63 – A New Kingdom Coming

FULL MEETING WITH MIDRASH HERE

NOTE: THE TRANSCRIPT IS NOT EXACTLY LIKE THE RECORDING.

David will now be introduced into Israel’s story. The contrast between him and Saul will be stunning, being exact opposites of each other. One obedient, the other rebellious. One repentant after committing sin; the other unrepentant. One a servant, the other wanting to be served. One gracious, the other malicious.

The account of David will include the stories of individuals while Saul’s account was mainly of him and Israel with only a few individuals included. For Saul, it was just him and Israel. For David, it will be him and people and situations, circumstances and conditions. A much more detailed account.

1 Samuel 16:1  Yahweh said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for 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 provided a king for myself among his sons.” 

The pain of disappointment in the behavior of our brethren is often a weight too hard to bear. Samuel grieved. He carried the burden of grief over Saul for the entire nation. What would happen to Israel because of Saul’s wickedness, he may have wondered? Samuel may have ruminated on what he had done to fail Israel, to cause the nation to call for and receive such a King as Saul. Samuel’s faith in YHVH was not faltering. Instead, he sorrowed for Saul’s eternal fate and Israel’s future.

Who among us has not felt the double sorrow of watching brethren continue sinning all the while also grieving for what their sinning is doing to YHVH’s Kingdom? Have we all not felt gut wrenching grief because we know what YHVH has done for us – rescuing Israel from our enemies for the last 3500 years and sending Yeshua to die to restore the Kingdom with His own life – only to watch people rebel against Him? It’s not just for ourselves that we mourn, but the greater burden is for the impact on YHVH’s Kingdom. In our day, what Israel has done to YHVH for the last 3500 years is the reason why the world doesn’t come to Him. We are supposed to bring all people to Him but we have failed and failed and failed. Israel was failing in Samuel’s day and he felt the weight of it. “What would become of YHVH’s earthly Kingdom” may have been one of Samuel’s questions.   

YHVH’s voice now filled Samuel’s mind to get over the grief and move on; get another King. It isn’t that grieving is not allowed in YHVH’s Kingdom but it has to come to an end sometime and now was the time for him to stop. And don’t you think for a split moment that Samuel wondered if the next King would really be better than Saul?

1 Samuel 16:2  Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” Yahweh said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. 

The heifer is important. The red heifer’s ashes were for cleansing a person’s corpse impurity but this was not that. Abraham was told to bring a heifer under 3 years of age to the meeting with YHVH in Genesis 15. Heifers were metaphors for Israel (Jeremiah 50:11,  Hosea 4:16) and Ephraim was likened to a heifer in Hosea 10:11. YHVH even called Egypt a heifer in Jeremiah 46:20. Samuel taking a heifer to Bethlehem as a sacrifice symbolized something important for Israel, something covenantal and deeply spiritually significant because Israel’s new King was to Israel at that time what Abraham had been to his descendants in Genesis 15. A covenantal sign. This was something that had not been done for Saul.

Samuel was right to fear Saul. He was an old man but YHVH didn’t answer that concern. He simply continued with his instruction.

1 Samuel 16:3  Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. You shall anoint to me him whom I name to you.”
1 Samuel 16:4  Samuel did that which Yahweh spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”

Having the circuit judge show up when it was not his appointed time was unnerving. Was there a sin among them they didn’t know about? A problem to be handled?

1 Samuel 16:5  He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” He sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 

Samuel took the elders to Jesse’s house and explained that YHVH had sent him to anoint another King. He didn’t go alone to Jesse’s house. And he couldn’t leave the elders outside Jesse’s house. Plus, he needed witnesses and he also needed to keep them quiet. To accomplish that, He involved them in the treachery so they wouldn’t spill the beans to anyone to have the word get back to Saul. The only way to save all of their lives from Saul was involvement in the treason so they keep their mouths shut! You probably could have watched the color drain from their faces!

How do I know he explained it to them? I will show you in a minute.

