The Making Of A King
Sermon
CALLED TO JERUSALEM: SENT TO THE WORLD
Sermons For Lent And Easter
It was difficult to believe. Had it not been just a couple of years1 ago that Samuel launched out as a "search committee of one" to find and to set apart Israel's first king? It's true. This whole matter of kings over Israel had troubled Samuel from the beginning (1 Samuel 10:17-19). Samuel "believed that God should be Israel's one and only king, that trust in an earthly monarch might take the place of faith in God."2 Now that Saul was king, some of the very problems Samuel expected seemed to be developing. It was not that problems of transition from one form of government to another were not to be expected, but that Saul's problems were more substantial than passing issues of transition.
Though Samuel is deeply grieved over the permanent break with Saul that God has commanded, he nonetheless sets out upon the search for a new king. God has given Samuel explicit and clear instructions. God tells Samuel what, where and whom.
This text and its story throb with human pathos and intrigue. Preacher and reader alike are beckoned first one direction and then another by passages that beg for explanation and exposition. Like sirens they call us.
Samuel's grieving over the break with Saul speaks volumes about the tension within the prophet. Saul was not without his faults, for sure. Yet, he had been the first king and he had accomplished much. He defeated the Amalekites. He engaged battles. As a military leader, he had moments of brilliance.
Saul was a man of conscience. Confronted with his errors, Saul readily - and it seemed sincerely - repented. Yet Saul had been unbending, believing that to be the will of God. Still, Samuel grieved now over Saul. It's a story deserving of a sermon.
Then comes God's counsel to Samuel: "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:8)." Repeatedly the Old Testament writers build upon this text. So too did Jesus. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27)." Again he said: "You are those who justify yourself before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:14-15)." There's much to be pondered here.
Such texts stand impatiently in wait of a preacher. However, the "central luminous truth"3 of today's text, and, therefore, the issue before us, is the anointing of David as the new king of Israel - even while Saul is yet the king! To fully understand the story of David's anointing, we shall need to understand the circumstances that come before and that follow it.
I. Of Coronations And Of Kings
Coronations, the enthronements of kings, are by their nature noisy things. They are pompous, sometimes ponderous processions bringing together the intercessions of priests, the incantations of prophets (sacred and secular!), and the opportunities for the acclamation of the people of the realm. It was so in biblical times as well. There may have been no cavernous Westminster Abbeys and the floor-shaking majesty of the pipe organs, but there were trumpeters and percussionists, singers and bell ringers, prophets and priests, and the acclamation of the citizens of those ancient days.
It was so on Saul's enthronement day. Rather than setting a crown upon the king's head, Saul was presented as the Lord's anointed in the presence of the people. There had been a procession of prophets and a gathering of all the tribes and clans of the people of Israel. A process of selection (by lots!) had been carried out, and Samuel presented Saul as God's chosen one. The people shouted, "Long live the king (1 Samuel 10:24)."
The anointing of a king was of primary importance. One of the Amarna Letters (from Tell el Amarna), dated in the 14th century B.C.E.,4 attests to the anointing of kings.5 In some cases, and especially in Israel, the ceremony of enthronement is a second step in the elevation of a king. With ceremony appropriate to the occasion, it announces what others have determined already, or in Israel's case, what God already has decided.
Earlier there had been for Samuel and Saul such a moment so quiet and so private that the servants were told to walk ahead, leaving Samuel and Saul alone. In most biblical literature the call to divine office is a "thoroughly private experience, and the call of Saul is no exception."6 Such privacy made clear that the king was first responsible to God, not to politicians.
