Who Was Jesse in the Bible?
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Many times, the identity of a parent is tied to who their children are. This is the case with Jesse. In the Bible, we know Jesse was David’s father, and while we don’t see Jesse doing great things for God in his life, we know he raised a son who did. The greatness of David forces us to know who his father was. As you learn more about who Jesse was, you will soon realize you cannot talk about Jesse in the Bible without connecting him to David and, ultimately, to Jesus.
Who Was Jesse?
The Bible tells us in Ruth 4:22 that Jesse was the son of Obed and was also David’s father. Outside of this, the Bible does not tell us a lot about who Jesse was. His time on the stage of Scripture is seen primarily in chapters 16 and 17 of 1 Samuel. He did not do a lot, but his household was critical to the throne of Israel, and his lineage was essential to the genealogy of Jesus. Here are a few things from these chapters which help us understand who Jesse was in the Bible:
1. Jesse was an Ephrathite.
We learn from 1 Sam. 17:12 that Jesse was of the people of Ephrath and was from Bethlehem. This was one of the smallest clans in the tribe of Judah and many scholars believe Ephrath and Bethlehem are two names for the same place.
2. Jesse was an ordinary guy with eight sons and two daughters. (If you call having ten kids ordinary.)
There is no indication from the Bible that Jesse served in any influential or leadership capacity in the town of Bethlehem. He was just a regular person. He had no prophetic anointing or priestly heritage and was just a father who had eight sons and two daughters. When we are introduced to Jesse in 1 Samuel 16, Samuel seeks him out because the Lord has sent him on assignment to anoint the next king of Israel. This king would come from one of Jesse’s eight sons.
"The Lord said to Samuel, 'How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king'” (1 Samuel 16:1).
The Bible doesn’t say this, but I believe Jesse had to be honored to know that one of his sons was going to be anointed the next king of Israel. Remember, there was nothing descript about Jesse or anything we can see from Scripture that would point to his household being given this honor. Given his background and the fact he really was an ordinary person, this could have been one of the proudest moments of his life.
3. Jesse did not consider inviting David to this sacrifice.
The Scriptures tell us that each of Jesse's seven sons who stood before Samuel was not the one God had chosen to be the next king. You can offer speculation as to why David was not initially invited to this sacrifice, but the Bible is not clear on why. Maybe Jesse thought since David was the youngest there was no way he would be anointed king. Maybe it was because David was watching the sheep and Jesse didn’t feel it was necessary for him to be there. The answer I would give is simply that David wasn’t present when Samuel invited Jesse and his sons to come to the sacrifice, and it’s possible Jesse simply forgot to include him. Again, these are all speculations, and we don’t have a concrete answer. For some reason, whatever that may be, Jesse overlooked the one whom God would initially anoint as the next king. If there is a lesson in this, it is that, often, the one we least expect is the one God decides to use.
4. Jesse was a loyal servant to King Saul.
The last statement made about Jesse comes in 1 Samuel 17:58:
“Whose son are you, young man?” Saul asked him. David said, “I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem.”
Outside these two chapters, there is not much else we know about who Jesse was. He served Saul and he also allowed David to serve in Saul’s court when he needed someone to play the lyre for him. It was David who was chosen to do that and Jesse willingly sent him to serve Saul.
How Is Jesse Connected to Jesus?
The connection between Jesse and Jesus comes through David. While Saul was the first king of Israel, the lineage and heritage of kings were not tied to Saul but to David. God promised in various places throughout the Bible to establish the throne of David forever, and that is the link to Jesus. Here is one promise from Scripture:
"When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever… Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13; 16).
This promise was made to David and was and will be fulfilled in Christ. When the angel came to Mary to announce she would give birth to Jesus, the angel references this prophecy:
"You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:31-33).
Why Is Jesus from the "Root of Jesse"?
In Isaiah 11, we find another prophecy connecting Jesse to Jesus:
"Shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord"
There is a simple connection that can be made here. Jesse was David’s father and Jesus is the root that would come up from the stump of Jesse. While the connection to Jesse is because of David, Jesus will be the one who will rule, not like David, but even better than David. Jesus will come back and establish his throne and kingdom on the earth and there will be no end to his kingdom.
Perhaps no better verse sums up Jesse’s life better than this one:
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for meone who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times”(Micah 5:2).
Jesse was an ordinary man, from a small clan, and out of his seed came the greatest natural king Israel ever had, David. Also, from the line of David came the King of all kings, the One who is greater than all and who will reign forever. This is Jesus. While Jesse’s life may not have been seen as influential, clearly what happened in the generations to come after him had a tremendous impact. Though small among the clans of Judah, the greatest King and Savior came from the lineage of Jesse.
Photo Credit: Unsplash/Adrian
