The forgotten son (pt 1)

We can look at people and come to all sorts of conclusions and assumptions because of their outward appearance, social standing, education, attitude or status. This is what Samuel did when he was sent to anoint a new king of Israel. He was sent to Jesse's house, and God had told him one of his sons would be anointed as king. Not just any king - as there was already a king, Saul. But this was God's choice of king.
So when Samuel got to Jesse's house and he met Jesse's eldest son, he was tall and held the most esteemed position as firstborn. His name, Eliab, even means God is Father! Could he be any more qualified? He fits the bill, but we encounter one of the most reassuring verses in the bible in 1 Sam 16 v 7:
Look not at his appearance or the height of his stature.....For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart. 

Do you know Who said this? God! I'm really glad God looks not upon the things people look at, because I would be disqualified for pretty much everything if we were going by man's standard. So although it seems like Eliab has everything going on that would make him fit the bill perfectly, God sees something different. He sees the heart of man and this is going to end up being such a poignant verse because (spoiler alert!) we will find that the king God chooses, David, is described as having a heart for God.

I find the next few verses quite comical, as I see in my mind's eye the scene playing out as Samuel dismisses son after son of Jesse (who parades 7 of his lads before Samuel), and Jesse getting more confused and frustrated as we go down the family line. In my head, Jesse has a huge white beard and he's scratching his head and stroking his beard, getting more and more irate as the rejections from Samuel keep coming. I can imagine Samuel himself wondering if God's got this right - He'd told Samuel His king would be a son of Jesse, but here He was rejecting each one of them. But as the story gets to verse 11, the amusement turns a little to sadness for me. There's a son who is an afterthought, only considered when his father is pressed on the matter of whether he has more kids. He does - he's a young lad, out in the fields tending sheep alone. Forgotten and overlooked by his own, but not by God. David, unqualified, unheard of, not honoured to be called along with his brothers by his father - but divinely called to greatness. David, the Giant Slayer.

His years in obscurity weren't wasted however. This boy has a boldness of spirit, and a servant's heart. He has been faithfully looking after the flock in his care, and doing it with zeal. You see whilst his brothers were all training for battle, taking up positions of esteem and honour, he's unknowingly been preparing all those years in the field for his destiny. His seemingly lowly position of shepherd boy was actually a practising ground and preparation for his future, and the paths that God would lead him in. As a quick background, Samuel anointed David as king at the great parade of Jesse's kids scene, but the position of king was still Saul's for now. David was sent to Saul, became his armour-bearer and was favoured by the king. God's people had a bit of a problem with some their neighbours, called the Philistines who were opposed to Israel, and they had in their army a giant (not a tall man, we're not dealing with hyperbole here or some exaggerated folklore. We're talking 10ft deformed (in many cases), violent and not so nice beings, or nephilim, or giants. I'm not going into this matter here, but see Genesis 6 for the origins of these beings. The giant in the Philistine camp was 10ft tall). 

All of Israel were understandably terrified of this soldier - his armoured coat alone weighed 12 stone! Anyway, the giant, called Goliath, was taunting the Israelites and said they'd surrender and be their servants if anyone could take him on. David heard of this and wanted to take him on. So, King Saul challenged David on this ridiculous request of a young, untrained lad to take on a 10ft killing machine. Let's see what David says - 1 Sam 17 v 34-36

But David said to Saul, “Your servant was tending his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock,  I went out after it and attacked it and rescued the lamb from its mouth; and when it rose up against me, I seized it by its whiskers and struck and killed it.  Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted and defied the armies of the living God.”

Now that's fighting talk. But see how his seemingly lowly position on the hills has actually been his practise run for this very moment. The boy's been fighting bears and lions! He's a young kid, yet he's been fighting wild savage animals, and he's still around to tell the tale.
Not only that, he's been fighting them to protect a flock of sheep!! Not to save a person's life, but just for some daft sheep. If you're not seeing a parallel with Jesus, and His love for His sheep, take a moment and consider the picture here that God's painted for you. He's showing us His love for His sheep is worth seizing a lion or bear by its whiskers for. He'd go to any lengths to protect His beloved flock. For anyone who thinks the bible doesn't display God's love, I just want to encourage you that it does, and it's full of beautiful pictures of His love for us. He is the Great Shepherd Who leads His flock by the still and restful waters, protecting us with his rod and guiding us with His staff (Ps 23). 

The brothers of David were more qualified and equipped that him; they were soldiers, trained, prepared for battle, held the position of being further up the ranks in their career and family status but the world's ways can not prepare us for greatness the way that God does.

Maybe you're on your own 'hillside', doing your own seemingly lowly job, fighting all sorts of battles, getting no thanks or recognition and wondering what the heck life's all about. Maybe you see people every which way around you more qualified, better looking, taller, smarter, richer, more popular....

If we can learn one thing from David, it's to do what we're doing with all our heart as if we're doing it for the Lord. It's to act with integrity even if we feel overlooked and forgotten, as God may just be preparing us for greatness right where we are, doing the ordinary, the mundane, the jobs no one wants to do. But the lessons we learn on the hillside are the lessons that we'll use to step into God's plans for us.