Psalm 78:70 He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:
There once was a boy named Ephraim. He was the son of Joseph, blessed specifically by his grandfather, Jacob. His family, who became a tribe, was later a leader of the nation. His tribe became the landholder of Shiloh, where God’s ark rested. But Ephraim, the tribe, became proud and unthankful. You can see this in their dealings with Joshua and Gideon. They felt entitled to everything and contemptuous of everyone. They were arrogant.
There once was a boy named David. He was the youngest of Jesse’s sons. He was looked down upon by his brothers. He was overlooked by his dad. In fact, when a prophet came to choose one of Jesse’s sons as the next king of Israel, Jesse basically said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is here before you,” and he wasn’t talking about David, but David’s older brother. David was a shepherd who served his dad by taking care of sheep.
Psalm 78 brings these two names into focus. Ephraim had become prominent, but God had chosen Judah, as the very events of life bore out. Psalm 78:67-71 says, “Moreover he [God] refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim. But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved. And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he had established for ever. He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.”
God chooses and uses those who are faithful in small things. David was faithful as a shepherd, and now he would be the shepherd of God’s people as the king of Israel. David gave God humility and God exalted David. David “fed them [Israel] according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.” Proverbs 22:29 says, “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean [common] men.” David was a man who had intelligence and integrity, a man who was the same throughout his life. Now, David made some profound mistakes; he sinned grievously. But, God uses and chooses those who are faithful in small things.
When David had the audacity to face the giant, Israel’s enemy, he refused Saul’s armor because he had not tested it. He chose a shepherd’s sling. He said to the king, “I was a shepherd and kept my father’s sheep. There was a lion and a bear that came against my father’s sheep, and I killed them and protected the sheep. I will do the same thing to this enemy of Israel, this Philistine Goliath.” By God’s help, he did. He was faithful in being a shepherd of sheep, and God made him a shepherd of an entire nation.
What about you? Are you faithful in the small things that are before you today? Psalm 78 is the story of two names: Ephraim and David. Ephraim, blessed at birth, became arrogant. David, condescended to by his brothers and overlooked by his family, was faithful in the small things. Because of David’s faithfulness, God chose and used him. Don’t be discouraged and don’t be arrogant. God chooses and uses those who do right and are faithful in the small things.