Saul ordered David to come to court so that he could test to see if the advice of his servants would work. In this, there is an irony at play as the rejected king unknowingly sought to obtain relief from the newly anointed king.1 David is thus shown to be not only the Lord’s choice but also Saul's choice. Additionally, by mentioning David with the sheep, Saul also characterized him as Israel’s next king.2
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.”