20261014 1 Samuel 16 Wednesday Bible Study Dave Dickmann

God's choice of David and I guess his rejection

of Saul and then the immediate effect of the

spirits rushing on David what effect that had

on what happened so we'll have to I guess the

the questions that we'll want to have answered

is what What does it mean when the spirit rushes

on David? What does it mean when the spirit leaves

Saul? What is the evil spirit that comes upon

Saul? Those are, I think, the questions that

will arise from the reading of the chapter. But

the big picture, remember, is that we've known

that... or that there would be a king in Israel

since the beginning of Samuel in Hannah's song.

God is working to establish a king in Israel.

Saul was not his choice. He was the people's

choice. And so David is God's choice, and it's

through David that he's going to work. We're

going to see, I really don't understand exactly

how this chapter fits into the bigger storyline.

There are things in here like Samuel is concerned

that if he goes down to Bethlehem to see Jesse's

family that Saul will get wind of it and there'll

be a problem. So it's not exactly chronological

in the narrative. So I'm not, you know, it almost

seems like this is kind of a synopsis of everything

that's going on. And an introduction then to

the way that God's going to work to bring David

to the throne. So we don't need to get into all

those types of questions, but if in your reading

now or at any time in the future. The chapter

doesn't claim to be, the book doesn't claim to

be a narrative chronological history of Israel

in the time of Samuel. That doesn't affect at

all whether or not it's an accurate portrayal

and revelation of what was going on. When you

do, if you do, and you probably will come across

that in other places if you notice it, then the

question that should come to mind is why? Why

is it that the writer here has given us instances

out of chronological order? And the obvious answer

is because he's not as interested in chronology

and a timeline as he is in emphasizing something

in this chapter. And the thing that's being emphasized

in this chapter, then, is the sovereignty of

God in choosing David. Choosing him, bringing

him. preparing him to be king in Israel. That's

the author's primary concern, and so that's the

thing that ought to hold our attention. All right,

then let's begin our reading. Verse 1, And the

Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn

for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning

over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil, and go.

I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For

I have provided me a king among his sons. And

Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hear it, he

will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer

with thee and say, I am come to sacrifice to

the Lord. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and

I will show thee what thou shalt do. And thou

shalt anoint me him whom I name unto thee. Immediately

then we see that Samuel has been mourning and

that God says, I have in the King James provided.

I think the word provided is not so much a translation

as it is to explain what's going on there. You

may have seen, you have selected. Nobody has

seen then in their Bible translation? Okay, so,

and that really is the literal translation. I

have seen me a king among his sons, among the

sons of Jesse. And that word seen, you'll notice

as we read through here, that it comes up again

and again, the seen. God doesn't see the way

men do. Men see things, Paul sees, or Saul sees

things. The seeing, what is the truth that's

being relayed to us there? What does God mean

when he says he has seen or he has provided me

a king? Okay, so this isn't just happenstance.

This isn't as though God has looked out searching

for a king somewhere. Is there somebody who's

ready to be king? Is there someone who by nature

is the king that Israel needs? And the answer

would be no. That's not the way that God operates.

God has prepared David. He created David. He

has David where he is now, and he intends to

bring David to the throne. He's a man of choosing.

Where is it? Later on he says, in verse 7, The

Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh

on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh

on the heart. But there's nothing here that God

says, I found a strong man, a man of strong will,

a man who is by nature going to be a good leader.

There's none of that in there. The narrative

passage here doesn't really say even what it

is about his heart. God looks on the heart. God

looks on the inner man. But it doesn't in any

way want to give us the impression that, There

was something in David that God saw that made

him choose David to be king. Earlier on, remember

when Saul was rejected, God said that he was

going to bring a king. Well, let's just read

it. I'm going to misquote it. Chapter 13, verse

14. But now thy kingdom shall not continue. The

Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart.

The Lord hath commanded him to be captain over

his people. because thou hast not kept that which

the Lord commanded thee. So there's a little

bit of indication there, but again, it's not

exactly what is the heart, except that it's a

heart after God. So in this chapter, in God's

declaring David is going to be my man, we should

get the impression and be certain that it's not

by anything in David. Just like it's nothing

in me that would cause God to choose me. God

prepared and chose David because God is God.

And he was the man that God intended to use to

bring about his purposes. So that's a principle

that will apply throughout the Bible and throughout

your life. Any questions there? We could just

also take a real quick lesson on this morning.