1 Samuel 16:6  When they [Jesse’s sons] had come, he  [Samuel] looked at Eliab, and said, “Surely Yahweh’s anointed is before him.”
1 Samuel 16:7  But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” 

Eliab was Jesse’s firstborn, the obvious choice… in the flesh. YHVH had given Israel a King based on appearances, on what would appeal to the flesh. Saul was head and shoulders taller that his peers and quite handsome, too. Israel had been pleased with the spectacle supposing outward appearances to be a revelation of the inward man. How quickly they discovered otherwise. Saul became a tyrant and his army was comprised of men forced into serving Saul’s army instead of being home with their families, working their businesses or farming where YHVH said they should be. Nope. Instead, Saul had created Israel’s first professional standing army. He was a man of the flesh; Israel’s next King would be a man of YHVH’s Spirit; born of His Spirit and one who would walk in His Spirit, of average height with odd hair and skin coloring. Not at all having the classic appeal. Herein lies the contrast between the son of perdition and Yeshua Himself. One is only flesh; the other born of YHVH’s Spirit. And here lies also the parallel of the next King of Israel to Yeshua.

Imagine Samuel’s surprise when Yahweh said, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.” How many prophets have the ability to hear when YHVH’s rejection doesn’t meet expectation? Samuel did. He moved on to the second born of Jesse.

1 Samuel 16:8  Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one, either.”
1 Samuel 16:9  Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. He said, “Yahweh has not chosen this one, either.”
1 Samuel 16:10  Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. Samuel said to Jesse, “Yahweh has not chosen these.” 

Samuel was puzzled. Surely there was another son!

Samuel had made this remark in front of the elders of Bethlehem, This is why we know Samuel had already explained that YHVH had sent him to anoint another King Jesse and all of Jesse’s sons that YHVH had not chosen any of the sons. He would not have stated this out loud if the men had not been aware of why Samuel was there. They had asked him if he came in peace and he had to supply an answer which was “come with me to Jesse’s house” and the revealing of the secret reason. He was there to choose a King from among Jesse’s sons.

Samuel looked squarely at Jesse now and…

1 Samuel 16:11  Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your children here?” He said, “There remains yet the youngest. Behold, he is keeping the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 

The youngest son was a shepherd! It was a job that had to be done and it had been relegated to a son that might not have been particularly wanted in the family much like Yeshua has not been particularly wanted. More on this later.

Imagine the room. All the elders of Bethlehem, Jesse, 6 of his sons (while one of them went to fetch David), and Samuel all sitting quietly for maybe an hour or 2 hours while one of the other sons went to fetch David. Sheep don’t necessarily graze in the back yard within easy distance. Did they talk to each other or were they completely silent the entire time? Probably all their minds were racing with possibilities including that if they got caught they would die at Saul’s hand. In about 1,000 years, an inn keeper would silently shelter another King, Yeshua, albeit he did not know he was sheltering the King of Kings.

1 Samuel 16:12  He [Jesse] sent, and brought him [David] in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. Yahweh said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.” 

Let’s continue with the story because YHVH, all no-nonsense, and not explaining himself told Samuel to anoint David on the spot.

Last week, I said I wanted to say something about Samuel. His behavior throughout his account, which was written by him by the way, portrays him as a serious man, and even sometimes curmudgeonly, even an unceremonious grump, especially in how he treated David at his anointing with the unceremonious dumping of oil on David’s head!

Samuel was man with a particular outward appearance even though had a personal relationship with YHVH. He had YHVH’s Holy Spirit dwelling with him. But by today’s Christian standards which judge people on Galatians 5:22-23, Samuel was a man without love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. This teaches us that sometimes people can have an outward appearance that doesn’t meet our warm and fuzzy cultural expectations. Scripture doesn’t show us what he was like when he wasn’t judging, a decidedly difficult and serious task. And nowhere did YHVH tell people to judge others based on the new cultural standard of Galatians 5:22-23. YHVH in Deuteronomy 17 and Yeshua in John 7:24 tells us to judge with righteous judgment, meaning according to the standards of conduct given to us in the Law of Moses. So since we don’t know anything of Samuel’s personal life, let’s not judge him according to Galatians 5:22-23 and claim he was not filled with YHVH’s Holy Spirit. And let’s not use those 2 verses in Galatians 5 to condemn others, either. Remember, YHVH looks on the heart and He knew Samuel and Samuel was approved by YHVH.

Now back to David. His complexion was reddish like Esau’s but without the abundant body hair, and that is where the comparison stops because, unlike Esau, David loved – absolutely loved – YHVH’s ways, His Laws, and His Kingdom. David, like Saul, was handsome and his good appearance alludes to his healthiness and most likely his good build from working with the sheep and goats. But unlike Saul, David was humble and obedient both to his father, Jesse, and to YHVH.

David’s name in Hebrew is ‘Daud’ (H1732).

H1732
דָּוִיד    דָּוִד
dâvid    dâvı̂yd
daw-veed’, daw-veed’

From the same as H1730; loving; David, the youngest son of Jesse: – David.

