Today we begin looking at the third covenant in this study, the last covenant of the Old Testament of which Christ is the fulfillment--God's covenant with David. And where better to start than God's anointing of David?
In 1 Samuel 16, Samuel is told by God that a new king of Israel must be chosen after Saul's disobedience. God tells Samuel that the king can be found among Jesse’s sons in Bethlehem (Mmm...Bethlehem..sound familiar? But more on that later this week).
Samuel meets each of Jesse's sons beginning with the oldest, but the Lord rejects each one saying: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature... for the Lord sees not as man sees. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." When it appears that Jesse has run out of sons, the youngest son, David, is brought in from tending the sheep. When David arrives Samuel anoints him with oil, recognizing him as King.
Our plans and God’s plans don’t always seem to look exactly the same. Like Samuel, it is easy to think that we know best, but “the Lord sees not as man sees.” Sometimes the Lord’s plans surprise us, like salvation for the entire human race coming through a small child, or the King of the Universe meeting us as a helpless newborn lying in a manger. Often He surprises us by asking great things of us, and even more often we surprise ourselves by accomplishing those great things when we freely choose to allow God to work through us.
Do you have difficulty seeing as the Lord’s sees? How can you come to a better understanding of the Lord’s plan during this Advent season?
