1 Samuel 16.

As a result of Saul’s further rebellion against the Lord and his subsequent rejection by the LORD, Samuel here is commissioned to seek out the one who would succeed Saul on the throne of Israel. This one had already been identified as “a man after [God’s] own heart” (13:14) and “one of [Saul’s] neighbors” who was “better than” he (15:28). David had been chosen from eternity past to be ruler of Israel. The rejection of Saul did not force the LORD to a new course of action. Rather, God’s action followed His omniscient plan in such a way as to use Saul’s disobedience as the human occasion for implementing His higher plan. God had permitted the people to have the king of their choice. Now that that king and their mistake in choosing him had been clearly manifested, God proved the superiority of His own wisdom in raising up a king who would come in fulfillment of His will and who was in the lineage prophesied of old.