阅读经文 

扫罗王在一个重要的顺服试验中失败后，于是耶和华便进行另一个计划。神差遣撒母耳去寻找一个新王，好让神子民的王室有一个新的开始。

拣选和膏立大卫这个引人入胜的故事便这样揭幕了。耶西的儿子们列队在撒母耳面前经过，有些儿子的外貌看起来很合适，然而耶和华却一直在泼冷水，结果把他们逐一否决了。最后，正在放羊的小儿子被召回家，面色光红、容貌俊美的大卫走进来。耶和华见到并且称许他的内心，祂便告诉撒母耳，要膏立大卫为神子民的下一位君王。

大卫就是这样一举成名了，大卫不寻常之处，就是他是一个出人意料之外的寻常人。

很多动听的故事都是这样开始的。例如，在参加舞会之前，灰姑娘一直都被忽视；在误进纳尼亚世界之前，彼得、苏姗、艾德蒙和露西只不过是在玩捉迷藏的小孩而已。

大卫具有的特质，都在每一个在基督里蒙拣选的人的身上体现了。神不寻常的慈爱和计划，也在出人意料之外的寻常的人身上展开，他们接受了崇高和圣洁的呼召。在基督里，我们“是有君尊的祭司”，（参彼前 2:9）我们被膏，为要侍奉将要降临的神的国度。

When King Saul fails a great test of obedience, the Lord moves on. God sends Samuel on a mission to find a new king, a royal fresh start for God's people.

This leads to the fascinating story of David's selection and anointing. The sons of Jesse parade in front of Samuel. Some of them look the part, given their outward appearance. But the Lord pours cold water on that, rejecting one after another. Finally, the youngest son is brought in from tending the sheep. With a healthy glow and nonetheless handsome, David arrives. The Lord has seen and approved of David's heart, and he tells Samuel to anoint David as the future king of God's people.

In this way David is plucked from obscurity. And the extraordinary thing about David is that he is surprisingly ordinary.

So many good stories start out this way. For example, Cinderella is overlooked until she goes to the ball. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are just ordinary kids playing hide and seek until they stumble into the world of Narnia.

What David embodies is true for all people chosen in Christ. God's extraordinary love and plans begin with strikingly ordinary people, who receive a high and holy calling. In Christ, we are "a royal priesthood", (1 Peter 2:9) anointed to serve God's coming kingdom.