Why does God choose certain men to be His representatives, passing others by? What difference was there in His choice of Saul and His choice of David? Being omniscient, God knew precisely the course Saul would take, yet anointed him and promised to be with him (ch. 10:7). Contrary to their own best interests and to His will for them, God answered the demand of the people for a king. It is clear that Saul was popular with the people—a king after their heart, but not God’s. They were not thinking of spiritual leadership but of national strength. When chosen, Saul had serious handicaps. God recognized these, yet forewarned him of the dangers he would meet, and gave him definite counsel on how to meet them.

 With David the case was different. There is no evidence that the people had become dissatisfied with Saul; in fact they were entirely satisfied with the results of the Amalekite campaign. David was the youngest in his father’s house, and in the Orient age carried with it respect and priority (Gen. 29:25, 26). He was a stripling, with no claim to recognition even from the members of his own household (1 Sam. 17:28). He did not have the lofty stature of Saul, nor the physique of Samson. Saul was called from the plow in response to the urgent pleas of the elders for a king. He had little time for training.

David was called from tending sheep, while yet a lad, and had more than a decade in which to prepare for his arduous tasks as leader of the twelve tribes.

 Chosen as a youth, David enjoyed the opportunity of a period of training and testing before he assumed the responsibilities of high office. Where David’s character failed in meeting the divine standards, changes could thus be made before his coronation. God deals similarly with every individual whom He invites to be a member of His kingdom, and particularly with those whom he calls to positions of responsibility. All unconsciously man is tested by the common events of life until finally God can say, “Thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things” (Matt. 25:23). Thus far David had shown himself to possess youthful vigor, a loving, gentle spirit, and fearlessness born of confidence in divine power. He was uncorrupted by the world, a meditative soul growing up in the quiet seclusion of the hills of Bethlehem. There, herding the sheep like Moses in Midian, he acquired a sense of responsibility and developed qualities of leadership that were to carry him through life.

Or, “handsome.”