Amen. That's entitled worthy of worship is the name of that song. We've sung it a few times with the choir and others, but worthy. And the the chorus goes, you are worthy, father, creator. You are worthy, savior, sustainer.

You are worthy, worthy and wonderful, worthy of worship and praise. Anyway, it's a beautiful song. So, we'll have to sing it as a congregational sometime. Alright. Let's turn in our Bibles to Ruth chapter four.

Ruth chapter four to get started here this evening. We'll read verses 13 through 17 of Ruth four. So we're starting a little study here on the early life of David. And you might ask, why are we starting in Ruth? Well, first mention of David, believe it or not, is in the book of Ruth.

So So Ruth chapter four and verses 13 through 17. We know that someone wrote the book of Ruth a little after the time of Ruth because it tells us of the following three generations after Ruth. So whoever wrote it, it is thought possibly Samuel lived a little bit later and knew these other people here mentioned in this genealogy following Ruth. So look if you would in verse 13, Ruth four thirteen. So Boaz took Ruth and she was his wife.

And when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception and she bear a son. And the woman said unto Naomi, blessed be the Lord, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman that his name may be famous in Israel. And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life and nourisher of thine old age for thy daughter-in-law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him. And Naomi took the child and laid it in her bosom and became nurse unto it. And the women, her neighbors, gave it a name saying, there is a son born to Naomi and they called his name Obed.

He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. You look in the following verses, it says, now are the generations of Pharez. Pharez begat Hezron. Hezron begat Ram. Ram begat Amminadab.

Amminadab begat Nason. Nason begat Salmon. Salmon begat Boaz. Boaz begat Obed and Obed begat Jesse and Jesse begat David. So, we start our study of David actually in the book of Ruth.

So, let's go to the Lord in prayer once more and then we'll get back to it. Lord, we thank you Lord for your word. We thank you for preserving it, recording it, preserving it for us so that we might be able to learn much from the life of those who have gone before and most importantly, from the work of our Lord in the ancient times, in the times of Christ, and in the times we live today. Lord, may we apply your word. May we take it to heart and may you work mightily in our lives to use us in your service as you did this young man.

In Jesus name, we do pray. Amen. So, shepherd boy to king. So, we're starting out with the shepherd boy this week and you might ask a few questions. Who was David?

Why did God choose him to be king? What was he like as a young man before he meets Goliath? We all know the story of Goliath if he's been in church anytime at all. It's It's one of the first stories I think you learn in Sunday school is David and Goliath. I think maybe it's kind of a a very dramatic story and so the kids really love that.

It's about a boy in a sling and how he defeated a giant and it it's a really neat story but before we get to Goliath, there is some things about David before we get there and so we want to look at some of those things this evening. What was his heritage? Did it matter? Does it matter? Well, it it seems to matter in some respect because God God chose us to record his heritage for us here in the book of Ruth.

Also, in first Chronicles chapter two, don't you love when you start reading first Chronicles and the first like 10 chapters are like genealogy after genealogy after genealogy And the fun thing is after you've read the Bible through a few times and you get to know a little more about some of these people, those genealogies start to come alive. There's there's a few of them that you may not know anybody in the genealogy, but several of them you go, well, here's this person and here's that person and they fit it. And it's neat to be able to kind of piece those things together, especially if you're a history buff, which I am. It's a lot of fun. So we have the genealogy here going back to just following Judah which we'll get to here in a few minutes.

The verses 18 through 22 down to David through through Ruth and Boaz there. Also, where else do we have a genealogy of David besides first Chronicles and Ruth? Where else do we find a genealogy? Oh, yeah. You see it up here on the screen, don't you?

Matthew chapter one. So, if you want, turn to Matthew chapter one and we have one of the more complete genealogies of of David here beginning with Abraham but it goes past David for a reason. The purpose of Matthew's genealogy doesn't have just to do with David though. He wants to make sure we understand this line goes through David for a reason but this line ends with who? Where is this?

