“The Trouble with Kings, Part 2: The Call of David” by the Rev. Dr. Don Wahlig, June 16, 2024, Year B / Pentecost 3 – 1 Samuel 15:22-23, 15:34-16:13 • Psalm 20

THEME:  Look for God’s authentic calling, a God-like and obedient heart, and the Holy Spirit in prospective public servants – and in ourselves.

Did you watch the coronation of King Charles III? I did. I was struck by his response to the oath he was asked to swear by the Bishop of Canterbury. The Bishop asked him, “Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?” Charles responded, “All this I promise to do. The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep. So help me God.”

It was a reminder of England’s historic need to keep all its citizens happy, including the Presbyterians up in Scotland. The historic fact of transitions in monarchy are always tricky and rarely straight forward, even with the best of rulers. It’s a time of uncertainty and anxiety. The same is true in ancient Israel. Where we pick up the story, Saul is king, but his reign has  been an abject failure. He disobeys God’s commands and God regrets ever making him king. Samuel conveys to Saul God’s anger and rejection. It is a failure of faithfulness.

God has called him and equipped him for this monumental task. When Samuel anointed him, God’s Spirit descended on Saul and gave him a new heart. The purpose of his new heart is to enable him to hear what God commands him. But Saul has chosen to disobey God. The price of his disobedience is the withdrawal of not only the kingship, but God’s Spirit, too. These are the very foundations of Saul’s leadership.  Without them, he slowly and surely spirals out of control. He becomes erratic and rash, impulsive and violent. Samuel grieves over Saul’s failed kingship, but God has already moved on. He has chosen the next king from among the sons of a man named Jesse, a sheep herder in Bethlehem. He sends Saul there. 

One by one, Jesse parades his sons in front of Samuel. To Samuel, the oldest one looks tall and handsome, like a king, the same way Saul looked. Surely, Samuel thinks to himself, this is the one. But God says no. God does not see as others see. He does not judge on appearance. He judges based on the heart. So, when the 7 oldest sons have been reviewed and rejected. Samuel asks Jesse, “Is this it? Do you have any other sons?” 

“Just the youngest,” Jesse says, “but he is out back tending the sheep.” “Bring him here,” Samuel says. And sure enough, when young David passes before Samuel, God sees what he is looking for.  “This is the one,” he says. And Samuel anoints him as king-in-waiting. As he does, God’s spirit descends upon David with great power. So now, David has received God’s anointing, God’s spirit and a God-like heart. But there is just one problem. Saul is still King. As surely as David rises, so does the conflict between the two of them.  It won’t be too long before Saul meets a gruesome end, and David becomes king. But I’m getting ahead of myself. 

The question for you and me is what are we to make of God’s call on public leaders? Specifically, in this election year, what does the call of David teach us about how we should evaluate our leaders? Last week, we came to the conclusion that we need to measure our leaders by their faithfulness, their humility, and their courage. This week, we are going to see where those three leadership characteristics come from. The story of David’s call to be king teaches us to look for three fundamental characteristics. These 3 characteristics are God’s call, an obedient, God-like heart, and reliance on God’s Holy Spirit.

Let’s start with God’s calling. What we are talking about is vocation. We all have a vocation. In fact, we all have multiple vocations.  Our primary vocation is to be a Christian. God calls us to follow Jesus Christ, to trust in him and live as he showed us, sharing God’s love with all. We also have a second vocation at home. We are husbands and wives, parents and children, siblings, friends, and neighbors.  These are our vocations in private life. Finally, we have a third vocation. This is our calling in public life. We are doctors and road workers, nurses and lawyers, teachers and government workers, plumbers and politicians. It is this public vocation, that we are dealing with in this story of David.

In our public vocation, all of us are called to be citizens. As we exercise our right and responsibility to vote as citizens, David is the example of what we should be looking for in our politicians. If the calling to public service is legitimate, a politician should have specific characteristics. Like David, the calling will have its origin in God, not the self-centered desire for power.  Their heart will be God-like, obedient to God’s will.  And the public servant will be directed and energized by the Holy Spirit. But how do we know? How can we tell? That is the question.

If a calling in public life is truly from God, God will provide the gifts to undertake it. If God is calling you to be a teacher, for example, God will give you the gifts to do that. Like passion for a particular subject or age-group, empathy to understand students’ needs, wisdom and skill in finding ways to communicate knowledge, and the patience, perseverance and creativity to adapt to different modes of learning.  And, above all, a deep satisfaction in helping students flourish, satisfaction that transcends the difficulty and hardship of the work itself.

The same is true for public servants. If their calling is genuinely from God, public servants will have specific gifts to do the work. A deep understanding and concern for the needs of constituents, authenticity in relating to them, the willingness and ability to network and form coalitions, including – and maybe especially – with those in the opposition, and knowing when to compromise with them in order to get things done. If their calling is truly from God, we should be able to see in our candidates a genuine satisfaction that exceeds the frustration of the job itself and the hard work it requires. A genuine calling from God is the first characteristic of a legitimate calling to public service.

The second characteristic we should expect from our public leaders is a heart that is obedient to God’s will. What God wants is to help all his children flourish, especially the least and the lost. This, too, should be a source of satisfaction. Arnold Schwarzenegger, movie star and former governor of California famously said, “Help others and give something back. I guarantee you will discover that, while public service improves the lives and the world around you, its greatest reward is the enrichment and new meaning it will bring your own life.” In our best politicians, this is what we see.

Finally, in addition to a genuine calling from God and a heart obedient to his will, we see in our politicians the energy and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  But how do we know the Spirit is present? The apostle Paul tells us that we know the Spirit by the fruit it produces. As he writes, the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. If these are not present, then neither is the Spirit. I would add to this list the humility and courage that we talked about last week.

So, how did David measure up against these 3 characteristics? First, we know that David’s call was from God because God gave him the gifts to lead his people. He did that exceptionally well, even under extreme duress, when Saul seeking him out to kill him. Second, we know that David’s heart was always obedient to God’s will. David consulted God before before making any major decision.  When he got God’s answer, David carried out God’s will to the T. Finally, David had an abundance of the Spirit. We know that because the fruits of the Spirit were evident in all that he did. He took joy in serving God.  He loved Saul’s son Jonathan like his own brother. He sought peace with Saul, twice refusing to kill him when he could have easily done that. He was kind and good to his men and the people of the land they came across. 

His courage was on full display when he killed the Philistine giant, Goliath. So was his humility when he refused to let his success go to his head. And he was the very definition of long-suffering.  As he led his men from one hide-out to another trying to escape Saul’s murderous threats, David never once forsook God. David’s call to lead Israel was from God - and it showed. The same is true of our very best political leaders. And, no matter what our calling in public life, the same should be true for you and me, too. Like Charles III and all the kings before him, we commit to carry out God’s will, always adding, “So help me God.”

May it be so.