“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah” (1 Sam 16:13).

The story of God’s choice of David to rule over his people is not only rich in allusions to the story of Joseph, who himself happens to be a prefiguration of Moses (a Hebrew slave, rejected by his brothers, named by Egyptians, mistaken for Egyptians by their dress, marries the daughter of a Gentile priest, has two sons, becomes ruler over his people, etc.), but also contains an allusion to two other incredibly significant texts in the Torah. According to 1 Samuel 16:13, David is anointed “in the midst of his brothers.” This exact phrase as well as a very close variant of it is used in only two other passages in Scripture: Deuteronomy 17 and Deuteronomy 18.

In Deuteronomy 17, it is used with respect to the choosing of Israel’s king. “You shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one FROM THE MIDST OF HIS BROTHERS you shall set as king over yourselves” (Deut 17:15a). In Deuteronomy 18, it is used with reference to the tribe of Levi (Deut 18:2), and also in reference to the promise of a prophet like Moses: “I will raise up a prophet FROM THE MIDST OF HIS BROTHERS like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him” (Deut 18:18).

Consider for a moment the potency of these tiny allusion to Deuteronomy 17-18: the author paints a portrait of David using all the key colors associated with Israel’s Messiah. The Messiah will be Israel’s King of kings, Israel’s Highest Priest, and a Prophet like Moses. Add when we consider the parallels between God’s choice of David over his older brothers with Joseph earlier in this chapter, we also see David as a picture of Israel’s suffering servant (compare 1 Sam 16:11 with Gen 37:2).

Friends, the plot-structure of the Hebrew Bible is like a gently flowing river. When we willingly go with its flow, the river of redemption leads every truth seeking reader to the King, High Priest, Prophet, and Suffering Servant whom God sent to redeem and rule over the world!

“Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44).