The “Da-ood” pronunciation comes from the way the ‘vav’ in his name was pronounced at that time – ‘oo’. The vav was silent, not the V sound of today. The change in pronunciation did not happen until about 200 years before Yeshua was born, or about 800 years after Daud was born. And then, David’s name was still pronounced differently than we do today: Dah-veed. I will continue calling him “David” as we do now.

David’s name stems from the root word, ‘dod’.

H1730
דֹּד    דּוֹד
dôd    dôd
dode, dode

From an unused root meaning properly to boil, that is, (figuratively) to love; by implication a love token, lover, friend; specifically an uncle: – (well-) beloved, father’s brother, love, uncle.

‘Dod’ is a fervent love! David had a fervent love for YHVH that few have ever had! The reference to loving an uncle has to do with fervent love for someone connected to, but not immediately related to, oneself. David was a lover of YHVH and others!

1 Samuel 16:13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the middle of his brothers. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. 

Consider what this was like for David. One of the brothers had approached him in the field where the sheep and goats were grazing. Maybe the brother was breathless from running to fetch David, who was seated on a rock or maybe roaming around the perimeter of the animals. Or maybe the brother’s hurriedness was from the excitement and panic of Samuel being in his father’s living room. And David, upon hearing that the famous judge, Samuel, was waiting on him probably was unnerving even if his brother told him Samuel had approached Jesse’s family to anoint one of them as King of Israel.

David was about 15 years old, so scholars believe. He was likely sweating from having run home. He comes into the room and pulls up short of Samuel, lungs heaving. And without any ceremony at all, Samuel gets up and walks over to David and pours olive oil on his sweaty hair! No “hello”. No “YHVH has chosen you to be King of Israel”. Nothing. No words at all. Just this unceremonious act borne of a man who has had too much! A man who was probably still sorrowing over Saul even though YHVh had made him anoint someone else.

David stood there with olive oil running down his face and body probably wondering what in the world had just happened to him? But YHVH’s Holy Spirit had poured over David with that olive oil and this scripture tells us the Holy Spirit would never leave David. Why? Because David was a suitable vessel for the Spirit of YHVH. Saul had not been. David knew in an instant what had happened to him. His life had changed in that split second but Samuel didn’t stay around to instruct David as he had Saul. He simply left Bethlehem. The two men would not see or speak to each other again until David was running from Saul several years later.

Saul had an elaborate 7-day coronation ceremony which he royally messed up on the 7th day. David had no such ceremony so quickly was his anointing done. This is a type and shadow of the quickness of Yeshua’s arrival on the earth to be King.  

David was chosen. He already had a personal relationship with the Most High God of Israel. He had spent time singing and playing music to YHVH, praising him and strengthening the relationship with Him. His Psalms would praise YHVH for being his strength and salvation when he was still only a shepherd boy looking over the sheep and goats and then later when he shepherded all Israel as her King.

David wrote 73 of the 150 Psalms we have in our Masoretic text. The Septuagint attributes 85 Psalms to him. Hebrews 4:7 and the Septuagint attribute Psalm 95 to David even though the attribution does not appear in the Masoretic text.

David was the antithesis of Saul and a parallel to Yeshua, a type and shadow of Him. Like David, Yeshua also had a relationship with YHVH the Father before coming to the earth to live among mankind, and His constant word was to point to the Heavenly Father as David had done in his Psalms.

Psalms 27 is one which is attributed to David in the Septuagint before he was anointed but not presented this way in the Masoretic text. Let’s read verse 1 from the Septuagint because David wrote this before Samuel anointed him, according to the Septuagint. However, we will find later in this Psalm that perhaps David wrote this immediately after his anointing.

Psalms 27:1  A Psalm of David, before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my Saviour; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the defender of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? -Brenton
Psalms 27:2  When evildoers came at me to eat up my flesh, even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. -WEB
Psalms 27:3  Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident. 

David has many fears in his young life which is how he developed leaning on YHVH. Having so many hours, days, months and years alone with sheep in a hostile environment shaped him into the kind of leader YHVH wanted.

Psalms 27:4  One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life, to see Yahweh’s beauty, and to inquire in his temple. 

There was no temple in David’s time. Shiloh was destroyed and Jerusalem was yet to be. But here he was wanting to inquire in YHVH’s temple. This can mean that he wrote about YHVH’s Heavenly Temple or that he sincerely wanted Israel to have a temple or both. The longing of his heart was for YHVH’s Temple, likely both in Heaven and on earth.

