How was David's shepherd-life an unconscious preparation for his calling? Amid the stillness of the ancient hills, David, the shepherd youth, was learning to feel a presence which "surrounded him behind and before," and to realize the nearness of One who read his thoughts in the silence, when the beatings of his own heart were audible, and who watched over him when the great night with its gleaming worlds gathered over valley and hill.Ģ. And yet, if we ask how he was trained unconsciously for his calling - how he was strengthened to discharge it, we shall find that the same Divine hand is shaping our career the same Divine voice calling us and the same Divine Spirit willing to fit us for our part in the battle of life.ġ. Little did Saul know that the young lad who was playing before him was destined to be his successor.He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:…Ī keeper of sheep, suddenly becoming conscious that he was chosen for a great yet terrible destiny being gradually fitted among the quiet hill-sides to meet this mighty calling and then, rising to the throne, so gifted with kingly power that he guided the people through their days of peril, and established them in a strength that outlived the wear of centuries - this man (so called) seems to stand far off from ourselves in a distant world of wonder. David was summoned to the king's court, where his sweet music on the harp helped to set the king's troubled mind at ease. David, the future Psalmist, had already become known for his wonderful music as well as for his divine poetry. The king's friends and courtiers noticed this sudden change and advised him to seek a good musician to ease his mind with the strains of sweet music. From that day the spirit of G‑d rested on David.Īlmost simultaneously with the anointment of David, Saul was stricken with an evil spirit which threw him into a deep melancholy. Samuel then anointed him as the future king of Israel. Seeing David, Samuel knew by Divine inspiration that he was the chosen one. "When Samuel was informed that Jesse's youngest son was in the field tending the flocks, he demanded that he be brought to him immediately. Although they were all men of laudable qualities, none of them qualified for this high position. Jesse presented to the prophet each of his seven sons in turn. Once in Beth-Lehem, Samuel imparted his secret to Jesse. The prophet went to Beth-Lehem on the pretext of holding Divine services there, for he feared lest Saul detect his true purpose. Samuel was to anoint the chosen one as king. Soon G‑d appeared to Samuel and told him to go to Beth-Lehem, where he would find the future king among one of the sons of Jesse.
And the noble traits of all his great and famous ancestors were bestowed upon David. Here was a house of scholarship, piety, kindness, generosity and wealth. Throughout the years, the great traditions of the noble family, going back to Judah and Jacob, were maintained by the house of Jesse, David's father. She lived long enough not only to see the glorious reign of King David, but also to see Solomon succeed to the throne of a great and glorious Land of Israel. But how richly Ruth was rewarded! She became a princess in Israel-the wife of the ruling Judge, and the great-grandmother of King David. Even among the modest and fair maidens of Judah, Ruth stood out with a charm of her own her modesty and piety, her selflessness and devotion became known far and wide. All her trials and misfortunes did not dampen her great devotion to her newly acquired people. Yet Ruth preferred to become an ordinary Jewish woman, rather than a royal princess of Moab. Her grandfather was the powerful King Eglon of Moab. 1 Ruth was a member of the Moabite royal family. When Boaz was eighty years old, he married Ruth. His estates were many, and his generosity was renowned. He was one of the greatest scholars and most pious men of his generation.
(He was the first to bring his offerings to the Mishkan, which was erected in the desert in the following year).ĭavid's great grandfather, Boaz, or Ibzan, was the tenth Judge of Israel. Since then, Nachshon was the most honored of all the princes of Israel. He was the first to jump into the sea, whereupon the sea was divided for Israel. One of David's early ancestors, Nachshon, the son of Aminadav, won fame at the crossing of the Red Sea, after the liberation of Israel from Egypt. He was only ten generations removed from Judah, one of Jacob's twelve sons.ĭavid belonged to the princely family of his tribe, which had given Israel princes and leaders. David was born in Beth-Lehem, in the land of Judah, in the year 2854.
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