Jesus. This line ends with Jesus. Okay? That's where we're going, and David is a very important key part of that lineage. As matter of fact, in verse one, Matthew writes, the book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Two very important things you don't want to forget. He was the son of Abraham and he was the son of David. Why? Two promises given, one to Abraham, one to David, both concerning the Messiah. And Matthew wants his readers to know Jesus is the fulfillment of those promises given to Abraham and David concerning their descendants.

So, you look in verse two and it says, Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat Jacob and Jacob begat Judas or Judah and his brethren. Judah begat Pharaz and Zara of Tamar and Pharaz begat Ezra and Ezra begat Aram. Aram begat Amminadab and Amminadab begat Nathan and Nathan begat Salmon and Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth and Obed begat Jesse and Jesse begat David, the king of David the king, and David the king begat Solomon of her that was the wife of Uriahs, and then if we follow on all the way down, we will end with Christ. Verse 16, and Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ. Now, this is the lineage of Joseph, Jesus' adopted father or his legal father.

So Joseph, not his biological father, but his legal father, was of the lineage of the line of kings of Israel and Judah. In Luke, you find the lineage of Mary, and it also goes through whom? It also goes through David, but not through Solomon, but another son named Nathan is what Mary's line comes through. So Jesus' biological line comes through David and Jesus' legal line comes through David. They both come through David as we learn.

But we learn several things about, and we're focusing today on the lineage not of Christ so much, but of the lineage of David. And so there's a few things we can learn here from this. First of all, David was an Israelite by birth. Okay? He is a child of Jacob.

Jacob's name was changed from Jacob to what? From Jacob to Israel. Okay? So, the children of Israel are the descendants of Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. So, David is obviously an Israelite by birth.

He was born of a child of Jacob, a child of Isaac, and a child therefore of Abraham as Matthew begins his lineage beginning at Abraham. It's interesting to note in Genesis seventeen six up here on the screen, God says to Abraham, and I will make thee exceeding fruitful and I will make nations of thee and kings shall come out of thee. Now at the time, Abraham was a nomad. Now he was a wealthy nomad, but he was a man without a country, so to speak. He was a nomad who who moved from place to place within Canaan and did not particularly own any land except for a cave he bought in order to use as a burial site for his family.

That was the only land that Abraham Abraham actually bought in Canaan. But yet, God told him, out of you will come what? Kings. Okay. Nations and kings.

If you look well, you don't have to look because I have it here. Not only was David an Israelite by birth and therefore a child of Abraham, he was of the tribe of Judah. Okay? Jacob had 12 sons. They became the 12 tribes of Israel.

One of the older sons' name was Judah. If I remember correctly, he is the fourth oldest. The other three that were older than him were not chosen to be in the lineage of the kings as we'll see. They had some issues that God skipped over them to get to number four, who is Judah. And so as Jacob is about to pass off the scene, he is blessing each one of his sons.

That's what's happening in Genesis 49. And this is what we read about Judah. It's a little bit smaller to get it all on the screen there. But Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.

Thy father's children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp. From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down. He couched as a lion, as an old lion, who shall rouse who shall rouse him up.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. There's a few important things to note about the tribe of Judah. Jacob as he as inspired by the Holy Spirit here, writing of Judah indicates that Judah is going to be a predominant tribe. Okay? Predominant over his brethren.

That Judah is going to be a warring tribe. This tribe is going to have great victories over their enemies at the hand by the help with the help of the Lord. You may have heard the lion of the tribe of Judah. Jesus is called, that is one of his titles, is the lion of the tribe of Judah and Judah itself here is referred to as a lion. Cannot be stopped, so to speak.

And then it says, the shep the scepter shall not depart from Judah. The scepter shall not depart. Scepter is something that who holds? Who holds a scepter? A king holds a scepter.

