Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 125
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mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made
Saul king of Israel.
Now the Lord said to Samue l, “You have mourned long enough for Saul.
I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go
to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected
one of his sons to be my king.”
But Samuel asked, “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will
kill me.”
“Take a heifer with you,” the Lord replied, “and say that you have come
to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show
you which of his sons to anoint for me.”
So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem,
the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they
asked. “Do you come in peace?”
“Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify
yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed
the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely
this is the Lord’s anointed!”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height,
for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see
them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the
heart.”
Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of
Samuel. But Samue l said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” Next
Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samue l said, “Neither is this the one the
Lord has chosen.” In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented
to Samuel. But Samue l said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of
these.” Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields
watching the sheep and goats.”
“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until
he arrives.”
So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.
And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”
So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of
olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit
of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel
returned to Ramah.