Jeremiah 1:5
God Knows Us Before We are Born
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. ”
1 Samuel 16:1-13
God Chooses David
1The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
2 But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
4 Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace? ”
5 Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” 9 Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this 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 powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.
God gave each of us a unique pattern and design...We (as man) recognize all women and men in the world by their bodies...This is the way we identify each other...We do not have to know a person, especially a famous one, to identify them...We need only to see their picture to recognize them...
Man also identifies each other by their traits -and seem to want to label them as good and bad...Some think being young, good-looking, smart, great physique, and strong are most desirable traits (especially, if you watch the advertising agencies)...It seems many of these desirable traits are what makes man think of and view as success, and being knowledgeable...But regardless of each of our great and desirable traits (as we see them), man is flawed...We will also have some odd things about us, some faults, and a few traits -we might label as undesirable...Our bodies and our identifiable traits are what we think define us...
God looks at the body and his traits differently than man...He created all of us, and made us each unique...He designed the body of man and woman...God knows us before we even had a body...God gave us free will to choose some of our traits...Others come early in our life...They are shaped and formed and come from our father, mother, and our environment, we are in...Other traits we develop out of later life and its experiences...God knows us before we were formed in our mother's womb (as He tells Jeremiah, His Prophet) -so He knows who we really are...God knew what desirable and undesirable traits we would have long before we were born...
God sent the Prophet Samuel to Bethlehem to find a King...When he arrived the elders of the town trembled and wondered why a Prophet, like Samuel, would come to a small town, and a somewhat less than prominent place -like Bethlehem...The elders ask Samuel, "Do you come in peace?"...Why would a Prophet come here (they were thinking)?...But appearances of people and towns, and things that sometimes to us seem insignificant, can actually be important and quite significant...What good could ever come out of Bethlehem?...The appearance of Samuel, made the elders think that they had much to fear...
God knew Jesse, David's Father and He knew David's seven brothers...God wanted a new King to lead Israel...All David's brothers passed by the Prophet Samuel -but God did not choose any of the older brothers...God chose David to be King of Israel...David would be one of the greatest kings ever, and maybe the greatest king of Israel...David wasn't the tallest in height or the oldest...In fact, he was the youngest of Jesse's sons...God knew David was not perfect...There was something about David, that made God want to choose him...God knew David before he was born, and He knew what was in David's heart...David had a heart for the LORD...
God has designed the body of man and woman...All men are different, yet we are all alike...More and more evidence shows that all men and women's DNA is linked and alike...We are continuing to learn, we come from a very small group of ancient ancestors...
Like David, we should work to be the best stewards and servants we can be for God...God has placed many of His Designs in us, and made us much like each other and our ancestors...That is why it is said, we are all made in His Image...God's original Garden of Eden was perfect in design and in patterns, as was Adam and Eve...God was the Father of Adam and Eve, and their environment was the Garden of Eden...We have corrupted God's Design, when we had to leave the Garden in our sin...But, so much of God's designs remain around us and in us...King David had much of God's Image, and His traits in him...God recognized these traits, knew them...God chose David as King...It would be good if we had many and best traits of King David...It would be good if we keep God in our hearts...