Sermon 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Who is God Using?

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard
Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Presbyterian Churches
Sermon 1 Samuel 16:1-13 Who is God Using?
April 3, 2011

Our Lenten journey continues. So far we have found that God has given us limited freedom and we throw all of our blessings away by lusting after things we shouldn’t have. So God has made a great promise to us that in spite of our disobedience God will bless us in abundance so that we will be blessing for other. But on the road from sin to promise there will be potholes. And we can be assured that God will be right there with us no matter what happens. Today we will see the importance of our confession as we pursue God’s promised blessings. But first let’s pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

1 Samuel 16:1-13 NRS 1 Samuel 16:1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5 He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed is now before the LORD." 7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen any of these." 11 Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

In this scripture we see four important Old Testament figures. Three of them were kings, Saul, David and, of course, God. One was a prophet, Samuel. God had rejected Saul as king over Israel and wanted to replace him with David. Both Saul and David were kings of Israel. Both had been chosen by God. Both were capable of uniting the nation and defeating their enemies. And both Saul and David were sinners. Both had been richly blessed by God, but both had lusted after things that were prohibited. Saul lost his kingdom as a result, but David continued to receive God’s blessings. What was the difference?

I once heard a story about boy who brought home a D on his report card. When his father asked about the D the boy said that it was “that old teacher’s fault”. “She gave me the D”, he said. “That’s her handwriting”. But the wise father pointed out that the D was his. He earned it. The teacher had simply recorded her evaluation of what the son had done.

We love to blame our sins on someone else. Remember, it started with Adam who blamed his disobedience on his wife. We still do it. Blaming others for what we do makes us look like victims. And victims receive a lot of sympathy. But blaming others is not what God wants from us. God prefers a honest confession and a contrite heart. Let’s take a look at King Saul.

King Saul was told by God through the prophet Samuel to attack the Amalekites. God was using Saul’s army to punish them. God ordered that the King of the Amalekites, all the people and all the ox, sheep, cattle and donkeys should be killed. Saul attacked the Amalekites and killed all of them just as God had instructed. But, Saul captured their king, Agag, alive and he took their ox, sheep, cattle and donkeys as booty. When the prophet Samuel confronted the king with his disobedience, Saul lied about what he had done and then tried to justify his actions by blaming them on others. Even though Saul was the king, he blamed his disobedience on the people of his nation. He said they made him do it; they wanted the loot. He said that he was afraid of his own people. All of this was a lie. As a result God removed from Saul his blessings and his kingdom. In God’s eyes he was no longer a suitable king. And Saul died on the battlefield as his kingdom was taken away. Saul sinned by disobeying God. Others have sinned as well, but in much uglier ways. Let’s take a look at King David.

We all know the story of David and Uriah. David slept with Uriah’s wife, tried to cover it up with an elaborate lie, and then had Uriah murdered. This might work for some of the dictators around the world today, but we can’t imagine that God would approve of three violations of the Ten Commandments. So God dispatched the prophet Nathan to confront the king. David’s response was not to lie about what he had done, or try to justify himself, or blame it on others. David simply confessed his sin. As a result of David’s sin he lost the blessings of peace. His kingdom was at war. His son conspired to overthrow him. And his newborn baby died. But because he had freely confessed his sin, David lost neither his kingdom nor God’s love.

What we learn from this is that whenever we lust after that which is prohibited we will lose the blessings we already have. That’s the way it is. But if we confess our sins and truly repent God will forgive us and will continue to bless us richly. The choice is ours. We can try to hide our sins from God like Adam, Eve and King Saul. We can blame our sins on others. We can try to justify ourselves. Or we can honestly confess our sins and continue to receive God’s promised blessings.

King David later wrote about his confession and the forgiveness that he had received from God. In Psalm 51, he asked God for a clean heart filled with the Holy Spirit of God. He asked God not only for forgiveness but also for a willing spirit that would help him to obey God. David promised to publically declare the salvation he had received in his teaching and singing so that others would also confess their sins honestly.

This is what we are called to do as forgiven sinners. We are to honestly confess our sins to God without blaming others for what we have done. We are to ask for the presence of the Holy Spirit so that we might become able and willing to obey God in the future. Then we are to tell others, our families, our coworkers, and our friends about the salvation we have received from God urging them to seek God with contrite hearts with the promise of blessing and forgiveness. This is the good news that we are called to proclaim as the ambassadors of Jesus Christ. Let us pray.

From Psalm 51
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; in your great compassion blot out my offenses.
Wash me through and through from my wickedness and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.
And so you are justified when you speak and upright in your judgment.
Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, a sinner from my mother's womb.
For behold, you look for truth deep within me,
and will make me understand wisdom secretly.
Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; wash me, and I shall be clean indeed.
Make me hear of joy and gladness, that the body you have broken may rejoice.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence and take not your holy Spirit from me.
Give me the joy of your saving help again and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit.
The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God,
you will not despise. Amen.