It's Complicated(S1) : WK 2 - WED

(Psalm 21)
For the choir director: A psalm of David.
1 How the king rejoices in your strength, O Lord!
    He shouts with joy because you give him victory.
2 For you have given him his heart’s desire;
    you have withheld nothing he requested. Interlude
3 You welcomed him back with success and prosperity.
    You placed a crown of finest gold on his head.
4 He asked you to preserve his life,
    and you granted his request.
    The days of his life stretch on forever.
5 Your victory brings him great honor,
    and you have clothed him with splendor and majesty.
6 You have endowed him with eternal blessings
    and given him the joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord.
    The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
8 You will capture all your enemies.
    Your strong right hand will seize all who hate you.
9 You will throw them in a flaming furnace
    when you appear.
The Lord will consume them in his anger;
    fire will devour them.
10 You will wipe their children from the face of the earth;
    they will never have descendants.
11 Although they plot against you,
    their evil schemes will never succeed.
12 For they will turn and run
    when they see your arrows aimed at them.
13 Rise up, O Lord, in all your power.
    With music and singing we celebrate your mighty acts.
1 Samuel 16:4 So Samuel did as the Lord instructed. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town came trembling to meet him. “What’s wrong?” they asked. “Do you come in peace?”
5 “Yes,” Samuel replied. “I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Purify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice, too.
6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”
Lots going on here today. I know we have had a long text, but that is because we are using Psalm 21 this week as the Psalm that goes along with the scriptures we find dealing particularly with Samuel and eventually David. We chose this Psalm because it is a psalm that the king sings to the most high, thanking God for essentially making sure that the king is safe and is welcomed back.

Samuel has gone to Bethlehem in order to Sacrifice. When Samuel shows up, he is God’s representative, and honestly, the people and elders of the town were not super happy. They were “trembling” when they met him. Why would they be trembling? Whenever someone who is touched by God, represents God, or has a special relationship with God is introduced in scripture, there is often a bit of anxiety that is introduced into the drama. This is simply because we are rarely comfortable around those who seem to have a better connection to god than we do. We hope that they will pretty much leave us alone, and when they don’t, things usually get interesting, harder, yet interesting.

Samuel showed up and said he was there for sacrifice. He performed the right for Jesse and his sons, and when they arrived, Samuel took a look at Eliab and must have seen something pretty regal in him. He assumed that this was the one that God was choosing. Was he good looking? Was he tall? Was he broad shouldered and looked like he could carry a kingdom on his shoulders? We just don’t know. But what we do know is that Samuel was mistaken.

1. Have you ever mistook someone for some position because of what they looked like?
2. Have you ever tried to follow the will of God but didn’t exactly know what God was asking of you? 
3. Did God ever make it so plain that you did exactly what he said? How did that work out?