ROOTED - Tuesday, March 3, 2026
1 Samuel 16:4, 12-14
4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem… 12 And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah. 14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.
Reflection: Two Cities: Gibeah and Bethlehem, Part 4
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
The Lord rejects Saul! God asks him to fight the Amalekites and destroy every living thing. He does so but saves the best animals to sacrifice to God (or so he says). When Samuel goes to find Saul, he hears the “bleating of the sheep.” Saul, of course, defends himself, but Samuel famously says, “to obey is better than sacrifice... for this rebellion God has torn the kingdom from you.” Then the anointing left Saul. God’s people now need a king!
Samuel, being led by the Spirit, sought a new king, but this time… one after God’s heart. He goes to Jesse’s home and asks to see his boys. They each go to Samuel, but none of them are God’s choice. However, the youngest, the shepherd boy (David) was still in the field. You know the story!!!! David is anointed king (though it would be years before he ascends the throne), and the Spirit left Saul. God looks at the heart, after all. The boy who commanded little respect and was given the menial task of “watching sheep,” is God’s choice.
I trust that you noticed this small detail: David is from Bethlehem, the city from which Boaz and Ruth live. I suppose it was meant to be that the King God had in mind was David, from Bethlehem, all along… whereas Saul, from Gibeah, was always to be a mistake. I love reading these chapters, beginning in Judges. Let me tell you what I learn from these chapters about how to approach the Bible as a reader:
1) God put these stories about Gibeah (put in a bad light) and Bethlehem (put in a good light) in order to prepare the reader that Saul is a mistake (and, conversely, David is a good choice). I believe 100% that these stories in the order they are written are a divine literary device such that we see (as readers) what the Children of Israel failed to see.
2) Note that unless you read these passages straight through in big sections you are likely NOT to make these connections. That is, if you read those passages out of order, you surely would not make this connection. Furthermore, if you read these 25 or so chapters over a matter of, say, 25 days, you are highly unlikely to remember the details of the stories to connect the dots. Make sense?!
I encourage you strongly: make a habit to read the Bible in bigger chunks. Yes, it is hard, but it is worth it. Also, please, please make it a habit to read in the order the Bible is bound. There are great joys to be found doing so. LOL… stop skipping around!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, may we be better stewards of reading and studying your word… committed to the long and hard discipline of study!