Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

³⁴ Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. ³⁵ Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death. But Samuel was filled with sorrow because of Saul. And the Lord was sorry that He had made Saul king over Israel.

David Becomes King

16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you be filled with sorrow because of Saul, since I have turned away from him being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse of Bethlehem. For I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.” ² But Samuel said, “How can I go? Saul will kill me when he hears about it.” The Lord said, “Take a young cow with you, and say, ‘I have come to give a gift to the Lord.’ ³ Ask Jesse to come when you give the gift, and I will show you what you should do. You will choose for Me the one I name to you.” ⁴ So Samuel did what the Lord said, and came to Bethlehem. The leaders of the city came shaking with fear to meet him. They said, “Do you come in peace?” ⁵ Samuel said, “I have come in peace to give a gift to the Lord. Make yourselves holy and come with me as I give the gift.” He set apart Jesse and his sons also, and asked them to come to the gift-giving. ⁶ When they had come, Samuel looked at Eliab and thought, “For sure he is the Lord’s chosen one who is standing before Him.” ⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at the way he looks on the outside or how tall he is, because I have not chosen him. For the Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outside of a person, but the Lord looks at the heart.” ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one.” ⁹ Next Jesse made Shammah pass by. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one.” ¹⁰ Jesse made seven of his sons pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all the children?” And Jesse said, “There is yet the youngest one. See, he is taking care of the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send for him. We will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹² So he sent for him and brought him in. His youngest son had good color in his skin, beautiful eyes and was good-looking. The Lord said, “Rise up and choose him. For this is the one.” ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and poured the oil on him in front of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord came upon David with strength from that day on. And Samuel got up and went to Ramah.

Prayer to Be Kept Safe

20 May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble! May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe. ² May He send you help from the house of God, and give you strength from Zion. ³ May He remember all your gifts of grain given on the altar in worship. And may He be pleased with your burnt gifts.

⁴ May He give you the desire of your heart, and make all your plans go well. ⁵ We will sing for joy when you win. In the name of our God we will lift up our flags. May the Lord give you all the things you ask Him for.

⁶ Now I know that the Lord saves His chosen one. He will answer him from His holy heaven, with the saving power of His right hand. ⁷ Some trust in wagons and some in horses. But we will trust in the name of the Lord, our God. ⁸ They have fallen on their knees. But we rise up and stand straight. ⁹ O Lord, save! May the King answer us when we call.

⁶ We are sure of this. We know that while we are at home in this body we are not with the Lord. ⁷ Our life is lived by faith. We do not live by what we see in front of us. ⁸ We are sure we will be glad to be free of these bodies. It will be good to be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So if we stay here on earth or go home to Him, we always want to please Him. ¹⁰ For all of us must stand before Christ when He says who is guilty or not guilty. Each one will receive pay for what he has done. He will be paid for the good or the bad done while he lived in this body.

¹¹ Because of this, we know the fear of God. So we try to get men to put their trust in Christ. God knows us. I hope that your hearts know me well also. ¹² We do not want to sound as if we think we are so important. Instead, we are making it easy for you to be proud of us. In that way, you will be able to tell them about us. They always talk about the way people look, but do not care about their hearts. ¹³ Are we crazy to talk like this? It is all because of what God has done. If we are using our minds well, it is for you.

¹⁴ For the love of Christ puts us into action. We are sure that Christ died for everyone. So, because of that, everyone has a part in His death. ¹⁵ Christ died for everyone so that they would live for Him. They should not live to please themselves but for Christ Who died on a cross and was raised from the dead for them.

¹⁶ So from now on, we do not think about what people are like by looking at them. We even thought about Christ that way one time. But we do not think of Him that way anymore. ¹⁷ For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun.

The Picture-Story of the Grain

²⁶ He said, “The holy nation of God is like a man who plants seed in the ground. ²⁷ He goes to sleep every night and gets up every day. The seed grows, but he does not know how. ²⁸ The earth gives fruit by itself. The leaf comes first and then the young grain can be seen. And last, the grain is ready to gather. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it. The time of gathering the grain has come.”

The Picture-Story of the Mustard Seed

³⁰ Jesus said, “In what way can we show what the holy nation of God is like? Or what picture-story can we use to help you understand? ³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed that is planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds. ³² After it is put in the ground, it grows and becomes the largest of the spices. It puts out long branches so birds of the sky can live in it.” ³³ As they were able to understand, He spoke the Word to them by using many picture-stories. ³⁴ Jesus helped His followers understand everything when He was alone with them.