Preview of the Greater King
Every life tells a story. When we look back on them, we realize that every part of our story matters. And we realize that God uses every part of our story, even the difficult parts. Every moment has a purpose and shapes who we are.
One of the biggest lies we can believe from our story is that the bad times in our lives mean that God’s story for us has ended. David’s life challenges this lie. His story includes failure, sadness, uncertainty. For a long time, nothing feels steady, safe, or right for him. That’s on purpose. God’s telling one long story of salvation, and David’s life is pointing to a greater figure, the greater Son of David, who truly saves and rules and reigns. We don’t study David to just admire him as a hero and think we can't compare. We study him to see our lives in God’s redemptive story. We are a part of it right now. When we look at David’s life, we see how God works in real people, in real moments, through real situations. One of the first things we see is this:
God brings salvation to real lives, not perfect ones. (1 Samuel 16:1)
1 Samuel 16 opens in a place of grief. Verse 1 says, “The LORD said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?’” Samuel is grieving. Think about it. He had put so much faith in Saul. He anointed him as king, walked alongside him, and truly believed that Saul could lead the people of Israel in a good way. But now, Saul’s shown that he's not fit to continue as king.
When you first look at him, remember, Saul looked like everything the Israelites wanted in a leader. He was big and strong and had the appearance of authority. But the real issue wasn't how he looked on the outside. It was what was happening in his heart. This is where many of our problems start in our walk with God. We stop listening to what God has to say. Ignoring God's guidance means choosing not to follow His sovereign rule and reign in our life.
Samuel understands what’s at stake in this. And he’s grieved by it. Grief has a way of holding you there in those moments. Any type of grief. You replay conversations over and over. You revisit decisions and doubt if you made the right one. You wonder what could have been different and if your future has been permanently messed up. Samuel’s right there in that moment.
And then God speaks. He says, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him?” While Samuel’s looking backward, God is already moving forward. God says, “Fill your horn with oil, and go.” He’s saying don’t remain frozen in grief. Don’t assume failure has the final word. Don’t believe that what imploded in front of you has destroyed God’s plans and purposes. God is still writing His story.
One of the most important truths you will ever learn is that God is never hindered by human failure. By your sin. He is never surprised by it. Even the first sin! God is never scrambling to recover. That’s why we can have passages like Romans 8:28 – “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Even when leadership fails and the situation appears beyond repair, God continues His work and raises up new leadership according to His perfect plan. You know what that means? God’s story doesn’t depend on human perfection. It depends on His faithfulness. And He’s always faithful.
Some of you are still standing in the aftermath of something that didn’t turn out the way you hoped. A relationship ended, a plan failed, a ministry pursuit didn’t produce what you expected. Maybe somewhere deep down, you wonder if that failure disqualified you completely. If you can ever be used again. But God’s question to Samuel becomes His question to you: “How long will you grieve?” Grief isn’t where the story ends.
God tells Samuel, “Fill your horn with oil, and go.” In other words, trust Him enough to take the next step. Not because you understand everything. Not because you can see the full picture. But because you trust the One who is leading you. That’s how following Christ always works. God rarely shows you the entire story. He shows you the next step. And He calls you to obey. Samuel obeys, but he doesn’t yet know where the story’s going.
And where does God send him? God sends him to Bethlehem. And that detail matters. Not because we sing about it at Christmas. Because Bethlehem wasn’t a place of power or influence. It wasn’t a great political center. It was small, ordinary, overlooked. And that is exactly where God begins.
God loves to begin His work in obscurity so He receives the glory. (1 Samuel 16:1 in context of 16:7)
When God tells Samuel where to go, He says something that reveals His intention: “I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” God doesn’t say, “I have found a king for Israel.” He says, “I have provided for myself a king.” This king belongs to God before he belongs to the people. It’s all about God’s plan, not human expectation.
Samuel gets to Jesse’s house, and Jesse starts presenting his sons. The first one is Eliab. When Samuel sees him, Samuel thinks just like we saw last week. In verse 6 he says, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” Eliab looks the part like Saul did. And immediately God says, in verse 7, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature… For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
That statement isn’t just about Eliab, you know. It’s about how God works period. God measures differently from the world. God is always looking deeper than what is visible. And here’s what’s wild. David isn’t even there when Samuel arrives. He’s out in the field tending sheep. When Samuel asks if there are any other sons, Jesse says, in verse 11, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.”
That word “youngest”[1] carries more meaning than you might realize. It can also mean the smallest, the least significant, the one least likely to be considered. David’s not being groomed for leadership by anyone (but God!). He’s doing ordinary work in an ordinary place. And that is exactly where God meets him.
This is how God has always worked. He called Abraham when he was old and without a child. He called Moses when he was hiding in the wilderness. He called Gideon when he was threshing wheat in fear. David was chosen while he was a young shepherd boy taking care of sheep. And ultimately, He sent Jesus into the world not through a palace, but through a manger. God likes to start His work in quiet and ordinary places because it allows His glory to shine.
This truth has the power to reshape how you understand your own life. Many of us live in seasons that feel hidden. You go to work, raise your family, serve quietly, obey faithfully. Sometimes it feels like none of it matters. It feels too small. Too ordinary. The temptation is to assume that obscurity means insignificance. But Scripture teaches the complete opposite. Obscurity is often where God does His deepest work. And hear me: God sees you, even if nobody else does.