And it says here, the scepter shall not depart from Judah nor a lawgiver or a ruler from between his feet until Shiloh come. Now, commentators are a little bit theologians, a little debate over the meaning of the word Shiloh. But what seems to be evident from the passage is this, the kings of Israel are going to come out of which tribe? They're going to come out of the tribe of Judah. This is predicted here in Genesis chapter 49 before the death of Jacob.

And they will continue until the Shiloh would seem to be a name for if you notice here, it's capitalized. It would seem to be a name for Christ, a title for the Messiah. Until the Messiah comes And unto him, the Messiah, shall the gathering of the people be. Now the first time Jesus came, he came into his own, but his own received him not. But when Jesus returns the second time, they will look upon him, Zechariah says, whom they have pierced and they will mourn.

They will, that is the nation of Israel, be ready to receive their Messiah when he comes back the second time. And they shall be gathered unto him and he shall rule and reign for a thousand years and Jesus is a descendant of David. And David is a descendant of right here in our passage. He is a descendant of Judah, and he is the first king of Israel to come out of Judah. And not only did David rule as king in Israel and Judah, so did his son Solomon.

And after the kingdom split north and south, Judah being the southern part of the kingdom, who ruled the South until Babylon conquered them in May. The descendants, the family, the royal line of King David were the kings of Judah until Nebuchadnezzar came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. But he did not destroy the line of who? He did not destroy the line of Jesus. He did not destroy the line of David.

David's line continued. A matter of fact, seventy years later when they returned to the land, one of the leaders that led them back to the land was a man named Zerubbabel. He is the grandson of one of the last kings of Judah before Nebuchadnezzar conquered them. He is in the line of David. And if you look in Matthew, he is in the line of Christ.

What's really cool is Zerubbabel is is in the line of both is in the line of Jesus, both in Mary's line and in Joseph's line. They cross at Zerubbabel. Interesting to note. In one of the minor prophets, he's called the signet ring that is Zerubbabel and both lines pass through him. So David is an Israelite by birth.

He is a Judean. He is of the tribe of Judah by birth. Couple other interesting things. He is the descendant of an illegitimate son fathered by Judah. So if you go back to Matthew and you look in Matthew, Matthew makes it clear there.

He says, Judah begat Pharaz and Zerah of Tamar. Who is Tamar? Well, Tamar was was Judah's daughter-in-law. His son died, and Tamar was given to the next son. He died.

Given to the next son. He died. It was to be given to the next son. And when she wasn't given the next son, she tricked her father-in-law and committed incest of a sorts, since she's daughter-in-law, and had two sons, twins, Pharaz and Zerah. Okay?

This is recorded in the book of Genesis. And David is descended from Pharaz. That's also mentioned in Ruth, the one genealogy in Ruth at the end of chapter four begins with Pharaz and works its way down to David. These are now the generations of Pharaz who begat Hezron, Hezron begat Ram, so forth and so on. So you see that in both of those genealogies.

So interesting enough, he's the descendant of an illegitimate son fathered by Judah. But also, David is descended, a descendant of an Israelite named Salmon. If you'll look in if you're in Ruth four or you can look in Matthew, you can see it in either one. Pharaohs begat Hezron. Hezron begat Ram.

Ram begat Amminadab. Amminadab begat Nason. Nason begat Salmon. Salmon begat Boaz. What it doesn't tell you in Ruth is who Salmon's wife is.

But it does tell us that in Matthew chapter one. So who is Salmon's wife? Rahab. Okay? Salmon's wife is Rahab.

Nathan begat Salmon. Salmon begat Boaz of Rahab. So Boaz's mother is Rahab. And who is Rahab? Rahab is the harlot of Jericho who turned in faith to the Lord God of Israel who was therefore redeemed and delivered from the destruction of Jericho.

He became the wife of Salmon who is in the line of who? David. And you move on to Boaz. So Salmon and Rahab had Boaz and Boaz married who? Ruth.

Ruth who is a a Moabite. Okay? So in the line of Jesus, you have a Canaanite woman who God spared because of her what? Because of her faith in the God of Israel. So, yes, God sent in Israel to wipe out and run out all of the Canaanites in Canaan.

