ISAIAH 55:3 - "The Shepherd Anointed King"

"He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people." (Psalms 113:7 & 8) In 1 Samuel 16, we see the story of how Samuel anoints David as king. When God told Samuel to go to the house of Jesse, He told him, "For I have PROVIDED ME a king among his sons". This word PROVIDED, means that God knew David's heart; it also means that David had a understanding of who God was, and that he had a relationship with God. Because David was the youngest of many brothers, he was given the task to tend the sheep, which was considered to be a lowly task, and not one that was much desired; that is unless you had a relationship with God. For David, this was the best job; he loved it for the opportunity it allowed for him to get alone with God. To worship God with his harp; to pray to God, and praise Him for all His Glory, as he would just sit out under the stars by night, and rise up early before the sunrise, in order to continue the praise of the night before. For David, being a shepherd was a task that was not a burden, but was a blessing. As Samuel started to consider which of Jesse's sons would be fit for king, he looked first upon Eliab, (v.6); and said, "Surely the Lord's anointed is before Him". But the Lord said to Samuel, "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart". This continued until Samuel had looked at all of Jesse's son that were there; and for each and everyone, God said, "No, not this one". Then finally Samuel said to Jesse; "Are here all thy children?"; to which Jesse answered; "There remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth the sheep". So, Samuel sent them to go fetch David from the field, while they waited for him to arrive before doing a sacrifice to God. Samuel had to pretend that his reason for being there was to do a sacrifice, because King Saul was bound to hear about Samuel coming into the area of Bethlehem, and would have wanted to know for what reason. In verse 12, we see the definition of David's appearance as he comes before Samuel; "Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to". He was ruddy, (which means red); Do you recall anyone else that was described that way?; How about Esau?; interesting, (I'm just saying). But notice if you will at David's countenance; he was a man that knew God, and he had a peace and a beauty about him that was of God. Immediately, God declares; "Arise, anoint him: for this is he". Then after Samuel took the oil and anointed David, it says in verse 13; "And the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward". I have an interesting footnote in my Bible for this verse: [This picture of the selection of David, the former shepherd boy, to be king over Israel is important for our understanding of the coming of Jesus. In the New Testament times, it was recognized by the Jews that the Christ would come from the seed of David (John 7:42). Jesus was designated as the Christ which means "anointed", as David was here the anointed one of God (see 1 Sam 2:10). A title repeatedly applied to Jesus was "the Son of David". A comparison could also be made in the fact that Jesus came as a Shepherd (John 10:11), just as David had been a shepherd. Just as David ascended to the throne of Israel, Jesus left His work of shepherding on earth to ascend to the throne in heaven (Acts 2:30-34), which is seen as an extension of the throne of David.] When the Spirit of the Lord came upon David, I believe that at this point in his life, he was now given an inner strength. Now not only was he a man in love with God, and with a good heart towards God; but now he also had a brave heart; the kind of man you would want on your team, if you were choosing sides for a football game. He now had a "Brave Good Heart"; what a powerful combination. He soon became known in the land as more than just a Shepherd Boy; because he would now acquire a new part time job. As Saul was being removed from power, the Spirit of the Lord departed from him, and he became depressed; so he asked his servants for the following in verse 17; "Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me". Now listen to the description of David by one of Saul's servants; "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him". Wow; This is so interesting that David would be called "A Man of War", considering he had never fought in a war, but had only been a shepherd up to this point. And what a contrast from the description given to Samuel of David from David's own father Jesse in verse 11. So David is called from tending sheep, to become Saul's Musician, and his armorbearer; which pretty much meant that he had 'one foot on the throne'. "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy Name in all the earth! Who hast set thy Glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger." (Psalms 8:1 & 2) Jesus: the Son of David; Jesus: the Lord of David...