Therefore, the sources of the king's claim to authority in Israel's ancient rites was not the earthly wealth sampled in the splendor of a crown, but rather in the authority that comes from God. The anointing of the king by the prophet was a clear and profound statement that a king's legitimate authority and power to perform the works of the office were the gifts and the property of God. Kingship is, therefore, a sacred office. The king is God's ruler. He is at once God's vassal and at the same time God's representative to the people. As the anointed one, the "king is the agent through whom the gifts of God - victory and peace, justice and prosperity - flowed to the people."7
How differently these nomads, gradually growing into a nation, looked upon their king. In Egypt, the pharaohs were looked upon as gods. In Mesopotamia, kingships were believed to have been instituted by the gods at the time of creation.8 In Israel, things were different. Kings were always God's servants and representatives. They were called the "hallowed or consecrated one of God," or the "anointed one." The Hebrew word for "anoint" is Messiah. The Hebrew, translated into Greek is Christos. Every king of Israel was the "Messiah of the Lord."9
For these tribal nomads-turned-nation in the promised land, there was an understandable reluctance to give power to one man as a king over all the tribes and their tribal territories. It was a matter of nomadic disposition and of tradition. Gideon had been offered a throne and turned it down. The parable of Jothem, as told in Judges 9, reflects the disdain clearly. Like Samuel, there were those who believed that God should govern his people. Israel was neither a democracy nor a monarchy, but a theocracy. For more than 200 years God has governed his people through the judges in their intertribal structure. Saul would experience no little trouble, as Isarel's first king, in finding the balance between the authority of the prophet and the power of the king. Neither the Philistines nor the need for unity among the tribes would become Saul's undoing.10 In a very short while, it would be the conflict of authority. Saul would be a lame duck, having the crown of the monarchy but not the consent of Israel's God. Saul would live in a terrifying no-man's land.
II. The Secret Selection
So too would David, the young shepherd boy from the fields of Bethlehem know this same conflict. Even before David is anointed as Saul's successor, the tension is evident. What must it be like to be selected as king and be unable to tell anyone - and most especially when there is another who is already the king?
Just so, one understands the apprehensions of Samuel as he sets out upon the journey to Bethlehem and the household of Jesse. "What will happen if Saul finds out?" Samuel asks. "He will kill me." As expected, the elders of Bethlehem approach, trembling. They question Samuel. "Do you come peacefully?" they ask. Answering as God has instructed, Samuel assures them that he comes in peace to offer a sacrifice. He invites them to be blessed and to join him in the sacrifice. He does the same with Jesse and his sons. In so doing Samuel covers his tracks both with the elders and with Jesse and his family.
We must pause to remember that the kingship belongs finally not to the holder, but to God who bestows it. Therefore, God can choose whom he will. It is not the right of the holder. Otherwise, how are we to understand all of this? Were it not for the theocratic stance of Israel's government, this whole exercise has the taste of a coup d'etat, an act of high treason than to a prophet of God. As David is finally anointed, the last of the sons of Jesse to appear before Samuel, it is a secret selection that can be shared with on one, not even Jesse and his other sons. Whereas in Israel such calls from God were usually private, this one is a secret as well - a significant difference! David is anointed "in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:13)," even though there is no evidence that David's family understood what had taken place - nor perhaps, did David himself. To be sure, no one ran to tell Saul!
In a nation formed by the tribal alliances of a once nomadic and independent people, there was no constituted process of transition. Kings arose by the hand of God's blessing and the popularity among the people because of the success the blessing of God brought. In constitutional terms, we have the end of one term of service and the transition time to another. David is the king elect, anointed by God but unknown to the people.
With the fateful and brief words of the theocratic theologian and biblical historian, it is simply said: "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him (1 Samuel 16:13-14a)."
III. The Time Of Transition
Matters appear to be getting worse for Saul and our contemporary readers at the same time. In the verse immediately following today's lesson, a determined vindictiveness of God seems to appear. How are we to understand this? Would it not be enough for the Spirit to leave Saul for David? (Those of us living in an established constitutional process would also wish for a kinder and more oderly transition as well!) Does God now need to torment Saul? On the other hand, since it is God who has determined to depose the king for valid resons of disobedience, how can the blame for the king's troubles and torment be blamed on anyone other than God? The biblical writers' explanation may stumble a bit, but clearly the torment of these coming transition times is from God's hand, even though we may comfort ourselves in remembering that Saul brought it upon himself. Centuries later Jesus would deal with just such realities in a parable that is well known (Matthew 12:43-45). The absence of the one spirit inevitably brings the presence of the other.
No longer gifted with the approval of God as king, things go from bad to worse for Saul. David's new successes cause both jealousy and fear. The praise of the people was no longer for Saul, but for David. "And the women sang to one another as they made merry, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands' (1 Samuel 18:7)." Saul is suspicious of the shepherd boy and musician who had once lifted him from his depression. Saul becomes paranoid and depressed. Worse still, the same Saul who once routed the Philistines on three different occasions with brilliant and charismatic campaigns will die in a stunning defeat. He no longer has the gift of leadership, and he knows it. So is the torment defined.
