The Shepherd & the Call of God

The Rejection of Saul

In chapter 15, Saul faces one final event that seals God’s decision to move away from him to another king. Saul is commanded to eradicate a group of people and refuses to do so. When Samuel approaches Saul to reject him, Saul grasps the hem of Samuel’s robe and tears it. Samuel tells him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors, to one better than you, he who is the glory of Israel. He who is the glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind for he is not a man that he should change his mind.”

Saul responds, “I have sinned. Please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Come back with me so that I may worship the Lord your God.” But notice what Saul reveals: he stops short of genuine repentance. He says he has sinned, but then immediately asks Samuel to make him look good in front of the people. There’s pride here. Saul wants the appearance of worship, not the heart of it. He’s no longer interested in what God wants—he wants to preserve his image. Samuel returns and worships with him, giving him what he asked for, but the damage is done. Samuel leaves for Ramah, Saul goes home to Gibeah, and until the day Samuel dies, he never sees Saul again. Samuel grieves for him, and the Lord grieves that He made Saul king over Israel.

The Heart of God Revealed

When we read that God grieves, some people become troubled. They ask, “Didn’t God know what Saul would do before He made him king? Didn’t God know Saul would fail?” These are the wrong questions. Yes, God knew. But consider this: Did God know that Jesus would die on the cross? Did God know that Judas would betray Him? Of course. And yet God still has a heart for sinners. God grieves over sin because it is not what He desires. What this passage reveals is not God’s failure to choose wisely, but the emotional response of God’s heart toward sin and redemption.

Look at what God declares about Himself: “He who is the glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind, for he is not a man that he should change his mind.” If God can grieve over your sin, is it not also possible that God can rejoice over your repentance? Turn to Luke 15. What does the father do when his son comes home? He runs out to meet him. He throws the biggest celebration he’s ever given. This is the heart of God—a heart that grieves over sin and yet turns around to rejoice and smile and be glad about repentance.

This text is certainly about selecting the next king of Israel, but more importantly, it reveals the heart of God. Samuel grieves for Saul, and it is a long grief that lasts until the day Samuel dies. But even in that grief, God gives Samuel a job to do.

The Anointing of David

God sends Samuel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, to anoint the new king. One by one, the sons of Jesse line up before Samuel. When Samuel sees Eliab, the oldest son, he is certain this is the one. Eliab is tall, probably good-looking, probably well-muscled—everything that suggests a worthy king. Samuel is ready to anoint him immediately. After all, the last king was tall, and everyone liked him because of it. Surely this must be God’s choice.

But God stops him. “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” This great passage reminds us that while we judge by externals, God judges the heart. Yet notice: we never left the heart of God. The God who grieves over Saul is the same God who searches for someone whose heart matches His own.

Five more sons pass before Samuel, and each time God says no. Finally, Jesse admits that his youngest son is out tending the sheep. Samuel says they must wait for him—they cannot eat until he arrives. Imagine the tension in that room. The silence is deafening as they wait for the youngest, the least expected, the one no one thought would matter. When the boy arrives, God immediately tells Samuel, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” And in that moment, we finally learn his name: David.

Notice something remarkable: up until this point in Scripture, David’s name has never been mentioned. From chapter 13 onward, he remains unnamed. There is a reason for this. It is to help us understand that God is not looking for people who want to make names for themselves. He is looking for someone willing to be obedient to Him. David is a shepherd—the one nobody expected, the one with no name, the one nobody notices. And yet God declares that he has the heart of God. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon David at his anointing, empowering him for the calling ahead.

The Pattern of God’s Kingdom

Do you see the pattern? A shepherd. One nobody expects. One who has the heart of God. One who receives the Spirit of God at his anointing. Does this remind you of anybody? Jesus is described in all these same ways. The one nobody expected, the one who had the heart of God, the shepherd, the one who received the Spirit of God after His baptism. The story of David parallels the story of Jesus in so many profound ways.

Here is what strikes me most deeply about David: He is not a good man. If you know anything about his story, you know the darkness that comes later—Bathsheba, Uriah, Shemaiah. These are not the actions of a righteous man. Yet what does God declare about David before any of these sins occur? “I have found a man after my own heart.” God knew what David would do. He knew about Bathsheba. He knew about Uriah. He knew about the murder. And still, God declared that David had His heart.

This is not permission to sin. This is not God winking at transgression. Rather, it is God saying: I know your heart. I see who you truly are beneath the failures that will come. And if I can declare that about David—a man capable of grievous sin—then there is hope for us all in our own desperation. God knows your heart. When you sin, God grieves. But when you repent, God rejoices. And that rejoicing is not for Him—it is for you, because He loves you.

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