1 Samuel 16:11

Only A Shepherd Boy

Behold, he keepeth the sheep. 1 Samuel 16:11.

That was all they could say about David. He was just the shepherd boy, and not worth the trouble of calling, and yet it was the shepherd boy that God chose to be king over Israel.

You remember how Samuel was sent to Bethlehem to anoint a king from among Jesse's sons. And you remember how Jesse brought forward his seven elder sons one by one. Fine, big, stalwart men they were, but as each one passed along God whispered to Samuel that this was not the man of His choice. Then Samuel asked Jesse if all his sons were present, and the old man replied that he had still one son, but he had really not thought of summoning him. He was only the herd boy, a mere boy of fifteen, and God could not possibly want him. Yet it was just the shepherd boy that God did want; and when David came He told Samuel to arise and anoint him.

Now I like that story: and I like this verse because it tells me that the very thing Jesse and his sons thought least of, God thought most of. David was just the keeper of the sheep. His was an occupation that was rather looked down upon and was usually given to the younger members of the family, yet it was just because he was a keeper of the sheep that God chose him. There is a verse in the Psalms which tells us that God chose David and took him from the sheepfolds to feed His people Israel. Just because he knew how to lead and care for the sheep, he knew how to lead and care for a nation. Jesse and Samuel might have thought that one of the soldier brothers would make a fitter king, but God knew better.

1. Now will you notice, first, that the humblest work is worth doing well. David's friends might look down on his occupation, but he loved his sheep and he did his best for them. He was a good shepherd and he put his heart and soul into his work. I don't know whether Samuel told him just then that he was to be king, but David knew he had been set aside for some great purpose; yet after he had been anointed, he went quietly back to his sheep and waited till God called him to some other work.

Now we are sometimes tempted to look down on our work because it is commonplace and dull. When you feel like that will you try to remember that the work you are doing is just God's bit of work for you, and that you can make it something fine by doing it well.

I read a story once about a prisoner who was imprisoned for life. And in the prison he was given some work to do. His work was to weave a piece of cloth out of a coarse dull thread. There was no change in the work and no variety. Day after day he had to weave the same kind of cloth out of the same kind of thread. But one day the jailer came to him and told him that because he had done his work so well he would be allowed in future to weave a rose-colored thread into the cloth. That made all the difference in the world. After that the prisoner felt he had something to live for. He looked forward to weaving in the rose-colored thread. And when the pieces of cloth were finished he often took them up again to look at the bright thread shining out of the dull material.

I think David had found the rose-colored thread. Do you know what it was? Out there among the everlasting hills with the twinkling stars shining down on him he had learned to know and to love God, and that made all the difference to his work. It was God's bit of work for him just then, and he meant to make it something grand and glorious.

2. Again, will you try to remember that humble work well done prepares us for higher service. The work you are doing now is making you ready for something bigger ahead, only you must do the little things well or you won't be fit for the big things when they come.

Sometimes you hear people complaining that they have no luck and that they never had a chance. Did you ever hear the story of how Luck went visiting and how he was received? Here it is

Luck tapped upon a cottage door,

A gentle, quiet tap;

And Laziness, who lounged within,

The cat upon his lap,

Stretched out his slippers to the fire

And gave a sleepy yawn:

“Oh, bother! let him knock again!”

He said; but Luck was gone.

Luck tapped again, more faintly still,

Upon another door,

Where Industry was hard at work

Mending his cottage floor.

The door was opened wide at once;

“Come in!” the worker cried,

And Luck was taken by the hand

And fairly pulled inside.

He still is there a wondrous guest,

From out whose magic hand

Fortune flows fast, but Laziness

Can never understand

How Industry found such a friend;

“Luck never came my way!”

He sighs, and quite forgets the knock

Upon his door that day.

(Priscilla Leonard, in A Garland of Verse, 82.)

So you see we must just grind away at the monotonous, commonplace things if we ever want to do anything bigger. If David hadn't been a good shepherd he would never have made a good king. If he hadn't been a good shepherd he would never have been a king at all, for God would not have chosen him.