But did God make exceptions? Yes, he did. He made exceptions clearly in the case of Rahab because of her faith in the Lord God of Israel. And she became a descendant of David and also therefore of Jesus. And Boaz married Ruth who was a Moabite.

And the Moabites are descendants of Lot. They're not the descendants of Jacob. Remember, Lot is Abraham's nephew. Moabites are descended from Lot. And won't go into that story, but you can read more about that in Genesis chapter 19.

And so they were outside of the people of Israel, but God again welcomed her as she put her faith in the God of Israel, followed her her mother-in-law Naomi back to Israel and then ended up marrying Boaz. So a few things about the genealogy of David. Number one, he was one born to a significant family in Judah. In the in the genealogy in first Chronicles two, it speaks of Naaman who is Salmon's father of being a prince in Judah. When you get to Boaz, Boaz is clearly indicated as a wealthy farmer in Judah in his day.

And so he is of a significant family in the tribe of Judah. He was one born of promise. One born of promise. Promise that the scepter would not depart from where? From Judah.

For the scepter did not depart from Judah, there had to be the first king of Judah. And who was the first king of Judah? David was the first king of Judah. Matter of fact, if you wanna be specific, David was king of Judah seven years before he became king of all Israel. So when Saul died, he had one remaining son in the North, they made him king, his name was Ishbosheth, and David ruled as king of Judah for seven years until they reunited the kingdom and he ruled all of Israel for the remainder of his reign.

He is one born of promise. He was a king born of Abraham. He is a king born of Judah, and the Messiah is a son, many generations removed of David. He is one born of God's grace and mercy. One born of God's grace and mercy.

As you look at the genealogy of David, you see the grace and the mercy of God. You see the story of Judah. We could look back. I think it's like Genesis 39. You read about Judah and Tamar.

God could have treated that differently than he did, but God showed mercy. God showed mercy to Rahab who put her faith in the Lord. God showed mercy and grace to Ruth. So I do not think it is by accident that these people are part of the lineage of the second king of Israel, King David, whose line would continue even unto Jesus when he returns. So we see God's grace and mercy in his line.

We see one born of faith, the faith of Rahab, the faith of Ruth, the faith of others in his line before him, a faith that continued mightily in the life of David, no doubt, due in part to the faith of his father, Jesse, passed down from his grandfather, Obed, and his great grandparents, Boaz and Ruth, who were clearly people of great faith. And then he is one born, as we mentioned, into the lineage of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. So even before we get to a young man who is shepherding sheep in a field, we meet him at the end of the book of Ruth as one born of the tribe of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Judah, of the tribe of the kings, of which he would be the first from that tribe. So, that brings us to first Samuel 16. So, turn to first Samuel 16 and we will look.

We've seen David's heritage. Now, we'll see David's youth. Okay? Just a few things about David's youth this evening before we continue on and jump into David and Goliath next week. Okay?

So a few things about David's youth, we actually learn before we get to David and Goliath. It's sad often that kids are taught David and Goliath in chapter 17 of first Samuel, but really know very little of first Samuel 16. And what precedes that because it is also an important chapter because it is is the anointing of David to be the next king of Israel. It is in chapter 16 before David meets Goliath that he is anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel. Though Saul is still reigning at this point in time, God wanted Samuel to go anoint in secret, basically, the one who was to be the next king of Israel.

And so, we already begin to learn a little bit about David here in chapter 16 as he is anointed by Samuel. So we're starting verse one. So first Samuel sixteen one, and the Lord said unto Samuel, how long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thine horn with oil and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided me a king among his sons. Jesse is still living in the same area as his father Obed did and as Boaz and Ruth did.

A matter of fact, it is very likely that the land that Jesse farmed and kept was the same land that belonged to Obed before him and to Boaz before him, and maybe salmon when he was the land became his when they conquered it back under Joshua. So, so this is probably that same land. It is in the vicinity of the town of Bethlehem. Does that ring a bell? Alright.

