe. Then Samuel said, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to one of your neighbors, to one better than you. The end of chapter 15 tells that Samuel went to his hometown of Ramah, and that Samuel did not go to see Saul again, yet Samuel mourned for him. Chapter 16 begins, The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king. One thing this passage tells me is that the Lord's plans keep moving forward, and so should we. Being a pastor's wife for 30 years, there have been many people who have come and gone from our churches. Some were people I did not know well, but the ones who were my friends, I mourned when they left. I remember reading this passage, and the Lord was like, They made their choices, you can't control them, but now it's time to keep moving forward and do what I have called you to do. It's now time for Samuel to be on his way, but he was fearful that Saul would find out and kill him. Now at the end of chapter 7, we learned that since Samuel was also a judge, he would go on a circuit year to year, from Bethel to Gilgal to Mishpah, and then would come back home to Ramah, which was in the area of the tribe of Benjamin, which is where Saul is from. So the Lord took Samuel to take a heifer and say that he was going to Bethlehem, south past Jerusalem, in order to sacrifice to the Lord. So he did. The elders of the town trembled when they saw him and asked, Do you come in peace? Yes, in peace, Samuel replied, verses 4 and 5. He told the elders to consecrate themselves and come to the sacrifice with him. He then consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice as well. While there, Samuel noticed one of Jesse's sons, Eliab, and he thought, Surely this must be the Lord's anointed. And now we have another highly quoted verse of the Old Testament, 1 Samuel chapter 16 verse 7. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Jesse set before Samuel all of his sons that were present, and none of them were the Lord's chosen. So Samuel asked, Are these all the sons you have? Verse 11 Jesse responded that there is still the youngest who is tending the sheep. Now I can't remember if it was a sermon or a lecture in class, but I remember someone pointing out that when we met Saul for the first time, we learned that he was an impressive young man without equal among the Israelites, a head taller than any of the others, chapter 9 verse 2. And he was looking for lost donkeys and was unsuccessful in finding them. In contrast, here we see David was tending to sheep. When they brought David to Samuel, the Lord said, Rise and anoint him, he is the one, verse 12. So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers. And from that day on, the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah. In the Old Testament, the Spirit of the Lord would come upon the ones that God raised up for leadership. We saw this phrase used in Judges chapter 14 verse 6 and then 19 and then chapter 15 verse 14 with Samson the judge and then in first Samuel 10 10 when Saul prophesied and then chapter 11 verse 6 when he first led Israel to battle and now here with David. Verse 14 is a transitional verse. Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Ladies, keep in mind that Saul chose to disobey the Lord. He had come to believe that this was his kingdom and he said in chapter 14 verse 24 when Saul gave an oath that anyone would be cursed if they ate before I have avenged myself on my enemies, Saul had forgotten that he was just a steward of the people of the Lord. Instead he thought it was all about me, myself and I just in reverse order. This evil spirit from the Lord was a repercussion of his sinfulness. While Saul's attendance suggested a musician to help comfort him. This reminds me of the power of music in our lives both to do harm and to heal. I had a friend in college who when she was hurt emotionally would put her headphones on and play headbanging music so loud until I could actually see her become hardened as she purposefully chose to harden her heart. I have also seen many, many, many times when music is played either at church or at home and it either calms me, encourages me or softens my heart to obedience. That is why the Psalms in the Bible are so important. Music touches a part of our brains that helps us to remember plus it touches our emotions which are a part of our lives. They are not called to live by our emotions but they are a gift from the Lord that shows us if there is something wrong or right in our lives. Plus they help empower us to do things like for me cleaning the house. So Saul told his servants to find someone and guess who they found? Yep David. Verse 18 says one of the servants answered I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior and he speaks well and is a fine looking man and the Lord is with him. They sent for him and again he was with the sheep. The king requested David for his service so his dad sent him with a donkey loaded with bread, wine and a young goat. Saul loved him and David became Saul's armor bearer. Chapter 16 tells us that when the evil spirit was upon Saul David played the harp and the evil spirit departed. Now let's look at Psalm 23 and Psalm 100. Last year in May I took the Psalms in order and I do believe they were placed in order purposefully. Psalm 22, 23 and 24 make a trio of Psalms but I also believe that each Psalm can stand alone. Sometimes I fear we analyze the scripture so much that we forget to just let them speak to us. I also want to let you know there are a few music groups that are making a song for each of the Psalms. One of my favorite groups because I find their music soothing is a group called Poor Bishop Hooper. Both Psalm 23 and 100 are very popular Psalms and so there are various songs from different groups that are based on both of them. Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Heavenly goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 100, Make a joyful noise unto the Lord all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God. It is he that has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name for the Lord is good, for the Lord is good. His loving kindness is everlasting and his truth endures to all generations. In these psalms we see that the Lord is the shepherd and we are the sheep. In my class on the Psalms, Dr. Yule said especially with Psalm 23, this psalm shows that we are needy sheep, wandering sheep, feeble sheep, frightened sheep, distressed sheep, weary sheep, and fragile sheep and Jesus makes a great shepherd. In the New Testament in John chapter 10 verse 11 Jesus says he is the good shepherd. In Hebrews chapter 13 verses 20 and 21 the writer calls him the great shepherd. And then in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 4 Jesus is the chief shepherd who is over all the shepherds or leaders of God's people. Peter was saying that those in leadership will give an account on how they took care of the Lord's sheep. Since David was a shepherd he understood that he was a steward of what the Lord had given him. Saul thought it was all his. Also in John 10 Jesus said my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. If you are one of Jesus' sheep these psalms tell us that he will take care of us. We do not have to be afraid. They also tell us that with this truth we are to give thanks and praise him for his loving kindness to us. Ladies do you hear the Lord's voice? Do you know him? Do you follow him? If no then would you please consider doing so today. Please don't harden your heart like King Saul and like my college friend. Instead let's be women who hear, know, and follow the Lord Jesus, the good shepherd, the great shepherd, and the chief shepherd. Until next time and thank you so much for listening.