1 Samuel 16:14-23
The Spirit of God came upon David (v. 13). But He had departed from the unhappy Saul, giving place to an evil spirit which now troubles him. God uses this to introduce young David into the court. He is a harpist, a skilled musician who later is to become "the sweet psalmist of Israel" (2 Samuel 23:1). And on this occasion, a fine testimony is rendered to him (v. 18) showing that there were some even in the king’s court, who knew the LORD’s anointed. Philippians 4:22 tells us a similar fact: there were also Christians in Caesar’s house, the household of the Roman emperor. Thus God makes sure He has witnesses in every sphere.
Each detail mentioned in v. 18 brings us back to the One of whom David is the type: Christ is the true "rod out of the stem of Jesse". It is written of Him: "The spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him . . . the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD" (Isaiah 11:1-2). What testimony do we bear before the world about our Beloved One?
"I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel", the LORD is to say later (2 Samuel 7:8). By looking after his sheep, David has been prepared "to feed" the people of Israel faithfully (see Psalms 78:70-72).