Let's see. Verse two and Samuel said, how can I go? If if Saul hear it, he will kill me and the Lord said, take an heifer with thee and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord and call Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show thee what thou shalt do and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. Samuel did that which the Lord spake and came to Bethlehem and the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, comest thou peaceably. He said, peaceably, I am come to sacrifice on the Lord.

Sanctify yourselves and come with me to sacrifice and he sanctified Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice. Okay? So, he he set apart sanctified. He set apart Jesse and his family to special honor at the sacrifice in Bethlehem. Samuel was very renowned in the nation of Israel at the time.

He had led a great revival. He was a great prophet. He was more highly revered in many ways than was king Saul. And so when he came to this little town, they wondered, what are you doing here? And so, they were they were afraid.

He had come there to pronounce something. Judgement or something upon them And he said, no, that's not why I'm here. I'm here to sacrifice. And I I need to see Jesse's family. So so that's where we get to verse six.

It came to pass when they were come that he looked on Eliab and said, surely the Lord's anointed is before me. So, Samuel looked at Eliab. He's the oldest of seven sons and he said in his mind, he said, oh, this must be him. That's my he's he's big and strong and and this this must be the guy. Verse seven, but the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I have refused him.

For the Lord see it not as man see it, for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart. A little precursor there about the heart of who? About the heart of the one he would pick who is David. Okay? So verse eight, then Jesse called Amminadab and made him pass before Samuel and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this.

Son number two. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by and he said, neither hath the Lord chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel and Samuel said unto Jesse, the Lord had not chosen these and Samuel said unto Jesse, are here all thy children? He said, there remaineth yet the youngest and behold, he keepeth the sheep and Samuel said unto Jesse, send and fetch him for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent and brought him in.

Now he was ruddy and with all a beautiful of a beautiful countenance and goodly to look at. And the Lord said, arise, anoint him for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the midst of his brethren, and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So, this is the anointing of David to be the next king. Now, Saul was still king at this point but he was anointed by Samuel that when Saul's reign ends, who would be the next one?

And that would be David. Saul was not of the tribe of Judah. Saul was of the tribe of anybody remember? Benjamin. He was of the tribe of Benjamin.

David would be the first king of the tribe of Judah, and then that would continue, at least in Judah following his reign. He is the youngest of I put seven here and now as I'm reading, I'm thinking there would have to be eight, wasn't there? Verse 10 again, and Jesse made seven of his sons to pass by Samuel and Samuel said unto Jesse, the Lord hath not chosen these. So therefore, David must be number what? Eight.

Okay. So David must be eight. So he's the youngest of eight boys and we learn from first Chronicles two sisters. Okay? So there were eight boys, 10 sis two sisters, 10 children in all that Jesse had.

The two sisters become of note, particularly the one because her three sons, David's nephews, become predominant figures in during David's reign, particularly one named Joab. Joab, who is David's general and that leads his army during David's reign, is his nephew, son of his sister. So but continuing on. David being the youngest was left with the least desirable task. Now, what was the least desirable task?

The least desirable task was being a what? A shepherd. Why? Because, well, if you were a shepherd, you had to be out in the field all day long keeping watch over the sheep. It was a boring job for the most part.

At times, it was a scary job if an animal such as a lion or a bear, which we'll find out did come while David was there after the sheep. So it was for the most part a long and tedious day out in the fields day after day after day. It was left to the youngest because it was the least desirable task and that's where David was. But David did not take his least desirable task lightly. In chapter 17, he tells a story to Saul in verse 34.

He says, thy servant kept his father's sheep and there came a lion and a bear and took a lamb out of the flock. I went out out after him and smote him, delivered it out of his mouth, and when he arose against me, I caught him by the his beard and smote him and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear. Okay? So, David is trying to convince.

So, he's not so much bragging as he's trying to convince Saul if I can kill a lion and a bear, I can take care of Goliath with whose help? With God's help. Okay. So, he's trying to convince him. Nobody else is going to go up against Goliath.