For the king elect, there are also problems. David repeatedly demonstrates his loyalty to Saul. One of Saul's three victories over the Philistines was with the help of young David and his slingshot! A musician in the king's court, David claims Jonathon, Saul's son, as his most trusted friend. He marries a daughter of Saul. In the caves at En Gedi, hiding like a fugitive from the paranoid wrath of Saul, David has the opportunity to kill Saul. Unknown to Saul in the darkness of the cave, David cuts off a piece of Saul's robe but he spares his life. Once Saul is at a safe distance out of the cave, David calls to him, holding up the piece from Saul's robe. "I could have killed you!" David called out. "The Lord delivered you into my hands!" Again David affirms his loyalty to Saul (1 Saul 24).
In a similar story David finally will be driven to accept the protection of the Philistines, an alliance David will break when the Philistines again attack the Israelites.
All during this time, Saul is the king, but David is God's anointed.
IV. Lessons Faith Reads From History
Clearly we have been reading through the eyes of a biblical historian and theologian the history of the creation of Israel's first two kings. Such a one believes that the nature and will of God are as important to know as are the facts of history. Incidents of history become parables of life, the legends and the myths of a people's self-understanding. They explain with profound insights our own human nature. How often we have described our sense of loss in power, decisiveness and leadership by saying the "spirit has just gone out of us." The discussion of real events in this way describes our perception of that reality. The discussion of God provides an insight into the reasons the spirit leaves us. Anyone conflicted in purpose, values and loyalties is likely to be just where Saul found himself, caught in the early days of Israel's first experience of a monarchy.
What then may we learn from all of this? Let us carry away from this text five solid truths.
1. God controls the destiny of human history - Whatever else we may say, this story "powerfully attests to the truth that God controls history, a Christian conviction sorely in need of reaffirmation in our day."11 Israel was a theocracy. The biblical historian sees and reports the events of history through the eyes of faith. The question is never simply, "What happened?" It includes always the search for the hand of God in the sweeping events of history. The biblical historian, looking at the decline of Saul's fortunes just as David's are rising, detects that moment of time when Saul's life turns, when the "Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14)." One is reminded of Saint Augustine again: "Without man, God will not. Without God, man can not." As the currents in the history of Israel's early kings swirled, the writer sees the hand of God moving and the purposes of God being fulfilled by the participation of God in the events of his people. God's rule depends, in any existential moment, upon the faithfulness of his people.
2. Almost is not enough - Because God directs the destinies of his people and of history, God expects and demands full obedience from those he sets apart. As we read these stories, it seems that Samuel is unbending and unsympathetic in his demand for full obedience. It appears to be a transition of power from the prophets/judges to a king that refuses to take place. It is as if Samuel wrestles with Saul, demanding to be the real power behind the king. Modern readers must remember that the authority of the throne belonged to God. The spiritual center was not the throne of the king, but rather the office of the prophet - and in later times, the temple priests. Even King David would "transgress" now and gain this clearly-defined limitation of the king's authority and power. Only much later in the times of the Maccabees (2nd century B.C.E.) would the offices of king and priest briefly merge. It was in this need for Israel to remain a theocracy over which God ruled that the distrust of kings arose in the first place.
All the stories of Saul direct our attention toward one central theme - the relationship between kingship and obedience to Yahweh.12 The terms of the appointment of the king require obedience. Even as David is promised the succession of his throne, there is the condition of obedience. "If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies which I shall teach them, their sons also for ever shall sit upon your throne (Psalm 132:12)." It is well to be remembered: God does not need the king. The king needs God!
3. The Lord measures the heart - Samuel is cautioned as he reviews the sons of Jesse that he not be too much impressed by appearances. Perhaps that is a result of the high priority placed upon such criteria where Saul was selected. Perhaps that is because God's choice of David was a surprise to everyone. Others of his brothers might have looked better qualified. However, the advice is not alone to be applied to David.
