1 Samuel 16:1 NIV
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
In the Scriptures, many were identified by either their family background or the place of their origin. As such, the identity of our Lord Jesus brought an array of issues for some people. This was so because to them, the things that Jesus did or said were too good and amazing to be associated with a person from His kind of background in Nazareth. For example, when Jesus once spoke in Jerusalem, some in the crowd said, “‘Surely this man is the Prophet.’ Others said, ‘He is the Messiah.’ Still others asked, ‘How can the Messiah come from Galilee? Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?'” (Joh 7:40-42 NIV).
The point of argument was all about Christ’s family background and His place of origin. Unknown to those who had issues with the identity of the Messiah, God had settled all that well in advance. They had said, “Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Well, that’s exactly where Jesus Christ came from! Much earlier in history, God had instructed the Prophet Samuel, saying, “Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen ONE of his sons to be king” as in our text. Whereas that instruction was regarding David becoming king, prophetically, it had something to do with Jesus Christ.
Indeed, the Prophet Micah would prophesy to Bethlehem, saying, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me ONE who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2 NIV). God had chosen “one” from Jesse’s house in Bethlehem to be king (David), and Micah prophesied to the very Bethlehem about “one” to be King—Jesus Christ (Mat 2:6). Hallelujah! Like He had told Jeremiah (1:5), God already “knew” Jesus and made Him to be born in the right family background and from the right place of origin. Similarly, Child of God, our Heavenly Father knew you even before you were born into this world, but more importantly, before you were born into the eternally blessed and victorious family of His Son, Jesus. Celebrate the LORD for where you come from and for your identity in Christ.
Pst. Emmanuel