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1 Samuel 16:1, 11-13; 17:34-37, 45-47, 50

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When the LORD sent Samuel to anoint a new king, the Spirit of the LORD came upon David to empower him for the responsibilities of being king of Israel. This empowerment becomes evident as David relies on the LORD when he faces the Philistine giant Goliath, demonstrating that he indeed was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). David trusted in the LORD, in contrast to Saul, who relied on his own reasoning.

1 Samuel 16
1 And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons.

“And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul” – Notice that the LORD does not criticize Samuel for mourning over Saul’s failure as king. We all should mourn when people reject God and turn their backs on Him. However, the LORD does state that Samuel does not need to continue to mourn for a man that He has rejected. Saul has made his own choices and will reap the consequences.

“seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel” – Samuel should not keep mourning over Saul’s failure as king since the LORD has disqualified him as being king. Saul is no longer king in the LORD’s eyes and when the time is right he will be replaced by the man that the LORD has chosen.

“fill thine horn with oil, and go” – Just as the LORD had commanded Samuel to anoint Saul as king with oil, He is now sending Samuel with oil to anoint a new king

“I will send thee to Jesse the Beth-lehemite: for I have provided [to see; to observe] me a king among his sons” – The LORD has chosen a new man to be king of Israel, and this man is one of the sons of Jesse, a man from Bethlehem.

Verses 2-10: Samuel knew that if Saul found out that he had gone to the home of Jesse to anoint a new king, Saul would consider that as a treasonous act worthy of death. The LORD instructs Samuel to take a heifer and use the purpose of making sacrifice as cover for his true mission. Samuel calls Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice and begins looking at the Jesse’s eldest son, thinking that he would be the one that the LORD had chosen to be king. However, the LORD tells Samuel not to look at the outward appearance because He alone can see what is in a man’s heart. After seeing each of the seven sons that Jesse had brought, Samuel realizes that the LORD had not chosen any of them.

11 And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

“And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children?” – The LORD had said that He had chosen one of Jesse’s sons but He had rejected all of the sons of Jesse that Samuel had seen. Perhaps Samuel was beginning to become confused when he asked if Jesse had any more sons.

“And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep” – Apparently David was not yet considered an adult so Jesse did not think that it was necessary to bring David to the sacrifice because of his age. His duty to watch over the sheep was apparently deemed more important than attending the sacrifice.

“And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither” – Finding the son that the LORD had chosen was Samuel’s primary reason for being there and he was anxious to see the LORD’s business completed. He would not continue with the sacrifice until this youngest son had arrived.

12 And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

“And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy [red], and withal of a beautiful countenance [eyes], and goodly [handsome] to look to” – Some commentators believe that “ruddy” meant that David was red-headed, while others believe it may refer to the color of his skin from the time spent outside watching sheep. Apparently David was a handsome young man with beautiful eyes.

“And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he” – The LORD confirms that David is the son chosen to be king. He is not chosen because of his appearance (v. 7), but for what the LORD saw in his heart.

“Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren” – Samuel proceeds to anoint David as king with his family looking on. We are not told how David’s father and brothers reacted to this event.

“and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward” – The Spirit of the LORD came upon David to empower him for the responsibilities of being king. Any Godly leader should depend on the LORD for the strength and guidance to lead those under him.

“So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah” – Once the sacrifice had been completed, Samuel returns to his home in Ramah.

Verses 14-23: The Spirit of the LORD left Saul and came upon David as the true king. The presence of the Spirit of God in Saul’s life was replaced by an evil spirit that tormented him. The LORD sovereignly controlled a series of events that resulted in David being recruited to play the harp for Saul in order to give him some temporary relief from the evil spirit.

