Difference between revisions of "Sermon for June 7th, 2015"

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1 Samuel 16:1-13

1The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.” 7But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

Give Us A King: The Annointing of David

It was final exam day for an introductory Biology course at the local university. The exam was two hours long, and exam booklets were provided. The professor, who had a reputation for being strict, told the class that any exam that was not on his desk in exactly two hours would not be accepted and the student would fail. Half an hour into the exam, a student came rushing in late and asked the professor for an exam booklet. With an air of disgust, the professor said, "You're not going to have time to finish this," but reluctantly handed the student a booklet.

Sure enough, when time was up and the other students placed their booklets in a pile on the professor's desk, the late student continued writing. When he finally finished, and came up to turn in his exam, the professor said, "I'm not going to accept that. It's late." The student looked incredulous and angry. "Do you know who I am?" he asked. "No," replied the professor, "as a matter of fact, I don't." "You really don't know who I am?" the student asked once again in a louder voice. "No, and I don't care." replied the professor with an air of superiority. "Good," replied the student, as he quickly lifted the stack of completed exams, shoved his in the middle, and walked out of the room.

What can we learn from Samuel?

• Action is a good antidote for despair.
• Persistence pays off (If at first you don't succeed...)
• Expect the Unexpected

What can we learn about God?

• God chooses unlikely leaders to do his work.
• God measures with different criteria than we do.
• God looks at the inside of a person (heart), not the outside (appearance, size, etc.).

What can we learn about David?

  וְה֣וּא              אַדְמוֹנִ֔י         עִם־יְפֵ֥ה     עֵינַ֖יִם      וְטֹ֣וב      רֹ֑אִי
 (roi)  (v'tov)  (eyenim) (im-yfeh)      (admoni)          (v'ho)
(sight) (good)    (eyes)(with beautiful) (Adam/red/earth)  (he)

 -"Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome." (NRSV)
 -"He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features." (NIV)
 -"Soothly he was ruddy, and fair in sight, and of seemly face." (WYC)
 -"He was earthly-minded, with eyes for the beautiful, and good vision. (INL)

1. Earthly-minded (what is all around you - present)
2. Eye for Beauty (what is up close, details - past)
3. Good Vision (what is far away, distant - future)

Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He has made everything suitable (beautiful) for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end

What can we learn about Vocation?

• What was David doing when Samuel arrived? Shepherding. Working. Doing.
• What does David do after he is anointed? He goes back to shepherding.
• What does David end up doing in the long run? Shepherding. People, not sheep.

Story of my own vocational calling.