God Notices Nobodies

After God’s Own Heart

God Notices Nobodies (1 Samuel 16)

David was the least likely to become king but God set him apart for this task. While man judges the external qualities, God judges the internal worth.

The Setup

  • Major theme of the Bible: God’s plan is for God’s people to live in God’s place under God’s rule.
  • In Samuel’s time, God’s people were living in God’s place but desired to live under another rule to be like another people.
  • They rejected the LORD as King and wanted Samuel to replace God with a man who was impressive in their own sight (1 Samuel 8).
  • King Saul was everything they wanted and the complete opposite of everything they needed (1 Samuel 9).

The Selection

  • People have to experience the consequences of their decisions before they can truly appreciate the wisdom of God’s decisions (1 Sam. 16:1).
  • While man judges the external qualities, God judges the internal worth (1 Sam. 16:7).
  • David was regarded as a nobody which made him a prime candidate to be used by God (1 Sam. 16:11).

The Sequence

  • David was anointed long before he was appointed (1 Sam. 16:13).
  • God can even use what we see as insignificant in the past for his significant purposes in the future (1 Sam. 16:18).
  • God-given opportunities should not bring about prideful haughtiness but humble faithfulness (1 Sam. 16:19).