Based on the First Book of 1 Samuel, chapter 16, 1-13
Sometimes people who look very nice on the outside aren’t very nice on the inside. Have you noticed? And people who don’t look very interesting on the outside can actually turn out to be wonderful people on the inside. We can’t always tell the difference just from looking—but God knows!
Once, a very long time ago, before Jesus even, the people of Israel had a bad King, whose name was Saul. And God said to his friend Samuel, “Samuel, we need a new king round here. And I know just the person we need. There’s a man called Jesse, who lives in a town called Bethlehem. Jesse and his wife have a lot of sons, and one of them is the new king.” (And if you are wondering, yes, this is the town where Jesus would be born—a thousand years later!)
So Samuel went to Bethlehem, to Jesse’s house. And he said to Jesse, “I need you to bring all your sons out here in front of me.” Jesse didn’t know why, but he did it anyway. And seven boys lined up in front of Samuel, and he looked them over one by one.
First of all came Eliab, the oldest. He was tall and strong and good-looking, with nice hair and a friendly smile. And Samuel thought, “Wow, he’d make a great king. He must be the one.” But God whispered in Samuel’s ear and said, “No, no. I know he looks good on the outside. But I can see what’s inside a person. I can tell what kind of man he is, and actually he’s not very kind. That’s not the sort of person we want to be king.” So Samuel shook his head, and said to Jesse, “Not that one. Who’s next?”
So then Jesse brought his second son, Aminadab. And once again, Samuel thought, “Wow, he looks great. Not quite as tall and strong and smart as the first one, but pretty impressive all the same. He must be the one!” But God whispered in Samuel’s ear and said, “No, no. I know he looks good on the outside. But I can see what’s inside a person. I can tell what kind of man he is, and actually he’s not very brave. That’s not the sort of person we want to be king.” So Samuel shook his head, and said to Jesse, “Not that one. Who’s next?”
So then Jesse brought his third son, Shammah. And once again, Samuel thought, “Wow, he looks great. Not quite as tall and strong and smart as the first one or the second one, but pretty impressive all the same. He must be the one!” But God whispered in Samuel’s ear and said, “No, no. I know he looks good on the outside. But I can see what’s inside a person. I can tell what kind of man he is, and actually he’s not very forgiving. That’s not the sort of person we want to be king.” So Samuel shook his head, and said to Jesse, “Not that one. Who’s next?”
So one by one Jesse brought his boys in front of Samuel, and with each one Samuel said, “Not that one.” So then he was puzzled—did he make a mistake about what he thought God was saying? And he said to Jesse, “You’re sure these are all your sons. You haven’t forgotten a whole bunch of them somewhere?”
“Well,” said Jesse slowly, “there is the youngest, but he’s only a kid, and he’s off in the hills looking after the sheep. You wouldn’t be interested in him. He’s not important.” And Samuel thought to himself, “Hmmm . . . I wonder . . .” So he said: “Go and fetch him. We’re not going to sit down until he’s here.” So a messenger went to fetch this youngest son, whose name was David—maybe on a horse, just to be quick—and brought David back.
And Samuel looked at him, and he looked tall for his age, and strong, and good-looking. But Samuel thought, “I’ve been wrong seven times; I don’t want to be wrong again. Lord, what’s he like on the inside?” And God said, “I know what he’s really like, and he’s kind and brave and forgiving. He’s the one, even though he’s the littlest.”
So Samuel did what seems to us a very strange thing. In our world, if someone becomes a king or a queen we put a crown on their heads. In those days, they would put a little bit of oil on the person’s head to show that they were chosen by God. It’s called “anointing.” So Samuel anointed David to be the next king of God’s people.
And when David grew up he became one of the greatest kings over God’s people. People that we don’t think are very important can do wonderful thing for God—even when they’re only little, and nobody takes much notice of them—because God knows how special they are on the inside. Maybe like you!
Messy Church, October 2017