BIBLE STUDY LESSON 17
DAVID TO BE KING
THE DAY GOD CHOSE A KING
From 1 Samuel 16
“As the days passed by, Samuel continued to mourn for Saul, grieving because God had rejected him as king. At last the Lord spoke to Samuel. ‘It’s time to stop mourning for Saul,’ He said. ‘I have already rejected him as king, so your mourning will not save him. Fill your anointing horn with olive oil and visit Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons as Israel’s next king.’ ‘How can I anoint someone else?’ Samuel asked. ‘Saul would kill me if he hears what I have done.’ ‘Go to Bethlehem to offer a sacrifice to Me,’ the Lord said. ‘Take a heifer with you and tell the people you have come to offer her to the Lord. Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and when I tell you whom to anoint, anoint him!’ Samuel followed the Lord’s orders and went to Bethlehem. When he arrived, the city elders hurried out to meet him. ‘Is something wrong?’ they asked. ‘Have you come to punish us for something?’ ‘No, I have come to offer a sacrifice to the Lord,’ Samuel answered.
‘Prepare yourselves with the purification rites and come with me.’ Samuel also prepared Jesse and his sons with the purification rites and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel was impressed with Eliab, the oldest son. ‘He must be the one!’ Samuel thought. ‘No, he is not the one,’ the Lord said. ‘You must not think he would make a good king because he is tall or handsome. I have not chosen him. Men judge by the way another looks, but I see deep into his heart.’ When Jesse sent Abinadab to see Samuel, the Lord rejected him also. Shammah came next, but the Lord said, ‘I have not chosen him either.’ One by one seven of Jesse’s sons appeared before Samuel. ‘The Lord has not chosen any of them,’ said Samuel. ‘Do you have others?’ ‘Yes, my youngest son is taking care of my sheep,’ Jesse answered. ‘Send someone for him!’ Samuel ordered. ‘We will not start to eat until he comes.’ Before long the boy arrived. He was a handsome fellow, with bright eyes and a ruddy face. His name was David. ‘Anoint him!’ the Lord said. ‘He is the one I have chosen.’ While all of the brothers watched, Samuel anointed young David.
The Spirit of the Lord came upon David in a mighty way and remained with him from then on. Then Samuel returned home to Ramah. About this time, the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and the Lord sent another spirit to torment him. Saul’s servants recognized the problem and suggested a solution. ‘By royal command, we will find a man who plays the harp well,’ they said. ‘He will play for you whenever the evil spirit torments you and perhaps this will cure you.’ ‘Find him and bring him to me!’ Saul commanded. One of the servants already had someone in mind. ‘Jesse of Bethlehem has a son who plays the harp well,’ he said. ‘He is also a brave, handsome and intelligent young man and the Lord is with him.’ Saul immediately sent messengers to talk with Jesse about his son. ‘Send your son David the shepherd to play for me,’ the king asked. Jesse was so pleased to help the king that he sent a gift with David, a donkey burdened with bread and wine and a young goat. Thus, David entered the king’s service. Saul was so fond of him that he made him his personal armour bearer. ‘Let David stay with me, for I admire him and love him greatly,’ Saul wrote to Jesse. Whenever the evil spirit troubled Saul, David played the harp, for his music soothed Saul and drove the evil spirit away.”
COMMENTARY
HARPS AND LYRES IN BIBLE TIMES
David was the youngest in his family. He played beautifully on musical instruments. He cared for the family sheep. Yet God chose this young shepherd boy as Israel’s next king and commanded Samuel to anoint him. “Men judge by the way another looks, but I see deep into his heart,” God told Samuel. Some of the oldest lyres ever discovered were designed in Sumeria around 3000 B.C., probably for the use of royal musicians. They were richly decorated and made of gold, silver and copper. At the front of each was a carefully wrought head of one of three animals. The stag, cow or bull may have indicated the range each lyre played; the equivalent of today’s soprano, tenor or alto musical register. These lyres have often been called the most beautiful of the ancient world. In Canaan the lyre earned a reputation as an instrument for joy and celebration, It was light enough for musicians to carry in the fields or while strolling among crowds of people. Its music came from tightly stretched strings vibrating in a sound box. The simplest strings were made of twisted grass, but threads of animal gut were tougher. A crossbar at the top kept the strings pulled taut and in tune. Harps, on the other hand, had no crossbars at the top. The simplest harps were merely two pieces of wood fastened at right angles to each other. Strings stretched between the wood gave it a triangular shape. While many lyres had only four strings, harps had up to forty and made a louder sound. Musicians usually plucked harps by hand, but they strummed lyres with a bone or ivory plectrum. The Canaanite harp and lyre probably originated in Sumeria, but almost every other country had its own unique style. In Assyria, bands of harpists would parade with large harps held vertically against their chests, the sound box in the air. These were so heavy that the musicians wore special belts to support them. In Egypt, harps were among the most important instruments of the orchestra. Some kinds were taller than the people who played them, with sound boxes resting on the floor. An earlier style, fashioned like a hunting bow, may have been the earliest harp. Called a bow harp, it was balanced on one shoulder and the musician stood as he played.
TEST YOURSELF
1.) Why did Samuel object to anointing someone?
A) He was tired
B) He didn’t want to travel so far, for fear of robbers
C) He was afraid Saul would kill him
D) He was out of anointing oil
2.) How many sons did Jesse have?
A) four
B) Five
C) Six
D) Eight
3.) Where was David when Samuel called for him to be brought?
A) Among the baggage
B) Watering the camels
C) Taking care of the sheep
D) In front of Samuel
4.) What did the servants recommend to sooth Saul’s ill temper?
A) A dose of honey
B) A long hot bath
C) A harp player
D) A good fortnight sleep
5.) What was used to indicate a lyre’s musical range?
A) Small ideograms emblazoned on the sound box
B) Cuneiform text on the cross bar
C) Carved animal heads
D) None of these
6.) How many strings did most lyres have?
A) Forty
B) Seven
C) Four
D) One
7.) Which was louder?
A) Harp
B) Lyre
8.) What was the earliest harp probably shaped like?
A) A quiver
B) A cow
C) A bow
D) A sword |