Consider Saul's conquering of the Amalekites. God has ordered that nothing and no one be spared. Saul does just as he is commanded, except that he allows his soldiers to take booty. He had followed orders ... almost. God expected from his king total obedience. Saul and God had not been of the same mind.
There were hints, now again, that Saul was not wholeheartedly a follower of God, though he had the political acumen to give ear to Samuel. The names of two of Saul's sons included the name of the Canaanite God, Baal (Eshbaal, "Baal Exists," and Meribbaal, "Baal Rewards").13 Though two of the stories reporting Samuel's anger with Saul appear to be less important than Samuel wants to make them, closer study of Saul's career suggests that they may be little more than tips of a big iceberg of trouble in Saul's attitude, loyalty and obedience. In the last analysis, God looks at the heart, Saul's and ours.
This insight appears repeatedly in both the Old and the New Testaments. The towering psalm provides a penetrating meditation: "Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar (Psalm 139:2)." Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees (quoted earlier) proves the point: "The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. But he said to them, 'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God' (Luke 16:14-15)." and again: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like [whitewashed tombs], which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27)."
4. The faithful depend upon God's gifts - Two verses tell it all: "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:13-14)." From this moment, everything went downhill for Saul. Saul was able to accomplish nothing of great merit without God's blessing. Just as God did not need the kings of Israel, but those kings needed God, we must remember that God does not need us. We need God. Jesus once said: " 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible' (Matthew 19:24-26)." From the stories of Adam and Eve, to the journey of Abraham and the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, the bottom line has always been our need for God's gifts. These gifts are given to enrich our lives and to enable us, like the kings, to serve others in God's name.
5. God's call is not reserved for kings, priests and prophets - From those early days, God's covenant was with all of his people. His commandments were directed to the most routine relationships with himself and others. They turn the most "secular" of our moments and relationships into choices of spiritual importance. In our baptism, God has anointed us with the waters of baptism (and in many traditions, also with oil!) and sealed us with the sign of the cross. He has adopted us as his children and set us apart as priests, his representatives in the world. Luther writes: God "calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in one faith."14 Accordingly, all that has been observed about Saul and David belongs also to each of us. Some questions to ponder, appropriate to the season, are before us:
Do we see the hands of God in the history of our lives?
Do we serve God with grateful single-minded obedience?
Do we treasure and serve others with God's gifts?
At our confirmation, we said we would!
End Notes
1. Michael Grant, The History of Ancient Israel, (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984), p. 74. Grant notes: "His (Saul's) reign is said to have lasted for two years though its real duration may have been a great deal longer."
2. Robert J. Marshall and Craig E. Johnson, The Mighty Acts of God, revised and updated by Robert J. Marshall from the 1964 work by the same name, and with additions by Craig E. Johnson, (Minneapolis, Augsburg Fortress, 1990), p. 74.
3. Harry F. Baughman, Preaching from the Propers, (Philadelphia, Muhlenberg Press, 1949), p. 3. Dr. Baughman quotes a favorite "teaching phrase" of the late Professor Raymond T. Stamm, formerly professor of New Testament at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
4. B.C.E. is now the preferred designation for dates previously coded as B.C. It is not preferential to a particular religious tradition. "Before Christ" now becomes "Before the Common Era" or "Before the Contemporary Era."
5. S. Szirsdai, "Anoint," The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, George A. Buttrick, Editor, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1982), p. 139.
6. P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., 1 Samuel, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 8, William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman, General Editors, (Garden City, Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1980), p. 187.
7. Robert J. Marshall and Craig E. Johnson, op. cit., p. 75.
8. Ibid., p. 74.
9. Ibid., p. 75.
10. It is only after the Spirit of God leaves Saul, having been given instead to David, that the Philistines rout the army of Saul at the battle of Mount Gilboa, killing three of Saul's sons, including Jonathon, David's best friend. Mortally wounded himself, Saul falls upon his own sword. The Philistines displayed his head in the temple of Dagon and his armor in the shrine of Ashtoreth. They nailed his body to a wall at Beth Shan.
11. Jack Dean Kingsbury, "Exegesis," Proclamation 2, Lent, Series A, Elizabeth Achtemeier, and Charles F. Price, Editors, (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1980), p. 46.
