So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?”
Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not it down till he comes here.”
(1 Samuel 16:9-11)
None of the first seven sons of Jesse were chosen by God. Samuel was thoroughly confused. He was told to anoint one of Jesse’s children. Yet none of them were picked. We need to understand that Jesse would never have intentionally defied God regarding his children. Jesse knew that Samuel was a man of consequence. He knew the power of God that resided on Samuel’s life, and called his sons who would have been up for inheritance. But David was not one of them. We will discover why tomorrow. For now, we know that David, the eighth son, wasn’t invited because Jesses didn’t consider David to be an heir. He was a son, but not an heir. And though he was overlooked by his family, especially his father, David was the one called for specifically by Samuel.
Reflect.
Have you ever felt overlooked and forgotten? How did you respond?
Respond.
Take a moment and bring these times to God in prayer. Ask him to heal your heart as you verbally forgive those that forgot you in the past.