We're not told why Samuel was mourning, but apparently

his mourning was not... displeasing to the Lord

so in some kind of way he was saddened and mourning

over the whole state of affairs that were going

on there and that was acceptable or okay until

God had a purpose and instruction and something

for Samuel to do and when that happened he was

told to go and to do it so just A general principle,

in our mourning, Jesus says, Blessed are those

who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Obviously,

that's not a blanket statement that a person

that's mourning over the loss of an opportunity

to sin is going to receive some kind of comfort

or encouragement from the Lord. That would be

ridiculous. But someone who is mourning over

sin or over the effects of sin, Properly with

what? With an eye towards God. A heart that knows

that it is God that's in control. And so when

God comes to Samuel, the time for mourning is

over. But even in the mourning, his eyes must

have been to the Lord who was working out his

purposes. So it's fine to mourn. It's never fine

to mourn outside the context of who's in control.

What is God doing? So maybe that in some kind

of way. Will help us in our mourning. That's

honoring to the Lord. To trust in him. To trust

in his way. Okay. Where are we at? We're in verse

4. So God tells him to go to Bethlehem. And Samuel

did that which the Lord spake. And came to Bethlehem.

Immediately. It's always an encouragement to

us. You notice that. God says go. And Samuel

goes. It's not anything like. Saul's relationship

with the Lord. Hopefully it's nothing, hopefully

it's exactly like the ideal that we have in our

mind of what we do when we hear the voice of

the Lord. We obey immediately. Samuel did that

which the Lord spake and came to Bethlehem and

the elders of the town trembled at his coming

and said, comest thou peaceably? Now again, we're

not told why. This was like, you know. So Samuel,

we know he traveled around and it wasn't that

far away from Ramah where he lived. And he's

going into the town and everybody gets scared.

So again, we don't know if that's because Saul

knew about David. And so if they were thinking,

oh, what's going on here now? You know, we don't

know that. All we know is that he came into the

town and he talked to these elders. And I think

the reason that this is in here is because Who

was conspicuously absent from the elders? Now,

who are the elders? Not by name, but in general,

what are the elders? Well, those are the prominent

people in the city, the people with authority,

the people with influence, the people who matter,

is the way the world would claim it. And Jesse's

not there. Okay, verse 5, and he said, He answers

him, comest thou peacefully? And Samuel says,

peaceably. I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord.

Sanctify. Does everybody have sanctify? Consecrate.

Okay. Consecrate yourselves and come with me

to the sacrifice. So what's the instruction then

here to the elders? What does it mean to consecrate?

Consecrate. Consecrate yourselves and come with

me to the sacrifice. Anybody know? Nobody knows?

Chris, you had no idea. Okay, very good. Brave

young man. Okay, so under the old covenant economy,

you didn't just walk out of the field and then

walk to a sacrifice. That's not the way it worked.

Anybody know why it doesn't work that way? Now

in our day, is that the way? Can we worship the

Lord straight from the field and into a place

of worship? It's kind of a trick question. Yes,

we can, but what? Even our work in the field

is described by the New Testament writers as

what? Worship, right, and sacrifice. The entirety

of our lives is, or should be, dedicated to the

service of the Lord, which is a reasonable act

of worship. But in the Old Testament, where we

have types and shadows of what's going on, you

don't just walk into the presence of God with

any kind of, uncleanness. And so what Samuel

was instructing them was either they were ready

for sacrifice, and he's saying stay that way,

or he's saying go do whatever ritual washings

you need to do. We're going to sacrifice to the

Lord. Now that's good news for you and for me

in the New Covenant era. Because God calls us

to worship. And so what does that mean? We must

be what? Okay, I'm thinking of a word that starts

with W. The second letter is A, washed. And how

have we been washed? In the blood of Jesus. It's

the blood of Jesus that makes us ready and prepared

to worship the Lord. So you can rejoice in that.

What's gone on in the past, or what's gone on

in the recent past, or what you are currently...

Doing does not affect whether or not you have

been washed by the Son. In your recent past,

it may require confession of sin. It may require

that, but you are in your standing, washed and

clean and ready. You must be because who dwells

within you? The Holy Spirit? Just the Holy Spirit?

Well, Jesus said what? The Father and I will

commune with you, right? Indwelt by the Holy

Spirit. So in the presence of the triune God,

we are clean. We must be. Okay. That's just an

aside. It's a little bonus. Now this next word

is in the last part of verse 5. I have sanctified.

Does everyone have sanctified? And he sanctified

Jesse. Everybody has sanctified. You have consecrated

there too. I believe that's a different word.

And let's just read it first. And he sanctified

Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.