12. P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., op. cit., p. 229.
13. Grant, op. cit., p. 76.
14. Martin Luther, "The Small Catechism," The Book of Concord, Tranlated by Theodore G. Tappert, (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1959), p. 345.
Though Samuel is deeply grieved over the permanent break with Saul that God has commanded, he nonetheless sets out upon the search for a new king. God has given Samuel explicit and clear instructions. God tells Samuel what, where and whom.
This text and its story throb with human pathos and intrigue. Preacher and reader alike are beckoned first one direction and then another by passages that beg for explanation and exposition. Like sirens they call us.
Samuel's grieving over the break with Saul speaks volumes about the tension within the prophet. Saul was not without his faults, for sure. Yet, he had been the first king and he had accomplished much. He defeated the Amalekites. He engaged battles. As a military leader, he had moments of brilliance.
Saul was a man of conscience. Confronted with his errors, Saul readily - and it seemed sincerely - repented. Yet Saul had been unbending, believing that to be the will of God. Still, Samuel grieved now over Saul. It's a story deserving of a sermon.
Then comes God's counsel to Samuel: "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:8)." Repeatedly the Old Testament writers build upon this text. So too did Jesus. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27)." Again he said: "You are those who justify yourself before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God (Luke 16:14-15)." There's much to be pondered here.
Such texts stand impatiently in wait of a preacher. However, the "central luminous truth"3 of today's text, and, therefore, the issue before us, is the anointing of David as the new king of Israel - even while Saul is yet the king! To fully understand the story of David's anointing, we shall need to understand the circumstances that come before and that follow it.
I. Of Coronations And Of Kings
Coronations, the enthronements of kings, are by their nature noisy things. They are pompous, sometimes ponderous processions bringing together the intercessions of priests, the incantations of prophets (sacred and secular!), and the opportunities for the acclamation of the people of the realm. It was so in biblical times as well. There may have been no cavernous Westminster Abbeys and the floor-shaking majesty of the pipe organs, but there were trumpeters and percussionists, singers and bell ringers, prophets and priests, and the acclamation of the citizens of those ancient days.
It was so on Saul's enthronement day. Rather than setting a crown upon the king's head, Saul was presented as the Lord's anointed in the presence of the people. There had been a procession of prophets and a gathering of all the tribes and clans of the people of Israel. A process of selection (by lots!) had been carried out, and Samuel presented Saul as God's chosen one. The people shouted, "Long live the king (1 Samuel 10:24)."
The anointing of a king was of primary importance. One of the Amarna Letters (from Tell el Amarna), dated in the 14th century B.C.E.,4 attests to the anointing of kings.5 In some cases, and especially in Israel, the ceremony of enthronement is a second step in the elevation of a king. With ceremony appropriate to the occasion, it announces what others have determined already, or in Israel's case, what God already has decided.
Earlier there had been for Samuel and Saul such a moment so quiet and so private that the servants were told to walk ahead, leaving Samuel and Saul alone. In most biblical literature the call to divine office is a "thoroughly private experience, and the call of Saul is no exception."6 Such privacy made clear that the king was first responsible to God, not to politicians.
Therefore, the sources of the king's claim to authority in Israel's ancient rites was not the earthly wealth sampled in the splendor of a crown, but rather in the authority that comes from God. The anointing of the king by the prophet was a clear and profound statement that a king's legitimate authority and power to perform the works of the office were the gifts and the property of God. Kingship is, therefore, a sacred office. The king is God's ruler. He is at once God's vassal and at the same time God's representative to the people. As the anointed one, the "king is the agent through whom the gifts of God - victory and peace, justice and prosperity - flowed to the people."7
How differently these nomads, gradually growing into a nation, looked upon their king. In Egypt, the pharaohs were looked upon as gods. In Mesopotamia, kingships were believed to have been instituted by the gods at the time of creation.8 In Israel, things were different. Kings were always God's servants and representatives. They were called the "hallowed or consecrated one of God," or the "anointed one." The Hebrew word for "anoint" is Messiah. The Hebrew, translated into Greek is Christos. Every king of Israel was the "Messiah of the Lord."9
For these tribal nomads-turned-nation in the promised land, there was an understandable reluctance to give power to one man as a king over all the tribes and their tribal territories. It was a matter of nomadic disposition and of tradition. Gideon had been offered a throne and turned it down. The parable of Jothem, as told in Judges 9, reflects the disdain clearly. Like Samuel, there were those who believed that God should govern his people. Israel was neither a democracy nor a monarchy, but a theocracy. For more than 200 years God has governed his people through the judges in their intertribal structure. Saul would experience no little trouble, as Isarel's first king, in finding the balance between the authority of the prophet and the power of the king. Neither the Philistines nor the need for unity among the tribes would become Saul's undoing.10 In a very short while, it would be the conflict of authority. Saul would be a lame duck, having the crown of the monarchy but not the consent of Israel's God. Saul would live in a terrifying no-man's land.
