Peasant farmer, King

JOB VACANCY JOB VACANCY
POSITION: General Manager of Erudite State.
QUALIFICATION(S): Farming

The above looks laughable or seems like an incredulous advert.

But that was pretty much the ancient Kg David's CV before he was chosen as King of Israel; he was an ordinary shepherd boy.

Even the spiritual leader, Samuel, who was sent to appoint( anoint) the King was fooled too.

6> When they[David's father and brothers] 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..."– 1st Samuel Chapter 16 verses 6–13.

This true story in history was indeed a shocker for all in attendance in those verses above. How does a young lad, so undervalued and inconsequential in his own family, that he was not even called to the meeting with the leader initially, be the one to be made King? It indeed looks like a case of a pig flying.

A Few Lessons

We shall slide into some lessons we can glean from this story. But first, it's amazing how a peasant farmer qualified to lead such a great nation then. By the way, there were many other farmers then, infact farming was a major occupation in Israel then. But one farmer's style attracted God? A small boy for that matter.

Think about it.

Alright let's journey a bit further by saying, farming per se didn't earn David the kingship job, but the quality of his service as a farmer was the real deal.

Let me tell you about 4 qualities that made a poor farmer fit to be the King over Engineers, Lawyers, Military men, Doctors, Farmers, Fisherman, Architects, big Entrepreneurs, etc– this was the nation of Israel then.

A little Addition.

Now as a boy, David had another pig flying experience. An army giant from the enemies camp named Goliath, challenged the whole of Israel to a battle – he requested Israel should send a representative to fight him, the loser's country wull be a slave of the other. For 40 whole days this giant made this announcement in the morning and evening, but no soldier in all Israel could stand up to this challenge for the sake of trepidation.

Enter David who was not old enough to be in the army, he was sent to the battle ground by his Dad, to give some food to his brothers and bring information back to his Dad as per their well being. During this his intended brief visit, he met with the roaring of Goliath. David was irritated and he offered to go fight him. Below is his reply to Israel's King, Saul, who was puzzled and questioning him as to what gives him confidence to want to fight Goliath—

"..David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock:

"And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him."– 1Sam 17:34-35

Look ordinarily at this point, you should pin David down and sniff his mouth to see if he drank some alcohol.

What's he saying? Is he crazy or something? A boy chasing after a lion, chasing after a bear? Just because of only one sheep the lion took? No a baby sheep even– a lamb.

The lion turned back(and this is the most dangerous moment, if you know a lion), David still stood firm and held it around it's power zone- the mouth.
Wait did David smoke weed or something? No farmer takes that lethal risk!

Now the above clearly displays David's attitude towards work. It's obvious he was high on something. Yeah it's correct, he drank something, he drank the wine from above. You call it farming, David called it MINISTRY UNTO THE LORD. No serious minister lacks the anointing or power of God. It is the Spirit(the Spirit of God) that quickeneth(empowers you), the flesh(human ability) profiteth nothing.[John 6:63]
David was sold out to God, so God was with him like the dress he puts on.

What can we draw from here:

1] Though he worked for man,call it a secular job, to him it was service unto the Almighty God. Therefore he didn't despise it and as such he practiced excellence on the job, by God's help.

2] True love in him. Selflessness.
Do you remember the Lord Jesus giving an example of Himself that is similar to David in the parable of the lost sheep in Matt 18:12-14? The shepherd(symbolising Jesus) had 100 sheep(representing humans) but left 99 sheep in search of one that was missing. Jesus said there's more rejoicing for that one in heaven than the 99 which are safe.
It is a life of giving, giving to those who didn't even ask for it.

3] He knew the anointing, he knew the presence of God, the Word of God was his life. Do you remember him calling Goliath this "uncircumcised Philistine"? The young lad knew the deep meaning of being circumcised, the power in God that comes with it. That's a boy who knows God's Word by God's Spirit.

4] Humility. Did you notice how he spoke to King Saul? He started by saying "thy servant", eventhough the whole Israel couldn't solve the problem he was about to solve.
Secondly, don't forget that after killing Goliath he returned back to farming. Hah some people will kill Goliath and go back home with pride, not willing to continue with farming, but he continued as a farmer.

So what’s your own farm? Are you a Lawyer, Politician, Teacher, Engineer, a writer; are you an Usher, Children teacher, Santitation unit member Deacon, Pastor? That's your farm.

God is looking for certain qualities as mentioned above. Excel in your farm and you will reign as King.

Thanks for reading.

Happy Sunday.
Cheers.