"The teeny, weenie....true king Lesson 2

Fall greetings to you! Today is the second lesson of three about the story of “The Teeny, Weenie … True King” on pages 116-121 of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Get ready to think and learn and read and pray!
 
Children: To start, please read our story out loud this time. Maybe you will choose to read it out loud for yourself, or to a
brother or sister, or maybe a parent. Remember to check out the pictures. Jesse had seven sons (and two daughters):
Eliab was his firstborn son;
Abinadab was born second,
Shimeag third,
Nethanel fourth,
Raddai fifth,
Ozem sixth, and
David was seventh.
 
We do not know if Jesse’s sons knew why they were being interviewed by Samuel, but it’s quite possible they would have known Samuel to be a very important man, and that the interviews must be very important, too. Samuel did not have to make this enormous decision. God, who sees into all our hearts, spoke His choice to Samuel, and that choice was David, the youngest and smallest of the sons. David, who wasn’t even included in the first round of interviews, who was the weakling of the family, was judged by God to be the perfect person to be the second king of Israel. Samuel anointed David right away. To be anointed means you got the job. To anoint someone means you 1)wet your right thumb with blessed oil, 2) draw a cross in the middle of the person’s forehead with your thumb, and as you do that, 3) use the person’s name and say “I anoint you with oil in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.)
 
It must be remembered the other brothers were not chosen because they were bad people in any way, but that David was the best one of all seven brothers to be the kind of King God wanted. Send any of your questions or comments to Pastor Steve using this blog, and he will respond.
 
Adults: Biblical references for this story are 1 Samuel 16 and Matthew 1. Who exactly was Jesse in the Bible and what do we know about him? Jesse was the father of King David ( Ruth 4:17 ). He was the grandson of Ruth and Boaz . You remember Ruth whose husband and son died. She told her mother-in-law Naomi she would continue to follow her. Naomi’s people would be her people and Naomi’s God would be her God ( Ruth 1:16 ). We know from further study in the Bible that Jesse is a part of the lineage of Jesus. Jesse takes center stage in the Bible as God prepares to anoint a new
king of Israel to replace Saul. We look to 1 Samuel 16 for the details. God told Samuel that He was sending him to the house of Jesse, the Bethlehemite. There, among the sons of Jesse, he would find the new king of Israel. God had instructed Samuel to fill his horn with oil in anticipation. Samuel had questions as to how he would anoint a new king without facing
the wrath of Saul. God told him to take a heifer, a young cow, to sacrifice to the Lord. God then instructed him to invite Jesse to the sacrifice. God told Samuel that He would show him what to do and who to anoint as the next king.
 
When Samuel went to Bethlehem, as God had instructed, Samuel invited Jesse and his sons to the sacrifice. Samuel had no idea of who God might anoint. He figured it might be the oldest son Eliab. “But the Lord said  unto Samuel,   Look  not on his countenance,  or on the height  of his stature;  because I have refused  him: for the Lord seeth not as man  seeth ; for man   looketh  on the outward appearance, but the Lord  looketh  on the heart. ”
 
The Bible says in Isaiah 11:1 that a rod would spring forth out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch (with a capital B due to its importance), shall grow out of its roots. This Branch is significant because it is a precursor to the Son of God. Turn to Matthew 1 to read the lineage of the fourteen generations prior to Jesus Christ. The beginning names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are very familiar to us, as are the names of Jesse, and at the end, the names of Joseph and Mary. As with the children, please send any of your questions or comments to Pastor Steve using this blog, and he will respond.
 
~This Week’s Prayer: Blessed God, we are grateful that You have plan a for each of us. Amen
 
One more online lesson will follow next week and Sunday School will gather on November 24, 2024, at 11 am-12 pm right after service. We will enjoy a snack, oral read and discuss “The True Teeny Weenie … True King,” and assemble a follow-up craft. Hope to see you then.
 
Remember to say your prayers,
Margo Greer