So what's the meaning there? And then we're going

to start reading. Then we're going to start reading

the narrative of the selection of David. So I

think the best explanation for that is that the

sanctifying, the setting aside that Samuel is

going to do to Jesse and to his family. is going

to be described to us in what goes on. So he's

been set aside, Jesse and his family, for some

special purpose, and it's that thing that Samuel's

doing. That seems to make sense to me. There

was no cleansing or consecration that needed

or that could be done by Samuel to them. So let's

understand it that way. What does it mean that

he sanctified Jesse and his sons? Well, let's

read it and find out. And it came to pass when

they were come, so he's called him, that he looked

on Eliab and said, surely the Lord's anointed

is before him. So what does that tell us? Well,

did Samuel hear from the Lord? This is my guy?

Is that in the narrative? He must have looked

pretty good. There was something about Eliab

that Samuel said, no. Here's the next king. So

not only did all of Israel not know the ways

of the Lord, even Samuel was confused. And he

thought that the Lord's choice was going to be

someone who outwardly appeared ready to be king.

And what? Eliab was the which son? He's the eldest

son. So naturally, in our thinking, or especially

in... The ancient world is thinking what? This

first son holds prominence. And in the Dickman

family. I'm just kidding. The first son, right,

he's the one that gets the inheritance. He's

the one that gets everything. Now, is there anything

in Israel's past history that would lead us to

believe that that may not be the case? And it

is certainly not the case always. Okay, give

us an example. Just a name. Joseph. Joseph, very

good. Another one, anybody? Jacob. There's bound

to be more. Who else? True. Ishmael is his first.

Okay, so we have three names there already. So

Samuel might have been, if he was paying attention

more closely, he might have suspected that the

Lord's anointed may not necessarily be the firstborn.

But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his

countenance, or on the height of his stature,

because I have refused him, or rejected him.

For the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man

looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord

looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab,

and made him pass before Samuel, and he said,

Neither hath the Lord chosen this. Then Jesse

made Shammah to pass by, and he said, Neither

hath the Lord chosen this. Again, Jesse made

seven of his sons to pass before Samuel, and

Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen

these. So Samuel was at least a quick learner.

He didn't hear from the Lord when Eliab passed

by, and that was the end of his trying to guess

which one would be the Lord's anointed. He just

then waited. and trusted that the Lord was going

to let him know. And Samuel said unto Jesse,

Are these all thy children? And he said, There

remaineth yet the youngest, and behold, he keepeth

a sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and

fetch him, for we will not sit down till he come

hither. And he sent and brought him. Now he was

ruddy and withal of a beautiful countenance,

and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise,

anoint him, for this is he. So it doesn't mean

that the Lord only chooses ugly people. But the

outward appearance of David had nothing to do

with why the Lord chose him. But when he did,

the word came immediately to Samuel, this is

he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed

him in the midst of his brethren. And the Spirit

of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

So Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. So apparently

after that, he anoints him. Samuel rises up.

I suppose that he must have rose up to go and

to do the sacrifice. And then when he was finished

with the sacrifice, then he went back to his

home. So we have this phrase in here that the

spirit of the Lord came upon David. continuing

from that day forward. Hopefully you remember

this is, there's only Saul, David, and Samson,

where this phrase is used about how the spirit

comes upon a man. In these cases, he rushes upon

him. Now in the case of Samson, immediately he

killed the lion. In the case of Saul, he prophesied.

He was supposed to go and make war with the Philistines.

He did that eventually. In the case of David,

the Spirit rushes upon him, and what's the immediate

result? We don't see too much, do we? Whether

David was aware that the Spirit had rushed upon

him, it seems likely that he did, but there was

no command given to him by Samuel. And so then

no command from the Lord for anything for him

to do except to be. And so then the question

is, now, when the Spirit rushed upon these three

men, or when the Spirit came upon other people

in the Old Testament, it was, what was, how would

you, or how are we supposed to understand the

work of the Spirit? In the Old Testament. And

on these men. Well and even in the New Testament.

What's the spirit doing? Okay. So always. If

anything is going to be accomplished. For the

Lord. And according to his purpose. Through the

means of men. Where does the power come from?

It comes from God. It comes from the spirit.

So that should be encouraging to us. That whatever

the Lord has called us to do. He's going to give

us. the equipping to do that he's going to have

the spirit in faith we wage war right in faith

we do everything that we do because we know that

apart from faith if it's just in us then we're

going to fail and god never uses the arm of the

flesh to accomplish his purpose it's always the

spirit in the man that accomplishes god's work

okay so that's one thing power The power of God

within the person. What else? Think bigger picture.

