This week's readings is 1 Samuel 16...
My thoughts on this reading...
Samuel was hesitant to do so, but the Lord told him that the time come to anoint a new king. Before you think the Lord is quick to leave behind Saul, it will be another 15 years before David will actually become king. Saul continues to reign, which showed God's patience toward him in giving him opportunity to repent.
There are two things to note about this chapter in my mind... first, God's choice of David isn't based on appearance, but on the heart. It's important to note that sometimes are focus is on what we see, instead of focusing on what the Lord sees in one's heart.
Secondly, how do we handle the Spirit given to David and then the Spirit departing from Saul, and as the text says, a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. Does that last phrase bother you a little bit. What do we think about the "harmful spirit from the Lord". I could try and describe it, but I think this little note from the Lutheran Study Bible does a good job of explaining it...
a harmful spirit from the LORD. Harmful or evil spirits are subject to God’s control and operate only within divinely determined boundaries. What God permits, God is said to do. See note, Jb 1:12. God still guides what Saul does. Chem: “God permits, allows, suffers sin in the sense of deserting or leaving someone to it” (LTh 1:218).
Chem Martin Chemnitz
LTh Chemnitz, Martin. Loci Theologici. Edited by J. A. O. Preus. 2 vols. St. Louis: Concordia, 1989.
Edward A. Engelbrecht, The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 461.
Hope that helps...