II. The Secret Selection
So too would David, the young shepherd boy from the fields of Bethlehem know this same conflict. Even before David is anointed as Saul's successor, the tension is evident. What must it be like to be selected as king and be unable to tell anyone - and most especially when there is another who is already the king?
Just so, one understands the apprehensions of Samuel as he sets out upon the journey to Bethlehem and the household of Jesse. "What will happen if Saul finds out?" Samuel asks. "He will kill me." As expected, the elders of Bethlehem approach, trembling. They question Samuel. "Do you come peacefully?" they ask. Answering as God has instructed, Samuel assures them that he comes in peace to offer a sacrifice. He invites them to be blessed and to join him in the sacrifice. He does the same with Jesse and his sons. In so doing Samuel covers his tracks both with the elders and with Jesse and his family.
We must pause to remember that the kingship belongs finally not to the holder, but to God who bestows it. Therefore, God can choose whom he will. It is not the right of the holder. Otherwise, how are we to understand all of this? Were it not for the theocratic stance of Israel's government, this whole exercise has the taste of a coup d'etat, an act of high treason than to a prophet of God. As David is finally anointed, the last of the sons of Jesse to appear before Samuel, it is a secret selection that can be shared with on one, not even Jesse and his other sons. Whereas in Israel such calls from God were usually private, this one is a secret as well - a significant difference! David is anointed "in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:13)," even though there is no evidence that David's family understood what had taken place - nor perhaps, did David himself. To be sure, no one ran to tell Saul!
In a nation formed by the tribal alliances of a once nomadic and independent people, there was no constituted process of transition. Kings arose by the hand of God's blessing and the popularity among the people because of the success the blessing of God brought. In constitutional terms, we have the end of one term of service and the transition time to another. David is the king elect, anointed by God but unknown to the people.
With the fateful and brief words of the theocratic theologian and biblical historian, it is simply said: "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him (1 Samuel 16:13-14a)."
III. The Time Of Transition
Matters appear to be getting worse for Saul and our contemporary readers at the same time. In the verse immediately following today's lesson, a determined vindictiveness of God seems to appear. How are we to understand this? Would it not be enough for the Spirit to leave Saul for David? (Those of us living in an established constitutional process would also wish for a kinder and more oderly transition as well!) Does God now need to torment Saul? On the other hand, since it is God who has determined to depose the king for valid resons of disobedience, how can the blame for the king's troubles and torment be blamed on anyone other than God? The biblical writers' explanation may stumble a bit, but clearly the torment of these coming transition times is from God's hand, even though we may comfort ourselves in remembering that Saul brought it upon himself. Centuries later Jesus would deal with just such realities in a parable that is well known (Matthew 12:43-45). The absence of the one spirit inevitably brings the presence of the other.
No longer gifted with the approval of God as king, things go from bad to worse for Saul. David's new successes cause both jealousy and fear. The praise of the people was no longer for Saul, but for David. "And the women sang to one another as they made merry, 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands' (1 Samuel 18:7)." Saul is suspicious of the shepherd boy and musician who had once lifted him from his depression. Saul becomes paranoid and depressed. Worse still, the same Saul who once routed the Philistines on three different occasions with brilliant and charismatic campaigns will die in a stunning defeat. He no longer has the gift of leadership, and he knows it. So is the torment defined.