1 Samuel 17:1-33: The Philistines had once again gathered to fight against Israel and the two sides were each camped on a mountain on opposite sides of a valley. A champion of the Philistines named Goliath, who was a giant man about 9 feet 9 inches tall, stepped out of their camp to challenge the Israelites. Goliath’s challenge was that the Israelites should send a champion of their own to fight him and that the people of the loser would become slaves of the winner’s people. No one in the Israelite camp was brave enough to face Goliath until David, sent by his father to check on his brothers, arrived at the camp. David goes to Saul and asks to be allowed to fight Goliath, but Saul is reluctant to do so since David was only a youth and Goliath was an experienced man of war.

1 Samuel 17
34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.

In order to assure Saul that he was capable of defeating Goliath, David describes two instances when he had to kill dangerous wild animals. Being responsible for his father’s flock, David’s job was to protect the sheep from bandits and predators and there were times when he had to rescue lambs from the lions and bears that had stolen them from the flock. Lions and bears are formidable and dangerous animals but each time David was able to kill the predator and successfully rescue the lambs from their clutches.

36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.

“Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them” – David says that he will be able to kill Goliath, an “uncircumcised Philistine” as easily as he was able to kill the lion and bear. David seems to be implying that Goliath has the handicap of not being circumcised, the sign of being a member of the LORD’s covenant people (Gen. 17:9-10). The LORD would favor his own people in a conflict with Gentiles.

“seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God” – Goliath’s handicap is increased by his defiance of “the armies of the living God.” Goliath has placed himself in opposition to the LORD and His people, thus placing himself at a further disadvantage.

“David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine” – David’s trust in the LORD is apparent and in contrast to Saul’s lack of it. David does not credit his own skills in being able to kill the lion and the bear but acknowledges that it was the LORD that gave him the victory over them. He trusts that the LORD will also give him the victory over Goliath in the same way. David’s trust in the LORD will be the final nail in Goliath’s coffin.

“And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee” – Saul was apparently impressed with David’s trust in the LORD and the fact that the LORD had given David victories over wild animals. Saul had already seen the victory that comes to those whose faith is in the LORD and so he may have been encouraged to see someone with such faith standing before him ready to fight Goliath.

Verses 38-44: Saul puts his own armor on David, but David decides that it would be more of a hindrance since he had no experience wearing it in a fight (besides the fact that it likely did not fit him). David then took 5 smooth stones from the brook to use with his sling and, with a walking stick in his hand, he went to face Goliath. When Goliath saw him, he scoffed at the idea of David coming against him with a walking stick in his hand and then cursed him with his gods. Goliath then boasted that he would give David’s carcass to the birds and beasts to eat.

45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.

David points out that Goliath depended on his weapons in a battle but that he (David) comes as a representative of the LORD, armed with His strength. By defying the armies of Israel, Goliath has set himself against their God, the LORD. David is not depending on his own strength, skill or weapons but on the LORD for victory.

46 This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

“This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee” – David boasts, not of his own fighting ability, but in the fact that he is being helped by the LORD, Who will enable him to kill Goliath and cut his head off.

“and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth” – Knowing the strength of the LORD, David extends his boast to the entire Philistine army. David’s defeat of Goliath will lead to Israel’s victory over the Philistines, leaving their carcasses for the birds and the beasts to feast upon.

“that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel” – The victory will not be for David’s glory or for that of Israel’s. It will be to give glory to the LORD, the God that Israel serves. David’s victory will demonstrate the power of the LORD to the whole world.

47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hands.

The fight between David and Goliath will prove to “this assembly” that the LORD does not need weapons of warfare to win a battle. The assembly he refers to is likely the Israelite army, but it could refer to both armies – everyone witnessing the battle between David and Goliath. David is fully confident that the LORD will give him and Israel the victory.

Verses 48-49: Apparently Goliath did not appreciate David’s words because he began to advance on David. David responded by running toward the giant and slinging one of the smooth stones. Goliath fell on his face dead when the stone struck him in the forehead, crushing his skull.

50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.

This verse summarizes the battle between David and Goliath, pointing out that David faced the giant without a sword. He had depended on the LORD for victory instead of a normal weapon of warfare.

Verses 51-58: After killing Goliath, David took the giant’s own sword and cut his head off and returned to Saul with Goliath’s head in his hand.