Sermon for 2/19/22: Quinquagesima

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Reserved by God
I Samuel 16:1-13

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Samuel was not at all enthusiastic about anointing a successor to King Saul, and I think we can understand why. Saul had been a great disappointment. Samuel was regretting the fact that Saul had turned away from the Lord; no doubt he feared failure all over again with a second choice. He likely also feared Saul’s anger. The king’s dark moods, his jealousy and violent temper, were common knowledge. A man who had been willing to execute his own son would not hesitate to behead a prophet of the Lord. But then, we might feel like saying to Samuel, “What is the problem? Who is greater: Saul or God?” It all seems like foolishness…until we consider our own life and our personal problems; then we, too, panic and become fearful.

Reassured by God, Samuel went to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s eight sons. The citizens of the area were terrified by Samuel’s arrival. No doubt they had heard how the prophet had recently destroyed the Amalekite king, a command of the Lord which Saul had failed to carry out. Had Samuel come now to carry out some similar act of divine retribution on them? Samuel assured the elders of Bethlehem that he had come in peace, that he had come to make a sacrifice to the Lord.

Only Jesse and his sons were invited by Samuel to assist with the sacrifice. As soon as Samuel laid his eyes on Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, he was convinced he was looking at Saul’s successor. Eliab was tall and handsome, with kingly bearing. But the Lord cautioned Samuel: “Do not look on his appearance or 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.” Too often, perhaps more than we even realize, we make judgments of others based only on what we see: facial appearance, age, skin color, clothing. Thank God that He doesn’t render judgment on us by such things! Your worth before God rests entirely in Jesus Christ. And God is delights to see a faithful heart within you which confesses its sin and seeks forgiveness from God. Through the gracious outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you are given such hearts, and you are called the beloved of God.

Seven sons, one after another, passed before the prophet. Any one of them would have made an excellent choice, at least as man sees things. And yet, it was not to be. But then David was brought in, and while Samuel saw a handsome young man, his youthful good looks did not necessarily suggest one strong enough to rule the nation. But God knew better. David’s humility and his trusting heart were just what God was looking for.

God looks upon the heart. He knows you infinitely better than you can ever know yourself. God had given David a faithful heart. And even as David entrusted his heart and his life to the Lord, so, too, can you, in full assurance that the Lord who brings you to faith in Jesus Christ—not of your choosing, but of His—also calls you to those ventures in life for which He prepares you.

Jesse and his seven older sons looked on with amazement as the prophet took his horn of oil and poured it over David’s head. Perhaps the young David didn’t fully understand the significance of this simple act, any more than we fully understand the things God does for us. No matter. The prophet was there according to God’s will and by His grace to anoint David for service. As time passed, and David eventually came to the throne, he would be instructed by the Lord as to what he would do.

But by this simple act of anointing, God put a “Reserved” sign, if you will, on David’s life. The Holy Spirit came upon the young shepherd in renewed measure that day. And under the guidance of that same Spirit—the Spirit who unfailingly works through the Word of God—David would grow in faith and love toward God. In time, David would come to the full appreciation of what the Lord had done for him that day, how He had placed David in that line of the ultimate Anointed One, that great Good Shepherd and King of all kings, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you understand what God has done for you? In Holy Baptism you are washed and cleansed and set free from the judgment your sins deserve. There at the baptismal font, He chose you; He set you apart. He put His own “Reserved” sign on your life. You are now reserved for service to Him. You are reserved to hear His Word faithfully. You are reserved to receive from Him the very body and blood of the Savior for the forgiveness of your sins. You are reserved to a life now that is lived to His praise and honor. And you are reserved for the joy of eternal life when our Lord Jesus returns to raise your body from the grave and to gather all His faithful, body and soul, to live with Him forever. In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

         

          The peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.