Samuel Chooses David

Samuel was sad because God had rejected Saul as king. But God said, 'Samuel, stop being sad! I have a job for you. Go to Bethlehem. A man named Jesse has sons there. I've chosen one of them to be the new king!'

Samuel was nervous. 'But if King Saul finds out, he might hurt me!'

God said, 'Take an animal for a sacrifice. Tell them you came to worship. Then I'll show you who to anoint.'

So Samuel went to Bethlehem. He invited Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. When Jesse's oldest son Eliab came, Samuel thought, 'WOW! He's tall and handsome! He must be the one!'

But God said, 'No. Don't look at how tall or handsome he is. People look at the outside, but I look at the HEART.'

One by one, Jesse brought his sons to Samuel. Abinadab... no. Shammah... no. Seven sons walked past, and God said no to every one!

Samuel asked Jesse, 'Are these ALL your sons?'

'Well, there's one more—the youngest. But he's just out taking care of the sheep.'

Samuel said, 'Go get him! We're not starting until he gets here!'

So they brought in David. He was the youngest and smallest brother. He had been watching the sheep while his older brothers got to come to the special sacrifice.

When David came in, God said to Samuel, 'THIS is the one! Anoint him!'

So Samuel took his special horn of oil and poured it on David's head, right in front of all his brothers! From that day on, God's Spirit came powerfully on David.

God didn't choose the tallest or the strongest or the oldest. He chose the shepherd boy with a good heart—a heart that loved God!

David didn't become king right away. He had to wait many years and go through lots of hard things first. But God had chosen him, and God would keep His promise.

The lesson? God doesn't care if you're the biggest or the best looking or the most popular. He looks at your HEART. If you love God and follow Him, He can use you for great things, no matter how young or small you are!