“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him (David) in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” 1 Samuel 16:13
We do not know just how much David knew of God’s calling, and equipping, when he stood before Samuel to be anointed by him to become king of Israel. He was certainly a very young man, and though he would be chosen by God to become the king, it would take years of preparation for him to do so. Why was David chosen? Perhaps the most fundamental reason, and that which is so precious in the sight of God, is that David had a heart for God, one that was so noticeably different from others, being set apart for God. But there was another aspect to David that would make him, not only aware and convinced of his calling, being also confirmed by so many around him, but distinguished by what he was and became, a tremendous testimony to the grace, goodness, and faithfulness of God. That one thing was the anointing of David, firstly illustrated by Samuel pouring oil on his head, but then, the actual coming of the Spirit of God upon him from that moment on. The Holy Spirit, His presence and power, would accompany David, and at every juncture and time of need in his life, would be present to meet his need. The great condition for the Spirit to do so was David’s submission to the authority of God, and faith in His faithfulness.
Many years after David had come and gone, there appeared another Anointed One, called of the Father, and upon whom the Holy spirit came at a certain time, for a certain purpose. He too would have a heart for the Father, but the difference between Him and David was that Christ’s heart was perfectly, at all times and in every way, devoted to the Father, remaining absolutely under His authority. Though the Lord Jesus was filled with the Spirit from before His birth in Bethlehem, the Spirit came upon Him for the work and ministry before Him, when He came up out of the waters of Jordan after being baptized by John the Baptist. Soon after this even, Jesus, returning from the wilderness and a time of temptation by Satan, would return to Nazareth, where He had been raised as a boy, and grown into manhood. There soon came the day in the synagogue in Nazareth, after a scroll of the book of Isaiah was given to Him, that Jesus stood up to read. He read the following passage: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Is.61:1-2) Christ had been chosen before the foundation of the world to be the Messiah, the “anointed One,” the Savior of the world. God the Father not only had called him to be such, but had anointed Him by the Spirit so that He could accomplish the perfect work of salvation, that all men could be saved. Here was the Son of God, in all humility of mind and heart, yet filled with the Spirit of power and authority which the Father had given Him, standing in a simple synagogue, among those who knew Him, declaring that the anointing of God was upon Him. The time had come to enter into His ministry of Life, Light, Love, and Liberty. His calling was accompanied by the very working of the Father by the Spirit. Nothing would be too hard for Him, nor would He fail in the slightest way to do the will of the Father in the accomplishing a perfect salvation.
In John the Apostle’s first letter he writes: “But you have an anointing from the Holy One.” Every believer is anointed by God.
Dear Father, Anoint us afresh today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.