Well, let's think to Jesus. Remember, he was

baptized. The Spirit came upon him in greater

measure than anyone else. And then what did he

do? He went into the wilderness and then he continued

what? In his earthly ministry, right? And he

came, I think it was our Hebrew study where you

emphasize the preparation. Am I right? prepared

for the sacrifice. Jesus came prepared to the

cross by the work of the Spirit. So God was what?

He was working out and accomplishing his plan

in his Son by the Holy Spirit. So it's the same

thing here that when the Spirit rushes upon Samson,

when the Spirit comes upon a man, it's why? Because

God is going to use the Spirit to accomplish

his purposes and in the case of David what is

the purpose or purposes what's God accomplishing

what's the first thing he's going to accomplish

those are all things that happen and all those

things happen so that what can happen okay so

we're to understand then that everything that

happens to David from here on out until he becomes

king is the work of God By providence or by miracle

or by anything else in order to bring David to

the throne. He's God's anointed. He's God's choice

for king. He's got to become king. So the spirit

works in that way. So it's not, again, happenstance.

It's not coincidence. It's not just the way things

happen. It's God at work in his creation to bring

David to the throne. And then what? So now David's

on the throne. And the Spirit continues with

him. What happens? What's the next thing that

God's going to accomplish? Okay, but those are

all, everything, every individual thing that

David does results in something. What is that

result? What does he prove to, he proves to Israel

or he, yeah, so throughout the course of his

kingship then. He's faithful to the Lord. He's

a man after God's own heart. He never goes after

the Baals. He makes all kinds of mistakes. He

sins. But he never turns his back on the Lord.

I read somebody, Psalm 51, take not thy Holy

Spirit from me. He probably had in mind that

when the Spirit left Saul, the replacement was

not good for Saul. David didn't want the Spirit

leaving him and then having that same result

for him. But, So David did all kinds of things

wrong. But in the end, what? God established

a dynasty in David, right? There would never

fail to be a son of David on the throne. So God

the Holy Spirit then worked in such a way that

David was faithful to the Lord throughout that

so that God could establish this dynasty in him.

And who was the ultimate then son of David? Who

sits upon the throne? Jesus. So Messiah, Jesus,

would come into the world and rule and conquer

and then sit down forever at the right hand of

the Father with all authority given to him. He

is David's greater son. So that was the importance

of David in God's purposes and plan. He was a

means. He wasn't. It wasn't because he was particularly

special. It wasn't because he was good looking.

God said, I'm going to bring my son into the

world in the line of David. And if that's going

to happen, David is going to have to become king.

David is going to have to remain faithful. And

then his son is eventually going to be Jesus

who will save his people from their sins. So

the spirit works to accomplish God's purposes

always. And you have to read the narrative to

see what is God's purposes. It's not always spelled

out explicitly to us. But that's why the Spirit

comes upon. Remember, in the beginning, God created

the heavens and the earth. And what? Then the

Spirit comes and hovers upon the waters. God's

purpose is to bring into existence a world into

which He can send His Son. Who can and will save

his people from their sins? Alright, that's the

rushing of the Spirit. Any questions there in

these first 13 verses? Well, I said that we don't

really know why it is that Samuel thought his

life might be in danger. It doesn't really make

sense chronologically. David's this unknown and

Jesse's this... unimportant family that lives

in a small town, the small town of Bethlehem,

why would Saul care if he goes down there? So

we did say that. And we said in verse 3 that

the Lord had a command for Samuel that he was

supposed to go down to Bethlehem. Now, the anointing

there, it doesn't say that David was anointed

king, does it? So, David, there's three anointings

of David. One's here. Once he gets anointed by

the elders, I think it's the elders, and then

he gets anointed by all of Israel. Or no, he

gets anointed by the elders of Judah to be king

of Judah. And then he gets anointed by all of

Israel to be king of Israel. And that's when

he ascends to the throne and officially becomes

the king of Israel. In God's mind, And I think

in the writer's mind, Saul's not king anymore.

God's rejected him. So he's acting king, but

he's no longer God's anointed, which I guess

we're going to read here in verse 14. Chris,

that's an answer to your question. Did you have

something specific in those two verses that you

wanted me to address? Oh, when he asked? It doesn't

seem to me that it's expressing any kind of fear.

