"What are mere mortals that you should care for them?" Psalm 8:4
We've been watching the first two seasons of The Story of David. While it may not be completely accurate according to Scriptures, it has been enlightening all the same. Being mindful it's not a hundred percent true and being mindful of what I already have read of this story, I find it's helpful to get a sense of the context of David's time. The history, the culture, the wars, the violence drive home the closeness to death the people and kings of the time lived in.
I've found myself reflecting on the parallels of David's life and the life of Jesus. How David's story is a foreshadowing of what was to come many generations later.
But most of all, when Samuel, the holy prophet of God, anointed a shepherd boy to be king in Saul's place, it drove home how special this gift is. It was rare in those times.
God's anointing was reserved for only those chosen by God: kings, priests, or prophets.
There's a saying, "Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Saul, the first King of Israel, was corrupted by the power of the throne, the victories he claimed for his own...he stopped giving the glory to God and instead placed the glory on his own shoulders. His need to protect his reign created a man corrupted by madness, paranoia and fear.
The tv show says that God revoked Saul's anointing and gave it to David who would be the next king of Israel. I am not sure if this is scriptural or not. What I do understand is Saul's ego and pride eradicated the blessing and drove it out of his own heart, mind and soul.
In the context of the Old Testament, being anointed means being given the gift of not only God's blessing, but His Spirit.
Fast forward several generations and a young woman in a backwater town was anointed and chosen to be the mother of God's Son. Jesus is the game changer, the Redeemer, the bearer of a new covenant between God and His children.
Because of Jesus, God changed the rules. He doesn't pick and choose those He anoints. Instead He waits for us to invite His Son and His Spirit into our heart and lives.
The gift that was once reserved for great kings, the holiest of priests and carefully selected prophets is ours...mine...because God has chosen us all.
