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God’s work through David

Fourth Sunday of Lent (A), I Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Lectionary 031, March 6, 2005

During these weeks of Lent, our first readings have introduced us to a series of personages who are of fundamental importance for the story of God’s salvation of His people: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses. On this day we meet still another personage, one who would bring God’s people to unprecedented prosperity, prestige and security in the land that the Lord had given them. This Sunday’s reading introduces us to David.

As our narrative begins, Saul is ruling God’s people. Saul was their first king, a king chosen by God at the urging of the people who wanted to be ruled as the neighboring nations were ruled. God gave them a king, but Saul was not satisfactory. He was cruel and unpredictable and often unfaithful to important directives from God. God makes clear to the prophet Samuel that Saul would need to be replaced.

As our reading opens, God sends Samuel to consecrate a new king. He was to go to Bethlehem, to the family of Jesse. In verses omitted in the lectionary reading, Samuel prepares the sacrifice of a heifer and calls Jesse and his sons to the banquet that would follow. He is on the lookout for the one who would be chosen by the Lord to become king. Jesse presents seven of his sons to Samuel, but, in spite of appearances, none of these is the one that God had in mind. Finally Jesse sends for the youngest son, who apparently was not thought important enough to be invited to the sacrificial banquet to begin with. This turns out to be the one that the Lord had in mind. Samuel performs the ritual anointing with oil, and the Spirit of the Lord took possession of David to lead him forward to the destiny that God had in mind for him.

David became a great warrior, a unifier of his people, a singer of songs for the Lord, a monarch who, with his successor, Solomon, brought the Promised Land to the highest point in its political and economic life. Here was the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham (Genesis. 15:18-21). In later times, when the peak period had passed, the Israelites looked forward to another king, another anointed one, the Messiah, who would be for the people of His time what the charismatic David had been before.

There are several important lessons for us in the story of David and of his rule over the land promised to Abraham.

First of all, we note that David was not among the likely candidates that were presented to Samuel that day in Bethlehem. In fact, he wasn’t likely enough even to be brought forward with his brothers at first. God often chooses the unlikely to carry out His purposes. This is to demonstrate that it is the Lord who is the primary agent in getting His will done. If God decides to use human instruments, He is obviously free to do so, but often, in choosing the least likely, God reminds us that what’s important is not human talent and ability but the will and the power of the Lord.
Secondly, David did not insure God’s continued care for him by his personal holiness. To be sure, David loved the Lord, but David was also a sinner. He was conniving, lustful, cruel, selfish, vindictive. Yet, somewhere deep in his heart, he continued to be in love with God, and God continued to be in love with him. The story of David and his brilliant reign over God’s people is the story neither of skill nor of sanctity on the part of God’s instrument. David’s is the story of God’s providence triumphing in spite of human limitation.

Then there is the land. Land and offspring had been part of God’s promise from the beginning. At last, by means of God’s work through David, the people had land and prosperity greater than they ever expected. But it didn’t last. Soon after Solomon’s death, the kingdom began to disintegrate and, in spite of occasional spurts of well-being, it gradually declined into insignificance. It wasn’t that God’s promise to Abraham couldn’t be fulfilled. It was rather that the land God promised, the land God secured for the people, was only the symbol of another kingdom, another kind of homeland. Through their history, God seems to have been trying to teach the Israelites that what they possessed was only a symbol, only a beginning. The kingdom of David would last forever, but it would be a different kind of David, not a tribal warlord but a suffering servant. And it would be a different kind of a kingdom, not a land flowing with milk and honey but a state in which everyone would be nourished and enlightened and enlivened by the eternal Spirit of the Lord.

For reflection and discussion

In what ways have I been called by God?

How is God involved in the history of today’s world?



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	*Overtures* Reflection on the first readings of the Sunday liturgy By Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk God’s work through David Fourth Sunday of Lent (A), I Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, Lectionary 031, March 6, 2005 During these weeks of Lent, our first readings have introduced us to a series of personages who are of fundamental importance for the story of God’s salvation of His people: Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses. On this day we meet still another personage, one who would bring God’s people to unprecedented prosperity, prestige and security in the land that the Lord had given them. This Sunday’s reading introduces us to David. As our narrative begins, Saul is ruling God’s people. Saul was their first king, a king chosen by God at the urging of the people who wanted to be ruled as the neighboring nations were ruled. God gave them a king, but Saul was not satisfactory. He was cruel and unpredictable and often unfaithful to important directives from God. God makes clear to the prophet Samuel that Saul would need to be replaced. As our reading opens, God sends Samuel to consecrate a new king. He was to go to Bethlehem, to the family of Jesse. In verses omitted in the lectionary reading, Samuel prepares the sacrifice of a heifer and calls Jesse and his sons to the banquet that would follow. He is on the lookout for the one who would be chosen by the Lord to become king. Jesse presents seven of his sons to Samuel, but, in spite of appearances, none of these is the one that God had in mind. Finally Jesse sends for the youngest son, who apparently was not thought important enough to be invited to the sacrificial banquet to begin with. This turns out to be the one that the Lord had in mind. Samuel performs the ritual anointing with oil, and the Spirit of the Lord took possession of David to lead him forward to the destiny that God had in mind for him. David became a great warrior, a unifier of his people, a singer of songs for the Lord, a monarch who, with his successor, Solomon, brought the Promised Land to the highest point in its political and economic life. Here was the fulfillment of the promise that God had made to Abraham (Genesis. 15:18-21). In later times, when the peak period had passed, the Israelites looked forward to another king, another anointed one, the Messiah, who would be for the people of His time what the charismatic David had been before. There are several important lessons for us in the story of David and of his rule over the land promised to Abraham. First of all, we note that David was not among the likely candidates that were presented to Samuel that day in Bethlehem. In fact, he wasn’t likely enough even to be brought forward with his brothers at first. God often chooses the unlikely to carry out His purposes. This is to demonstrate that it is the Lord who is the primary agent in getting His will done. If God decides to use human instruments, He is obviously free to do so, but often, in choosing the least likely, God reminds us that what’s important is not human talent and ability but the will and the power of the Lord. Secondly, David did not insure God’s continued care for him by his personal holiness. To be sure, David loved the Lord, but David was also a sinner. He was conniving, lustful, cruel, selfish, vindictive. Yet, somewhere deep in his heart, he continued to be in love with God, and God continued to be in love with him. The story of David and his brilliant reign over God’s people is the story neither of skill nor of sanctity on the part of God’s instrument. David’s is the story of God’s providence triumphing in spite of human limitation. Then there is the land. Land and offspring had been part of God’s promise from the beginning. At last, by means of God’s work through David, the people had land and prosperity greater than they ever expected. But it didn’t last. Soon after Solomon’s death, the kingdom began to disintegrate and, in spite of occasional spurts of well-being, it gradually declined into insignificance. It wasn’t that God’s promise to Abraham couldn’t be fulfilled. It was rather that the land God promised, the land God secured for the people, was only the symbol of another kingdom, another kind of homeland. Through their history, God seems to have been trying to teach the Israelites that what they possessed was only a symbol, only a beginning. The kingdom of David would last forever, but it would be a different kind of David, not a tribal warlord but a suffering servant. And it would be a different kind of a kingdom, not a land flowing with milk and honey but a state in which everyone would be nourished and enlightened and enlivened by the eternal Spirit of the Lord. For reflection and discussion** In what ways have I been called by God? How is God involved in the history of today’s world?

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