The Anointing of David
One day the Lord told the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem and find a man called Jesse. He was to anoint one of his sons with oil because He had chosen him to be the next king of Israel.
Samuel made his way to Bethlehem and there he called the people together to make an offering to the Lord. Amongst them were seven of the sons of Jesse. Samuel looked very closely at these young men. The eldest was Eliab, a handsome young man. Samuel thought “surely this must be the one the Lord has chosen.”. But God said ” do not consider his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” Then Samuel looked at Abinadab, the second of Jesse’s sons. “I’ve not chosen this one either. The seven brothers all came before Samuel, but not one of them was chosen! Samuel asked their father Jesse, “are these all your children?”. There is still the youngest, he is just a boy and is out in the field looking after the sheep”. “Send for him”, Samuel said. His name was David. As he arrived, the Lord said to Samuel “anoint him, for this is the one whom I have chosen. So Samuel anointed him with oil in the presence of all his brothers. No-one knew that David was to be the next king of Israel, but from that time onwards the Spirit of God came upon David and he began to show signs of coming greatness. He went back to look after the sheep on the hillsides, but God was with him.
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