For the king elect, there are also problems. David repeatedly demonstrates his loyalty to Saul. One of Saul's three victories over the Philistines was with the help of young David and his slingshot! A musician in the king's court, David claims Jonathon, Saul's son, as his most trusted friend. He marries a daughter of Saul. In the caves at En Gedi, hiding like a fugitive from the paranoid wrath of Saul, David has the opportunity to kill Saul. Unknown to Saul in the darkness of the cave, David cuts off a piece of Saul's robe but he spares his life. Once Saul is at a safe distance out of the cave, David calls to him, holding up the piece from Saul's robe. "I could have killed you!" David called out. "The Lord delivered you into my hands!" Again David affirms his loyalty to Saul (1 Saul 24).
In a similar story David finally will be driven to accept the protection of the Philistines, an alliance David will break when the Philistines again attack the Israelites.
All during this time, Saul is the king, but David is God's anointed.
IV. Lessons Faith Reads From History
Clearly we have been reading through the eyes of a biblical historian and theologian the history of the creation of Israel's first two kings. Such a one believes that the nature and will of God are as important to know as are the facts of history. Incidents of history become parables of life, the legends and the myths of a people's self-understanding. They explain with profound insights our own human nature. How often we have described our sense of loss in power, decisiveness and leadership by saying the "spirit has just gone out of us." The discussion of real events in this way describes our perception of that reality. The discussion of God provides an insight into the reasons the spirit leaves us. Anyone conflicted in purpose, values and loyalties is likely to be just where Saul found himself, caught in the early days of Israel's first experience of a monarchy.
What then may we learn from all of this? Let us carry away from this text five solid truths.
1. God controls the destiny of human history - Whatever else we may say, this story "powerfully attests to the truth that God controls history, a Christian conviction sorely in need of reaffirmation in our day."11 Israel was a theocracy. The biblical historian sees and reports the events of history through the eyes of faith. The question is never simply, "What happened?" It includes always the search for the hand of God in the sweeping events of history. The biblical historian, looking at the decline of Saul's fortunes just as David's are rising, detects that moment of time when Saul's life turns, when the "Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:14)." One is reminded of Saint Augustine again: "Without man, God will not. Without God, man can not." As the currents in the history of Israel's early kings swirled, the writer sees the hand of God moving and the purposes of God being fulfilled by the participation of God in the events of his people. God's rule depends, in any existential moment, upon the faithfulness of his people.
2. Almost is not enough - Because God directs the destinies of his people and of history, God expects and demands full obedience from those he sets apart. As we read these stories, it seems that Samuel is unbending and unsympathetic in his demand for full obedience. It appears to be a transition of power from the prophets/judges to a king that refuses to take place. It is as if Samuel wrestles with Saul, demanding to be the real power behind the king. Modern readers must remember that the authority of the throne belonged to God. The spiritual center was not the throne of the king, but rather the office of the prophet - and in later times, the temple priests. Even King David would "transgress" now and gain this clearly-defined limitation of the king's authority and power. Only much later in the times of the Maccabees (2nd century B.C.E.) would the offices of king and priest briefly merge. It was in this need for Israel to remain a theocracy over which God ruled that the distrust of kings arose in the first place.
All the stories of Saul direct our attention toward one central theme - the relationship between kingship and obedience to Yahweh.12 The terms of the appointment of the king require obedience. Even as David is promised the succession of his throne, there is the condition of obedience. "If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies which I shall teach them, their sons also for ever shall sit upon your throne (Psalm 132:12)." It is well to be remembered: God does not need the king. The king needs God!
3. The Lord measures the heart - Samuel is cautioned as he reviews the sons of Jesse that he not be too much impressed by appearances. Perhaps that is a result of the high priority placed upon such criteria where Saul was selected. Perhaps that is because God's choice of David was a surprise to everyone. Others of his brothers might have looked better qualified. However, the advice is not alone to be applied to David.
Consider Saul's conquering of the Amalekites. God has ordered that nothing and no one be spared. Saul does just as he is commanded, except that he allows his soldiers to take booty. He had followed orders ... almost. God expected from his king total obedience. Saul and God had not been of the same mind.
