	Sign In Sign-Up

Humility
Material found in banners above not endorsed by author of this site!

Humility

This is the first in a series of Bible studies about David's life. Humility is not an easy subject to write about. I have never been a very humble person. I'm praying that God will teach me some lessons about humility as I study David's early life.

The Shepherd Years

David never sought to become King of Israel. He was content out in the fields tending the sheep. It gave him lots of time to think, write the Psalms and talk with God. David learned a lot about self-reliance during his days out in the fields with the sheep. David probably would have been content to be a shepherd for the rest of his life.

I don't think David felt left out because he was out in the fields tending the sheep when Samuel came to town. Jesse invited all of David's brothers to meet with Samuel, but not David. Most people would feel put out and maybe even a little jealous by this intentional or unintentional oversight, but not David. If somebody important (like Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich) was coming to my Dad's house and he didn't invite me; I'd be really angry. But not David.

When God rejected all of David's brothers, Samuel was puzzled. He thought he had seen all of Jesse's sons.

Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." ^11a So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?"
I Samuel 16:10, 11a

Samuel knew the next King of Israel was in Jesse's household, but he hadn't seen him yet. Jesse thought that one of David's older brothers would be picked as the next king so he didn't even bother to call David in from the fields.

^11b "There is still the youngest," Jesse answered, "but he is tending the sheep."
Samuel said, "Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives."
I Samuel 16:11b

As improbable as it sounds, at this point Samuel was probably thinking, "It's got to be the youngest son." Jesse and his sons were probably thinking, "It can't be David!"

¹² So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one."
¹³ So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.
I Samuel 16:12, 13

Let's think about this. One of the servants came running out into the field and told David, "Hey, Samuel wants to see you." The servant probably stayed with the sheep and David went running back to his house. Chances are, he didn't even have time to wash up and change his clothes. Even though David wasn't as big and strong as his brothers, God told Samuel that this boy would be the next king of Israel.

From this time forward, the Holy Spirit was with David.

What Next?

What would you do after you had been told you were the next King? I know I wouldn't go back out into the fields and tend the sheep like nothing had happened. I'd stay home and tell all my older brothers, "I'm important, I'm going to be the King someday." But not David.

David was out in the fields tending the sheep.

Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep."
I Samuel 16:19

This is the ultimate expression of humility for David. He acted like nothing had happened and went back to serving his father (and God), tending the sheep.

David was even humble enough to go and serve the man that he was going to replace. I know that if I was going to replace somebody important, I wouldn't go and work for them in their office until it was my time.

In Conclusion

David's early life gives us a good example of the kind of attitude we are to have toward serving God and others. I may not be finished with this Bible study in humility. As I read more about David's life, I may have occcasion to come back and revisit this study.

If you would like to comment on this Bible study, you can join the discussion in the Men After God's Own Heart Forum:

This page was last modified April 16^th, 1998.

I was inspired to create this web site and write this series of Bible Studies by Charles (Chuck) Swindoll. He wrote a book, David : A Man of Passion & Destiny. I don't intend to plagarize his work, but I do admit to reading this book. It has made me think about how I want to be a "Man After God's Own Heart." (By the way, you can buy Chuck's book from Amazon.com by clicking on the link above.)

Material found in banners above not endorsed by author of this site!