It's just... Asking the Lord. How this is going

to work out. And then. The Lord gives him his

answer. And he goes. I didn't read it as a negative

comment on Samuel. Or hesitancy to go. Verse

14. But the spirit of the Lord departed from

Saul. And an evil spirit from the Lord troubled

him. And Saul's servant said unto him. Behold

now. An evil spirit from God troubleth thee.

And the last verse. Verse 23, it says, And it

came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was

upon Saul, that David took an harp and played

with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was

well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

So, is it only possible for the Holy Spirit to

inhabit one person? Is it only possible for one

person to be indwelled by the Spirit? Is that

why he had to leave Saul to go to David? Come

on. Come on. Ben? No. Okay, very good. We better

hope that's not the case. So then, if the Spirit

then is rushing upon David to accomplish his

purpose, what does that tell us about the Spirit

leaving Saul? Saul was no longer being used as

a means to accomplish God's purposes. David was

the focus of God's work. Comments, questions?

It's not to say that Saul was suddenly outside

of God's sovereignty any more than anything else

is outside the sovereignty of God. Okay, then

we have this evil spirit. Does everybody have

evil spirit in their translations? Okay. Distressing.

Okay, so in the King James where it says evil,

that evil would be what? What part of speech?

Adjective. So it's a word describing what kind

of spirit. I am a tall man. That's describing

the height of a person. It's an adjective. When

you have distressing, a distressing spirit, that's

not an adjective at all, is it? That's saying

that the function of the spirit or the result

of the work of the spirit upon the person is

what? Distressing. You understand the difference?

Yes. Okay. So an adjective describes the state

of something, right? What something is. I'm not

even sure what the distressing spirit, I'm not

sure what part of speech that would be. I didn't

do that part of the homework. But that is describing

the result of the spirit upon the person. So

the consequence of this spirit on Saul was that

he was distressed or grieved. It was a bad thing,

an evil thing. I'm not saying that that is going

to give us all the answers or if that's going

to answer the question of whether or not exactly

what the spirit was. My personal belief is that

it was a demon. Does anybody have a difference

of opinion on that? Is that what you think? Sure.

Okay. I only believe there's two types of spirits.

Angels and demons. Very good. Also, what else

could it be? Well, if the result, it just depends

on what you think the distressing was, I suppose.

It doesn't say that the spirit was, I mean, we

talked about loneliness at Turkey Hill, right?

That would be distressing. That would be, and

yet that's a chasing of the Lord, right? And

we're told that this was from the Lord. So, it's

at least conceivable that an angel could have,

under God's authority, done some kind of work

that resulted in Saul's change of demeanor, I

guess is what we'd say. Could it be an evil angel?

Well, that would be a demon, then, point blank.

But it's from the Lord? It's from the Lord. So,

okay, so then that's our next question. What

does that mean? Two basic questions. That's right.

Holy and wicked. Sure. Could be. Sure. Yeah.

That's right. Yeah, that's what I think. principalities,

powers, spirits of wickedness in high places.

There's at least three. So in what way, then,

this is from God? And that's really the crux

of the issue. That's really where the question

would come into play. So somebody explain that

to me. Okay, God has all authority, and even

the wicked spirits, principalities, powers, even

the devil himself, Answer to God. And can only

do. Whatever it is that God allows. And God only

allows. What will accomplish his purpose. So

unwittingly. This spirit. Who I believe is a

demon. I don't know which one. What his ranking

was. But unwittingly or unknowingly. He was accomplishing

God's purpose. Of ultimately. Bringing his son

into the world. And crushing. the head of the

devil himself, according to the prophecy of God

back in Genesis. So this evil spirit was sent

by God in the sense that God allowed him to trouble

Saul in some kind of way. And that troubling

did what? Well, let's read and see. Are we all

in agreement there? Is that enough said there?

We could say what it's not. Does that make Saul

not responsible for what he does when the spirit

troubles him? Does he get a free pass? The devil

made me do it. So he does it. He's always in

the narrative. He's portrayed as responsible.

It's his choice in what he does. So if he hurls

a javelin at David, it's because he chose to

do that. It wasn't that the spirit overcame him.

And forced him against his will to do that. So

the passage isn't saying that God sent this particular

demon to trouble Saul. That's not what you're

saying. Yes. It's under God's control. I don't

know. It's like in the Amos. Does a bridge fall?

I think it's a bridge. Does a bridge fall in

Israel? People die and it's not from the Lord.

