Samuel and the King

I Samuel 1, 16

As we saw yesterday, the Lord said to Sarah "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" With in the year, 90 year old Sarah miraculously had a son. Many years later there was a woman named Hannah who longed to have a son. She went with her husband to Shiloh for a sacrificial meal. During the meal, she got up to pray. She was in deep anguish and was crying bitterly. She made this vow to the Lord: "Oh Lord... if you will look upon my sorrow and answer my prayer and give me a son, then I will give him back to you. He will be yours for his entire lifetime..." I Samuel 1:9-12 NLT  The priest Eli was watching her and assumed she was drunk  But Hannah told him how she was praying out of great sorrow. Eli said to her..."May the God of Israel grant the request you have asked of Him." vs 17 The Lord remembered Hannah and when they got back to their home, she got pregnant with a son and named him Samuel. When the little boy was weaned she took him back to Shiloh and gave him to the Lord. He would belong to the Lord for his whole life.

Little Samuel grew up to be a mighty prophet of God. During the time he was born, messages from God were rare. Samuel began hearing from the Lord even as a young child. (I Samuel 3). When Samuel grew up the people of Israel decided they wanted a king. He tried to persuade them not have a king, by telling them all the ways a king would control them, but they wanted a king like the other nations. Samuel told the Lord what the people had said and the Lord replied, "Do as they say, and give them a king." Samuel found a king for them named Saul and anointed him as the king of Israel.

As time went on Saul disobeyed God and eventually God rejected him as king and directed Samuel to go to Bethlehem to "Find a man named Jesse... I have selected one of his sons to be my king." (I Samuel 16: 1) Samuel looked at Jesse's son Eliab and thought "Surely this is the Lord's anointed! But the Lord said "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." vs 7  One by one he met with Jesse's other sons, but the Lord had not chosen any of them., so "Samuel asked 'Are these all the sons you have?' Jesse replied ,'there still is the youngest, but he's out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.' ...Jesse sent for him. "He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, 'This is the one; anoint him.' ...Samuel took the flask of olive oil... and anointed David... And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on." vs 10-13

Probably most of you have heard about David. He is the shepherd boy who killed the giant named Goliath. He would one day be the beloved king of Israel. Through David, God promises a greater king, the promised king who will one day be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Check in tomorrow to hear more about David. All of these Old Testament stories we are looking at point to the hope of the promised child we saw prophesied on our first Advent Devotion: A Great Light will Shine