That Pesky Little Kid

1 Samuel 16:11-13

 

“Our little brother sure is a pain.  We have to take him everywhere”.  “How come he always gets his way.  Just because he’s the youngest”.  “He was the baby of the family and was your favorite of us all”.  Those of us who have grown up with brothers and sisters, especially if they were younger than us, have probably at least thought some of these phrases if not outright saying them.  I had a little brother and a little sister, so I experienced the “favoritism” first hand….or at least that’s what it looked like to me when I was a much younger fellow.

I witnessed the same thing with my own children.  We had our son first, then our daughter.  I am guessing that our son felt the same way about our daughter, since she was the youngest.  (There’s another point of view about being the first son, but we will share thoughts on that at another time) 

Amazingly, when our children had children (we love our grandkids!!), the exact same thing happened with perceived “favorites”, and again, the most favored was the youngest of each family. 

I’m certainly no psychologist, but I would imagine that as children grow and mature, maybe they miss some of the special treatment they used to get when they were younger; the same special treatment the younger ones were getting.  So, I guess we can just understand that older siblings just seem to be annoyed with their younger ones…. It’s just how it is. 

In our text today, we see where Samuel is told by the Lord to go and visit Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint a new king.  You see, the current king, Saul, had made error after error in his role, and God had had enough.  Samuel tells Jesse that he needed to gather together all of his sons so they could join in a sacrifice to the Lord.  Each time, one of Jesse’s sons passed by Samuel would think “surely this is the one, but God said no; seven times.  Finally, Samuel asked if there were any others.  Jesse says yes, David, who was tending to the sheep.  Jesse called for him, and he was the one.  Samuel anoints him king!  Problem solved, right?

Well, not exactly.  You see, David was a young boy.  Some of the commentaries I have studied say that at this time, David was as young as ten years old.  Certainly not ready to be a king over the nation of Israel.  The anointing was done at the perfect time, because God had to get David ready to be king over his people.  David had to be the best earthly king possible to take on this role.  As you read the rest of 1 Samuel and on into 2 Samuel, we see where David experienced so much; hardship, loss, fear, friendship, and so many other life experiences before Saul dies and David is crowned king. 

 

So, here is my point today.  Part of verse 13 in our text today says, “and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward”.  God was getting him ready to lead.  Today, we have several young preachers in our church.  It is my prayer that the Spirit of the Lord will continue to do great a work in their lives so that one day they may lead in whatever role the Lord leads them to.  Don’t take for granted a youngster who announces a call they have received from the Lord.  Have faith and allow them to get ready to serve.