They're all shaken in there. So, David says, I'll do it. Saul says, you're just a little pipsqueak. Yeah. Dave says, well, wait a second here.

God gave me the strength to defeat the lion and the bear. He'll take care of Goliath but but obviously, David took his took his laborious, boring, tedious, and sometimes scary task very seriously. Would it not have been easier to just let the lion and the bear have the lamb? I mean, it's just a lamb. I mean, Jesse has probably quite a large flock of lambs.

Is it really worth David risking his life? Well, some might have said no, it really wasn't, but to David, it was his responsibility. Those sheep were his responsibility. And he took every one of them seriously, like our Lord and Savior, and the parable he tells of the ninety and nine and the what? And the one.

He leaves the ninety and nine to go after the one because the one matters. And the one is me and the one is you. And so, he was the youngest and was not even considered when Samuel showed up. Well, somebody had to keep watch over the sheep, so obviously David being the shepherd, largely his responsibility, he may have had help at times, I'm sure, but when everybody else was called to the celebration, and I'm not sure that when they were first called, if they knew that this was Samuel's reason for visiting, but they left. They you know, everybody else went to the party, and guess who had to stay out in the field with the sheep?

David. He he wasn't even called to the party. He was the youngest. He was not the one that they first considered being particularly Eliab, the eldest. He was handsome and healthy in appearance.

That's what it tells us in the verse here when it says in chapter 16 and in verse let's see here. 12, now he was ruddy and with all a beautiful countenance and goodly to look at, to look to. And the Lord said, arise, anoint him for this is he. He was handsome. He was healthy in appearance, but evidently not particularly impressive in stature, at least as a youth, though he grew to be a mighty warrior.

But as a young man, he wasn't all that, you know, big and strong and impressive. That didn't keep him from defeating a lion and a bear or in the next chapter from defeating who? Goliath. And one day, he would become a great warrior under the hand of God. He was a musician, a musician evidently of excellent quality.

What was David doing while he was sitting out there in the field? Most of the time with nothing to do but sit there and watch. When we went to Israel, there were shepherds with sheep outside the city of Jerusalem. I have pictures of them. And the shepherd is standing out there.

Now, he doesn't have a big staff and a robe and, you know, he's kind of dressed like, you know, somebody from The United States, just a kid with a t shirt on and jeans. Alright? He's standing out there with the sheep and what do you think he's doing in my picture? He's talking on his cell phone, okay? So he's got a cell phone in his hand, you know?

Today we have cell phones, we have all kinds of things to take up our time with. We have something. It was, you know, you didn't have that back in David's day. You could count sheep over and over and over and over again. You know, you could try to study the rocks and the grass and count the trees over there.

I I don't know. Maybe look at the the shapes and the clouds. But what did David spend a lot of time doing? He he was a musician. He spent a lot of time on his heart.

I don't know when he wrote Psalm 23, but I wonder if he maybe wrote that fairly early in his life. When he wrote, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. You know, he's talking about what he did with the sheep.

What did what was his responsibility? Well, he made sure that they didn't lack for anything. He he took them to green pastures. He led them to places where they could drink cool water. And he is just using that as a metaphor for what the Lord does for us.

He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest me a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.

Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. The prepares the table for me in the presence of mine enemies is is is to signify that he doesn't have to be afraid of it. And God is exalting him in the presence of those who oppose him or would oppose him. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. David learned that sitting in a field on a harp playing music.

Not exactly a normal description of one who would be a very mighty soldier and warrior. You don't see warrior, kid over here playing harp. But but that was David. That was David. He was a person of compassion and empathy, a creative spirit, and a soft heart.

Even later in life, what is usually the case with kings, they're not particularly soft hearted people. They tend to be tyrants. Saul became a tyrant in many respects later in his rule. One of the reasons that God rejected him is because he got the big head and didn't think that he had to obey who? That he had to obey God.