There were hints, now again, that Saul was not wholeheartedly a follower of God, though he had the political acumen to give ear to Samuel. The names of two of Saul's sons included the name of the Canaanite God, Baal (Eshbaal, "Baal Exists," and Meribbaal, "Baal Rewards").13 Though two of the stories reporting Samuel's anger with Saul appear to be less important than Samuel wants to make them, closer study of Saul's career suggests that they may be little more than tips of a big iceberg of trouble in Saul's attitude, loyalty and obedience. In the last analysis, God looks at the heart, Saul's and ours.
This insight appears repeatedly in both the Old and the New Testaments. The towering psalm provides a penetrating meditation: "Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar (Psalm 139:2)." Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees (quoted earlier) proves the point: "The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all this, and they scoffed at him. But he said to them, 'You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God' (Luke 16:14-15)." and again: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you are like [whitewashed tombs], which outwardly appear beautiful, but within they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness (Matthew 23:27)."
4. The faithful depend upon God's gifts - Two verses tell it all: "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul (1 Samuel 16:13-14)." From this moment, everything went downhill for Saul. Saul was able to accomplish nothing of great merit without God's blessing. Just as God did not need the kings of Israel, but those kings needed God, we must remember that God does not need us. We need God. Jesus once said: " 'It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible' (Matthew 19:24-26)." From the stories of Adam and Eve, to the journey of Abraham and the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness, the bottom line has always been our need for God's gifts. These gifts are given to enrich our lives and to enable us, like the kings, to serve others in God's name.
5. God's call is not reserved for kings, priests and prophets - From those early days, God's covenant was with all of his people. His commandments were directed to the most routine relationships with himself and others. They turn the most "secular" of our moments and relationships into choices of spiritual importance. In our baptism, God has anointed us with the waters of baptism (and in many traditions, also with oil!) and sealed us with the sign of the cross. He has adopted us as his children and set us apart as priests, his representatives in the world. Luther writes: God "calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and preserves it in union with Jesus Christ in one faith."14 Accordingly, all that has been observed about Saul and David belongs also to each of us. Some questions to ponder, appropriate to the season, are before us:
Do we see the hands of God in the history of our lives?
Do we serve God with grateful single-minded obedience?
Do we treasure and serve others with God's gifts?
At our confirmation, we said we would!
End Notes
1. Michael Grant, The History of Ancient Israel, (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984), p. 74. Grant notes: "His (Saul's) reign is said to have lasted for two years though its real duration may have been a great deal longer."
2. Robert J. Marshall and Craig E. Johnson, The Mighty Acts of God, revised and updated by Robert J. Marshall from the 1964 work by the same name, and with additions by Craig E. Johnson, (Minneapolis, Augsburg Fortress, 1990), p. 74.
3. Harry F. Baughman, Preaching from the Propers, (Philadelphia, Muhlenberg Press, 1949), p. 3. Dr. Baughman quotes a favorite "teaching phrase" of the late Professor Raymond T. Stamm, formerly professor of New Testament at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
4. B.C.E. is now the preferred designation for dates previously coded as B.C. It is not preferential to a particular religious tradition. "Before Christ" now becomes "Before the Common Era" or "Before the Contemporary Era."
5. S. Szirsdai, "Anoint," The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, George A. Buttrick, Editor, (Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1982), p. 139.
6. P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., 1 Samuel, The Anchor Bible, Vol. 8, William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman, General Editors, (Garden City, Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1980), p. 187.
7. Robert J. Marshall and Craig E. Johnson, op. cit., p. 75.
8. Ibid., p. 74.
9. Ibid., p. 75.
10. It is only after the Spirit of God leaves Saul, having been given instead to David, that the Philistines rout the army of Saul at the battle of Mount Gilboa, killing three of Saul's sons, including Jonathon, David's best friend. Mortally wounded himself, Saul falls upon his own sword. The Philistines displayed his head in the temple of Dagon and his armor in the shrine of Ashtoreth. They nailed his body to a wall at Beth Shan.
11. Jack Dean Kingsbury, "Exegesis," Proclamation 2, Lent, Series A, Elizabeth Achtemeier, and Charles F. Price, Editors, (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1980), p. 46.
12. P. Kyle McCarter, Jr., op. cit., p. 229.
13. Grant, op. cit., p. 76.
14. Martin Luther, "The Small Catechism," The Book of Concord, Tranlated by Theodore G. Tappert, (Philadelphia, Fortress Press, 1959), p. 345.