Psalms 27:5  For in the day of trouble, he will keep me secretly in his pavilion. In the secret place of his tabernacle, he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock. 

The rock is a double inuendo speaking of a literal rock and a spiritual one, YHVH Himself.

Psalms 27:6  Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me; I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent. I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh. 

This verse expresses what may show that David could have written this Psalm immediately after being anointed. YHVH had lifted his head above his brothers who were often his enemies.

Psalms 27:7  Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice. Have mercy also on me, and answer me.
Psalms 27:8  When you said, “Seek my face,” my heart said to you, “I will seek your face, Yahweh.” 

David wanted a relationship with YHVH from early. Like Yeshua in Luke 2:52, David grew in wisdom and faith.

Psalms 27:9  Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t put your servant away in anger. You have been my help. Don’t abandon me, neither forsake me, God of my salvation.
Psalms 27:10  When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahweh will take me up.

There it is. The reason some people believe David may have been an illegitimate son. David, estranged and cast into the field to care for sheep and goats, felt forsaken. He felt estranged from both his father and mother. Psalms 51:5 alludes to some kind of sin regarding his conception. Some scholars believe either Jesse or his wife had an illicit affair and David was the result. He certainly was an outcast in his family but scripture presents David as the legitimate son of Jesse. Who are we to question it?

There is a parallel to Yeshua in this because He the Jews accused Him of being Mary’s bastard, conceived out of wedlock. Yeshua came to His family but, like David, they did not accept Him (John 1:11).

Although David would remain a shepherd for his father for a short time before he was pressed into service to Saul and before killing Goliath, that time would be short. This Psalm appears to be the lament of a lonely boy learning to lean on YHVH for everything.

Psalms 27:11  Teach me your way, Yahweh. Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies. 

David’s brothers and even his father and mother seemed to be enemies to him.

Psalms 27:12  Don’t deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen up against me, such as breathe out cruelty. 

We will see how Eliab, his older brother, falsely accused David during the battle with Goliath in 1 Samuel 17. It is not hard to see how Eliab’s accusation in 1 Samuel 17:28 when he said, “I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart,” indicated the cruelty of his family. Eliab would not have been the only family member to treat David poorly, with scorn and disdain. But this is one reason David had such a soft heart for others. In fact, David’s soft heart and diametrically opposite warrior prowess also parallel Yeshua who has a soft heart for His people but who also is coming to execute His judgement. The dichotomy is apparent for both David and Yeshua.

David’s birth and relationship with his family was a parallel to the difficulties of Yeshua’s birth and His own problems with His family in that they did not accept Him (John 1:11).

Psalms 27:13  I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living. 

In a way, David prophesied over his own future. As a youth, he would have still been aware of Saul’s failure as King, and thus prayed his confidence that in his day he would see YHVH’s goodness in the land.

How many years had Saul reigned before David was anointed? Saul reigned for 40 years. David spent roughly 15 years running from Saul until he was 30 years old (2 Samuel 5:4). It is not known exactly how old David was when Samuel anointed him, but 15 years spent protecting and providing for sheep and goats plus 15 years dealing with Saul trying to kill him brings us to age 30. Using these nice round figures, that means Saul had reigned for 25 years before David was anointed and that Saul was 10 years into his reign when David was born. That also means Samuel had mourned for Saul for a very long time which is why YHVH asked him how long he would continue to mourn.

Psalms 27:14  Wait for Yahweh. Be strong, and let your heart take courage. Yes, wait for Yahweh. 

Waiting for YHVH was David’s watch word and Saul’s failure.

It may be that David wrote other Psalms before he was anointed. Psalm 23 is thought by some scholars to be pre-anointing but some of his earliest Psalms may have been lost.

King David was an extraordinary man and an extraordinary King. He is the type and shadow of Yeshua because he was a man after YHVH’s own heart as was Yeshua, and David reunited the Kingdom once it split after Saul’s death. His Kingship expanded Israel’s borders and was a shining example to the surrounding nations. We will find that some people from the nations became close allies of David, meaning they became Israelites. I am thinking of Uriah the Hittite but there would have others that came into YHVH’s Kingdom under David’s reign, a parallel of what Yeshua has already accomplished spiritually but will fulfill physically upon His return. It will be a pleasure and rewarding for us to study him. We will learn what it really looks like to walk with YHVH even with all of our own stumblings and the troubles that come because of what our brethren do and how they hurt us.