So, I mean, ultimately, everything traces its

being or its... There's nothing outside of God's

control. So in Job, when the spirits come and

they say, we want to do this, God allows it,

sends them. What do you think is being portrayed

there? So God called him from somewhere and said,

go to Saul. That's not, I mean, I didn't look

it up. That's just my, what I get out of the

reading. Yeah, I think when we talk about the

attributes of God, I think we said, I mean, there's

no, I don't have a problem with you stating it

that way at all. You're essentially saying the

same thing no matter what you say. Nothing happens

except God makes it happen. So God made happiness.

He's not, but he's not responsible for sin at

all. If the devil could make you sin and God

sent the devil to trouble you, or the demon,

to trouble you, then it would be God that would

be responsible for what you did. And we know

that that cannot be the case. So yeah, that's

fine. We're not trying to shield God. Not disagreeing

with that. I mean, Saul... Saul didn't need a

demon to be rebellious against God, did he? But

he did need a demon to disturb him in some kind

of way. To make necessary David coming to him,

right? That's why the demon was sent. Saul's

servants. You notice in all these stories about

Saul, it's always everybody around Saul that

is aware of what's going on. And it's never Saul

himself. So the spirit departs from Saul. Now

certainly, and then it's replaced by this evil

spirit. It's hard for me to believe that Saul

was unaware. Maybe he was, that the Holy Spirit

had left him, and now the spirit that was moving

him was causing him great distress. But his servants

notice it right away. His servants say to him

in verse 15, Behold now an evil spirit from God

troubleth thee. And then they go on, Let our

Lord now command thy servants which are before

thee to seek out a man who is a cunning player

on the harp. And it shall come to pass when the

evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall

play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And

Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a

man that can play well, and bring him to me.

Okay, so now again, he doesn't argue with the

servants who say it's a demon that's troubling

him. Now, what would the normal response of any

person, Christian, not Christian, who believed

in the existence of spiritual beings? What would

be the response there? Somebody find me some

kind of solution to this problem that I'm having.

Right? Saul had to know what the solution was.

He'd been confronted by Samuel with the sin of

rebellion and disobedience to God. You would

think that Saul would have immediately said,

let me prostrate myself before the Lord in repentance

and plead for mercy and grace. But he doesn't.

All of his solution is from the exterior, the

external. Just I'm going to find me somebody

that can play it heart really well so I can be

comforted in my distressing. So again, it's a

real simple lesson for us and it's a legitimate

lesson. When trouble comes in our life, we don't

look to the world or to the flesh for the solving

of that problem. That's only going to make things

worse. It's only going to prolong. The discomfort,

the distressing. Saul dealt with it for the rest

of his life until the Lord took him. So quickly

we want to turn to the Lord. Quickly we want

to seek his solution. Quickly we want to ask,

Lord, what's the problem here? What is this?

Why am I in this circumstance? And what is it

that I am to seek from Jesus for my relief? Saul

looks for somebody to play on the harp. But that's

how God worked to bring David into the... Throne

room of Saul. Verse 18. Then answered one of

the servants and said. Behold I have seen a son

of Jesse. The Bethlehemite. That is cunning and

playing. And a mighty valiant man. And a man

of war. Now again. Now you notice. That this

can't just be a chronological. Happening of what

has been going on. A mighty and a valiant man.

A man of war. And prudent in matters. And a comely

person. And the Lord is with him. Now, if David

was going to be king in Israel, what was going

to have to happen? What had to happen was Saul.

He had to meet the approval of all the people.

And so the Spirit working on David is already

accomplishing that, where David has come into

even Saul's liking. But his servants and the

people, he's got this reputation. He's being

known of the people. The Spirit is working to

bring David into a place where... He can be anointed

and accepted as king in Israel. Verse 19, Wherefore

Saul sent messengers unto Jesse and said, Send

me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And

Jesse took an ass laden with bread and a bottle

of wine and a kid and sent them by David his

son unto Saul. And David came to Saul and stood

before him and he loved him greatly. And he became

his armor bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying,

Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for

he hath found favor in my sight. And it came

to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon

Saul, that David took an harp and played with

his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well,

and the evil spirit departed from him. Yeah.

So the Holy Spirit is working, and now we're

going to, in the rest of this, in the rest of

1 Samuel, we're going to see how the Spirit continues

to work, cause things to happen. Bring events

that will bring David into favor with the people

and will demonstrate his heart to us before the

Lord. Any questions? We're done. It seems like

the spirit went away kind of easily. From Saul?

Easily? Oh, the evil spirit. Yeah. Yeah, that

was in the providence of God. God sent him away,

and then he came back. Okay?