So he chose a young man of a different spirit with different characteristics. One who would be a great soldier, but before he was a soldier, he was a shepherd, and he was a musician who wrote poetry in the field. That was David. If you look in verse 14 of chapter 16, we learn a little bit about his his heart plane. Verse 14, the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.

Saul's servant said unto him, behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our Lord now command thy servants which are before thee to seek out a man who is a cunning player on an harp and it and it shall come to pass that when the evil spirit from God is upon thee that he shall play with his hand and thou shalt be well. Just bring calm and comfort to Saul. And Saul said unto his servants, provide me now a man that can play well and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants said, behold, I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in harp and a mighty valiant man and a man of war and prudent in matters and a comely person and the Lord is with him.

Boy, that's a mouthful, isn't it? He is a cunning player of the harp. He's also a valiant man, a man of war, and he's prudent, he's wise, and he's good looking. So they thought, boy, he's the pick alright. I don't think they knew that he was already anointed to be the next what?

The next king. Or they might not have invited him into the palace. But why was he invited into the palace? Not because he was a warrior so much. He was brought into the palace to play what?

To play music. God used his musical ability to bring glory to God and to bring him where he needed to be. And by the way, to bless all of us with all the Psalms that he wrote in the scripture, some of which find their way even into our hymns today. Verse 19, wherefore Saul sent messengers onto Jesse and said, send me David, thy son, which is with the sheep. Jesse took an ass laden with bread and a bottle of wine and a kid and sent him to David, his son, on unto Saul.

And David came to Saul and stood before him, he loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse saying, let David, I pray thee, stand before me for he hath found favor in my sight. It came to pass when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul that David took a harp and played with his hands, so Saul was refreshed as well and the evil spirit departed from him. And so we see a young man who is, among other things, an excellent musician. And to use that ability to bring glory to who?

Bring glory to God. What's sad is there are a lot of people in this world that are gifted musically that choose to use that gift to bring glory to themselves. And sad to say, a lot of those people, their reputations in their life going forward does not always end very well. Best to use what God has given you to bring him glory. And he is a young man with a heart for who?

With a heart for God. A person of real character and integrity who listened to and followed God. The fact that he listened to and followed God is what mattered most to who? To God. And therefore, to Samuel.

All of those things, his appearance, his musical talent, none of those things would have mattered if it were not for his heart, for God. He chose to take the time out in that field to develop a relationship with the Lord. I'm afraid sometimes we're too busy and too distracted to really spend time with the Lord building our relationship with him like David did. In first Samuel thirteen fourteen, it says this, this is God speaking to Samuel and then to Saul concerning Saul's reign coming to an end. And in verses in thirteen fourteen, it says, but now thy kingdom shall not continue.

That is Saul's kingdom. The Lord has sought him a man after his own heart. And the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee. A man after his own heart. Who is he talking about?

Talking about David. In sixteen seven, we read, but the Lord said to Samuel, look not on his countenance or on the height of his stature because I've refused him, that is Eliab. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. In Acts thirteen twelve up here on the screen, this is repeated by Saul as he is preaching and when he had removed him, he said on he's he raised up unto them David to be their king to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David, the son of Jesse, amass a man after mine own heart which shall fulfill all my will. What set apart what does set David apart was his heart in that he had a heart for God, which God had nurtured in the young man, preparing him to be king someday and the right kind of king.

We think back to his heritage and you think of of Salmon and Rahab, of Ruth and Boaz, and you see the faith in them, that was passed down to who? That was passed down to David, not genetically. It was taught. It was exemplified, demonstrated in their lives so that this young man decided to make his relationship with God the most important thing as a young man. He still had much to learn and would, over the next several years, learn many lessons, some of them the hard way, not all of them his fault.

But the foundation was laid and it was a good one. It was a good one thanks to his parents and his grandparents. It was a good one thanks to the time he spent in the field with his harp playing and singing and talking with his God. It was a good one, thanks to the Lord, who was preparing him long before he ever knew it to be king of Israel and ancestor to Christ. We all have a lot to learn, but particularly if you are young, make sure to let God build the foundation because the foundation is important.