David discovered the importance of trusting God when he was all alone. He learned to worship in those quiet fields. The years he spent caring for dirty sheep weren’t wasted. They were preparation for what God had for him. David didn’t start seeking God after he became king. He sought God while he was tending sheep. In those quiet, humble beginnings, God was shaping his heart so he could handle the bigger responsibilities that were to come later. Do you know why David could defeat Goliath? Because he was faithful tending sheep in obscurity.
1 Samuel 17:34-36 – 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.”
But David’s story doesn’t stop in obscurity, and it far outlasts his own life.
David’s throne is lasting but not ultimate. (1 Kings 2:12)
1 Kings 2:12 says, “So Solomon sat on the throne of David his father, and his kingdom was firmly established.” You know what this verse tells us? It tells us that God fulfilled His promise. King David's throne was a real and lasting kingdom that continued after his life. Solomon, David's son, took over, which, among other things, shows us that God’s promises outlast individual people.
One of the things this teaches us is that God’s work often takes time to unfold. So don’t rush God’s plans! David didn’t witness everything God had promised come to pass during his lifetime. But the story didn’t end with him. God’s plans are much larger than we can see, which is important for us to remember, especially when we want results right away, which we often do. God operates through a much bigger picture with years that are longer than our lifetimes. He works in ways that go beyond our immediate finite understanding.
The Davidic kingship was always pointing forward to something greater. It created expectation for a king who would reign perfectly and eternally. David’s throne was a preview. That was its intention the whole time. God is teaching us to tie our hope to what is eternal, not what is temporary.[2] David’s throne prepares us for a greater throne. And that brings us to Psalm 18, where David reflects on his life which leads him to worship. Throughout this series, we will intersperse different psalms to the study and the times of worship, just as David did in his life.
Those who are redeemed worship God with their story. (Psalm 18)
In Psalm 18 David’s not just remembering events, but he’s understanding them in light of who God is.[3] The psalm begins with these words: “I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer.” David draws his strength not from his own abilities or successes, but from his faith in God. Throughout his life, David faced so much danger. He knew what it was to live with fear and uncertainty. When he looked back on his life, he realized that his survival wasn't because of himself. He didn't do any of it. It was God's faithfulness that got him through everything.
One of the defining marks of spiritual maturity is the ability to look back at your life and see God’s hand sustaining you. David continues in verse 6, “In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice.” God wasn’t distant through David’s life. He was present through it all. David goes on to describe how God strengthened him, protected him, guided him, sustained him. He knows it is God who provided for him. All of his life was a story of redemption. All of our lives are a story of redemption, too.
When you begin to see your life this way, everything changes. You stop seeing your life as random. It’s not. You begin seeing it it in light of redemption. David didn’t waste his difficulties. He turned them into worship. He told the truth about the danger he faced, and he told the truth about the God who rescued him. And when you begin to live this way, your entire life becomes an act of worship.
David is a preview of King Jesus.
David’s story is amazing, but it’s not ultimate. David’s life points beyond itself. David’s life prepares us to recognize someone greater. David points to Jesus.
I love how Eugene Peterson describes it, with David’s “earthy spirituality” as he says, that we can all see ourselves in:
“The David story anticipates the Jesus story. The Jesus story presupposes the David story. David. Why David? There are several strands that make up the answer, but prominent among them is David’s earthiness. He’s so emphatically human: David fighting, praying, loving, sinning. David conditioned by the morals and assumptions of a brutal Iron Age culture. David with his eight wives. David angry; David devious; David generous; David dancing. There’s nothing, absolutely nothing, that God can’t and doesn’t use to work his salvation and holiness into our lives. If we’re going to get the most out of the Jesus story, we’ll want first to soak our imaginations in the David story.”[4]
Here's three quick ways we can see how David points to Jesus.
1) David is the anointed king, but Jesus is the true Anointed One. The title “Messiah” literally means “Anointed One.” David’s anointing prepared the way for the ultimate King who God would send. Jesus is the true Anointed One. David’s life prepares us to recognize Christ.
2) David experienced rescue, but Jesus provides ultimate rescue through His death and resurrection. David faced many challenges and enemies, but God was always there to protect him and keep him safe. Although David was saved many times, those rescues were only temporary. On the other hand, Jesus offers a complete and everlasting rescue. While David was saved from physical dangers, Jesus saves us from sin and death.
3) David’s throne endured across generations, but Jesus’ throne endures forever. David was a great king, and his rule lasted beyond his lifetime, but eventually, his kingdom came to an end. In contrast, Jesus' reign is eternal. Jesus is the everlasting King who rules forever.
Psalm 18: 49-50
49 For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
50 Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
And this leads each of us to a point of decision. We can’t just admire David. We must come under the reign of David’s greater Son. Jesus doesn’t simply improve your story. He redeems it. He gathers up the chapters of your life that are filled with difficulty, doubt, and hurt, and he transforms them into something only He can. He heals what’s broken. He forgives you of your sins. He redeems you. Only He can. He encourages you to trust Him, not just as a figure from the past, but as the King of your own life right now.
[1] https://biblehub.com/hebrew/6996.htm
[3] See also the parallel in 2 Samuel 22.
[4] Eugene Peterson, Leap Over a Wall, 9
