Goblets of Gold or Cups of Clay?

So he sent for him and brought him in. Now he [David] was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 1^st Samuel 16:12 (NKJV)

David was the youngest of 8 brothers. The sons of Jesse were strapping men who evidently displayed what we humanly most admire and tend to bestow honor; stature and good looks. As the youngest, it seems David was not even considered worthy enough by his father to be brought in from tending the family’s sheep to be considered in the kingly selection process.

A king is expected to look the part, strong and regal, a charismatic leader and champion, a goblet of gold. The prophet Samuel thought the same way, and the Lord had to correct his thinking. While David was only a shepherd, in God’s eyes, David broke the kingly mold.

He was called to be king in his early teens. He would not achieve the full honor of his kingship over the entire nation of Israel for probably another 15 to 20 years. At his anointing as a teen, he was honored by the God of heaven, not because of his physical stature, or charismatic personality but because of his love and commitment to Him. 

David was a young man after God’s own heart, even in his broken state. He made some glaring mistakes through his disobedience as king, yet as he repented to his death he remained that man after God’s own heart. God even being promised he would have a kingly line for eternity (2nd Samuel 7:13). We see David was God’s cup of clay, crafted by His own hand to His perfect plan. With all his cracks and chips, David still held water.

God more often than not chooses the weaker vessel to hold His living water. The most amazing thing in that is even a broken vessel can hold it to the brim. He chooses the least expected or honored, not to embarrass or magnify their flaws but to magnify His power and sound wisdom. Apart from Christ we can do nothing. With Him impossibility is impossible (John 15:5, Jeremiah 32:17) Vessels of low order quinch the thirst as well as goblets of gold. Jesus said out of your innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water (John 7:38).

 The need for worth and acceptance is a basic part of the human condition. There are times and circumstances where we may feel real or imagined slights, disregarded, or at worst, ignored. I imagine that might have been how young David felt in this instance. “Go tend the sheep, David. We have grownup things to do.”

God knew David would blow it but chose him anyway. He sees beyond our circumstances and at our heart. We don’t have to be strong, ruddy, with bright eyes, or even physically appealing. He’s not looking to use the bold and the beautiful. He excels in using the weak and the broken to His glory. You just must have a heart that with every pulse beats to know Him in a deeper relational way.

Current circumstances are inconsequential to your worth in Christ. As David, He’ll use the least expected, cracked, broken, or dirty, He’ll fix you and clean you up. Every one of us is broken in some way, yet He still makes us drip proof vessels of honor and if you are His child the honor will be all yours.

Ken