The other stuff will come. King, that came eventually, but first came the what? First came the foundation. And what was it that God pointed out? The reason he chose David was because he was a man after God's own heart.

David took time to build a strong foundation in his relationship with the Lord. So build that foundation, particularly while you're young, but don't stop building it and don't stop guarding it in the years to come. Despite David's best intentions and his faithfulness as a youth later in life, he would stumble as he let down his guard. And we must not let down our guard or we will stumble too. It's easy to pick on David.

It's easy to pick on Lot and others in scripture and say, well, that was stupid. Why did they do that? But if we're not careful, we may be guilty of many of the same things they are. Build the foundation and then what? And then add to it and then protect it.

David was not chosen by God so much to be king as he was created and prepared by God to be. So that's something we can learn from his heritage and from his youth. He wasn't chosen simply because of his character traits as a young man. God chose him before he was ever what? Before he was ever born and God prepared him to be the person that he needed to be as God chose Jeremiah.

As Jeremiah says, while he was still in his mother's womb, he called him. As Moses, another shepherd by the way, was chosen by God, delivered from the sentence of death at his birth, protected in a basket in the river, found by the princess of Egypt, had grew up a slave, an Israelite who should have been killed in the house of Pharaoh the king. Trained in the palace and then trained forty years as a shepherd in the wilderness and then at 80, then he was ready. Like Paul, God was already preparing Paul before Paul met God, before Paul met Christ. It's a good thing we don't have windows over here anymore, isn't it?

God was preparing Paul before Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus because God knew him. God had already chosen him. And when Paul met God, that was the day he realized not only who Christ was, but who he was and who God had prepared him to be. God was working in his life long before he came to confess Christ by faith. God has created and prepared you also for service, for his service and glory if you will receive it and accept it.

Furthermore, if you want God to use you, then first of all, you need to be content to serve Him where you are planted. Now, being a shepherd may sound glamorous to us, but it is not. David could have griped and complained, his brother's got to do all the cool stuff while he had to spend the day out with the stinky sheep in the field. But instead, he was content and he grew where he was planted. And he let God build that foundation in his life in the dirty fields outside of Bethlehem.

You never know what the Lord may have in store for those who are faithful in the small things. And usually, the way it works is God gives us small things, maybe menial things, so to speak. And as we prove ourselves and as we grow, he gives us more things. Matter of fact, in Matthew twenty five twenty three, in the parable of the talents, it says this, his Lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful over a few things.

I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of the Lord. David was faithful in the what? The small things, in the menial things, and God made him ruler over Israel. Now he might not make you ruler, but you know, he has a ministry, he has a calling, and he is preparing us today.

He was still preparing Moses when he was 79 years old. So don't think, oh, good. I'm out of this. You know, I'm not a young perk. He's not talking to me.

Only a few of you over 79. So but but God is maybe still preparing us even up in age for what is to come next, And God knows what he's doing. We just need to build that foundation and be faithful. Use the talents that God has given us for his glory. I am not the greatest of musicians or certainly not guitar players, but I love sometimes just to get my guitar or my ukulele out and sit there and play hymns.

It is one of the most calming and most fulfilling things that I do with empty time that I have. Something maybe I should do more often rather than having noise squawking at me so much because it's time spent with God and using that talent he has given to draw closer to him. That may not be your talent. That may be not the way you would spend your time, but there is a way to spend your time getting to know God better. Let's pray.

Dear heavenly Father, thank you, Lord, for, the example of David, his life, particularly in his youth, and how you prepared him, and how he spent his time to get to know you and not just to spend his time on fun and frivolity and things that were passing away. Lord, help us to build that foundation even today to build upon it, to guard it, that we might be fit vessels in the master's hand. Lord, may we keep our eyes fixed upon the Lord Jesus and grow in our love and service to you each day, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.