(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
1 Samuel 16:1–5, “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.”
Samuel had invested a large amount of emotional capital in Saul as king. At first he resented the fact that Israel had rejected him as their leader. Later he came to understand that Israel had rejected the Lord rather than himself in their desired to be like the neighbouring nations. When the Lord rejected Saul because Saul refused to obey the Lord, choosing to define the Lord’s will for himself, Samuel grieved over the fact that Saul was rejected. The Lord told Samuel to get over Saul and get on with life. Even though Samuel had been wounded in the Lord’s service, he still had a role to play in Israel’s future. Samuel to take everything that was required to anoint another king for Israel. He had played a part in establishing Israel’s choice as king but now he was to go forward and anoint the Lord’s choice as king. The Lord had already selected His own choice for king and Samuel needed to go and prepare this new king to replace Saul when the time was right. Samuel was afraid of Saul because Saul had torn his coat before when he was trying to persuade Samuel to change the Lord’s will so he didn’t want Saul to find out that he was anointing a new king. The Lord told Samuel to take an animal for a sacrifice, go the Bethlehem and invite Jesse to come to a sacrifice. When Samuel anointed Saul as king he offered a sacrifice as well. Samuel had been the Judge for many years and the leaders in Bethlehem were afraid that something was wrong when the retired Judge arrived in their town. He told them that he had come to offer a sacrifice and Jesse was required to attend. This was all completely true.
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