Commentary on 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 51:10-14

Last week, we saw young Samuel learning to listen for God. This week, we see he has developed his holy listening muscles really well. When God sends him to find and anoint the new king, Samuel relies on listening for God throughout the whole process. In this one narrative, we’ll see some enduring patterns that show up throughout the whole biblical narrative.

Let’s notice a few things going on here that raise fruitful questions for preaching and congregational engagement with this text:

First is incredulity: You want me to do what?! 

When God first gives Samuel this task, Samuel resists: “How can I go? Saul will kill me!” (verse 2). The task God sets before Samuel is treasonous. The first king, Saul, isn’t working out too well, as indeed the Lord had predicted. Asking Samuel to go behind Saul’s back to find a new king clearly puts Samuel in danger. We are not surprised when Samuel resists. This initial incredulity is a pattern in call stories throughout scripture. We’ve heard this refrain before. Remember Moses: “Who? Me?” (Exodus 3:11 and following). Later, prophets will resist God’s call. Even Jesus at Gethsemane will ask, “Might this cup be taken from me?” (Matthew 26:39, paraphrased). 

When have you said, “Who? Me?” resisting God’s call or invitation? What about it put you off? What resistance do you notice in yourself or in your community?

Second, Samuel keeps listening to God’s voice throughout the whole process. 

Even though Samuel initially resists, he doesn’t run away. He hangs in there even though it turns out to be complicated. This is a long process that must have become more and more unbelievable as each son was passed over. Samuel stays closely attuned to God’s voice through the twists and turns of the story. He must rely on God’s voice at each turn, listening for divine guidance again and again, through seven or eight points of discernment. Listening takes patience and commitment to the process.

What does spiritual stamina look like? How might we cultivate it? What helps us stick with the messiness of discernment, as individuals and as communities, when we want to jump to the conclusion?

Third, God flips the script about leadership. 

God turns social and political expectations upside down. Instead of choosing the big, strong, oldest son of Jesse, God chooses the small, scrawny, youngest son, David. Instead of going by the outer appearance of strength and success, God “looks to the heart,” the inner life (verse 7). Samuel must cycle through all of Jesse’s sons and ask if there are any more before finally getting to David, who, it turns out, is not even there among all the sons mustered for selection! In David, God chooses an afterthought, a throwaway. This divine pattern of turning expectations upside down is strong throughout scripture. God chooses the least likely, the unexpected, the marginal, for God’s purposes in the world. 

What script might God want to flip in your life? Or in our common life together? What narratives or expectations need to be turned upside down in our lives or our community for God’s purposes to be made plain?

Fourth, Samuel trusts this unlikely outcome. 

It’s a bit surprising that both Samuel and Jesse accept God’s choice here. Samuel doesn’t question God or wonder if he heard wrong or second-guess the decision that looks foolish in the world’s eyes. God tells Samuel to anoint David, and Samuel does it (verse 12–13). Once David is anointed, the spirit of the Lord comes mightily upon him (verse 13).

When God flips the script, what might trust, or at least tentative curiosity, look like? How can we learn to tolerate disruption or disorientation long enough to see that God might be up to something?

Last, this sort of listening requires roominess inside.

The psalm this week centers on “a clean heart,” a cleared-out, decluttered interior spaciousness. What if, instead of focusing on purity, we heard the psalmist inviting us to a sort of simplicity of heart? What if we joined the psalmist in praying for an uncluttered heart, one free from worries, resentments, score-keeping, or over-responsibility? This openhearted posture helps us be available for the kinds of listening and discernment Samuel practices throughout the narrative. 

What needs to be cleared out and decluttered in you or in your church so you can listen for God’s leading? How might “a clean heart” open up new space for new possibilities?

As you shape your sermon, look for one or two of these points from 1 Samuel 16 that speak to where your community is right now. Don’t try to cover them all. Which might open the narrative door for your community to step in and explore this week?

PRAYER OF THE DAY

God of strength,

In David you chose a king with a big heart. Create clean and willing hearts in us, and choose us to do your work. Amen.

HYMNS

Create in me a clean heart  ELW 188
Change my heart, O God   ELW 801

CHORAL

Create in me, Paul Christiansen