“And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all the young men here?’ Then he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here’ ” (1 Samuel 16:11, 12).
Edward Kimball led a Sunday school class in Boston more than 150 years ago. One of his charges was a young shoe salesman named Dwight Moody, who often dozed off in class. Kimball visited Moody at the store and led him into a relationship with Jesus. Moody became a world-famous preacher; his influence reached down to a preacher named Mordacai Ham. Mr. Ham held a revival in North Carolina, where God touched the heart of a lanky high school student and baseball player named Billy Graham.
Those who have read Scripture know Jesse as David’s father, and, therefore, as an ancestor of Jesus. We also know Jesse as the grandson of Ruth and Boaz. Jesse was apparently a prosperous landowner, sheep raiser, and father.
But that’s about all we know about Jesse. The Bible doesn’t give us much more in the way of a biography, and after the pivotal moment of Samuel anointing David in Jesse’s home, we hear little more of Jesse’s life. The Bible’s final significant mention of David’s father occurs in 1 Samuel 22:3, when David asked the king of Moab to allow Jesse and David’s mother to move there during a perilous time.
We should never underestimate the influence of one man on either his physical or spiritual children. While we know a great deal about Abraham, and certainly about David’s son Solomon, what Solomon was told about his grandfather Jesse remains a mystery, though his legacy through David is not.
David was a man after God’s own heart; surely Jesse must have influenced David’s actions, even if we don’t have a record of that influence. If you have responsibility for training someone—either your own child or a spiritual one—take care to impart the important lessons of God’s truth, and model those truths as you do.
Lord, please help me to realize the importance of my actions in leaving a legacy for others.
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