The Replacement

1 Samuel 16-17 introduces the man who will fill Saul's self-centered shoes. David is a shepherd boy who is trained in defending his flock and who has a penchant for music. God picks him over his brothers, and he immediately becomes useful both to Saul and to Israel, in calming Saul's troubled soul and in silencing Goliath, the giant who challenged Israel.

God wants us to be concerned about His people and not just about ourselves. The contrast between farmer and shepherd, as before with Cain and Abel, reappears here. The people around us are not here to merely be harvested for our use, but to be protected for their benefit. Every person who is in a leadership position should know this, and remember it well. God's desire for leaders is that they put the needs of the people above their own desires.