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Jesse’s eighth

1 Samuel 16:1-13 (JDV)

1 Samuel 16:1 Yahveh said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul now that I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem because I have selected a king from his sons.”
1 Samuel 16:2 Samuel asked, “How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me!” Yahveh answered, “Take a young cow with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to Yahveh.’
1 Samuel 16:3 Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will let you know what you are to do. You are to anoint for me the one I point out to you.”
1 Samuel 16:4 Samuel did what Yahveh told him and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, “Do you come in peace?”
1 Samuel 16:5 “In peace,” he replied. “I’ve come to sacrifice to Yahveh. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
1 Samuel 16:6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, “Certainly Yahveh’s anointed one is here in front of him.”
1 Samuel 16:7 But Yahveh said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his stature because I have rejected him. Humans do not see what Yahveh sees, for humans see what is visible, but Yahveh sees the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:8 Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. “Yahveh hasn’t chosen this one either,” Samuel said.
1 Samuel 16:9 Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “Yahveh hasn’t chosen this one either.”
1 Samuel 16:10 After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, “Yahveh hasn’t chosen any of these.”
1 Samuel 16:11 Samuel asked him, “Are these all the boys you have?” “There is still the youngest,” he answered, “but right now (notice) he’s tending the sheep.” Samuel told Jesse, “Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.”
1 Samuel 16:12 So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance. Then Yahveh said, “Anoint him, because he is the one.”
1 Samuel 16:13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Breath of Yahveh came powerfully on David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.

Jesse’s eighth

Jesse’s eighth son was not even invited to the party at first. Jesse probably figured that his older sons would make such an impression that Samuel would pay no attention to David. He was almost right. Samuel was impressed with Jesse’s older sons. But God saw what even Samuel did not.

A leader with God’s heart learns to lead by serving, and that was what David was doing when his older brothers were being paraded before the prophet. The best preparation for a life of influence is a willingness to serve others.