She Is Never Named. Gives Birth to a Reject. He Produces a King.
She’s never named in the Bible. Her story is only whispered. But her pain was loud, and her son was labeled. While others carried swords, she carried shame. Yet from her womb came a warrior, a worshiper, and a king. This is the story of the unnamed woman who birthed the rejected son God handpicked.
We all know who David's father is, Jesse. We have all heard of David's brothers and David's occupation as a shepherd boy. He was often sent off into the wilderness to tend sheep as his brothers were sent off as war heroes. Sometimes his father would send him to bring food to his brothers, but David was never considered the same as his brothers. He knew it and they knew it.
“I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons.”
— Psalm 69:8
We all know David’s father—Jesse. We’ve heard about his
older brothers, the warriors, the ones honored by name. But David? He was the
youngest. The shepherd boy.
The one left in the field.
He was often sent away, pushed to the margins while his
brothers went off to fight. Sometimes, he was asked to serve them—bring food,
run errands. But he was never treated like one of them.
He knew it.
And so did they.
“I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own
mother’s sons.”
— Psalm 69:8
David’s mother is never named in the Bible, but Jewish
tradition gives her a name: Nitzevet bat Adael. Some commentaries say that
Jesse—uncertain about his marriage due to a legal technicality—separated from
her without divorcing her. Still, she remained faithful.
Eventually, they conceived David, but because of the separation, the community assumed
infidelity.
From that point on, David lived under suspicion. The
whispers. The shame. The labels.
Jesse kept his sons away from David. David was kept in the
fields, out of sight—away from prophets, away from opportunity, away from favor.
He grew up rejected, misunderstood, labeled… but still chosen.
💬 Maybe You Know That
Feeling Too
Maybe you were cast out, left behind, or labeled by family,
courts, or society. Maybe your childhood came with whispers of shame. Maybe
someone decided who you were before you had the chance to decide for yourself. Maybe
that’s how you ended up behind bars—or living under someone else's story about
you.
You’re not alone. David knew that pain too. Even his own
father didn’t call his name when the prophet came to anoint a king. But God
called him anyway.
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks
at the heart.”
— 1 Samuel 16:7
If You’ve Been
Rejected, Read This:
- Rejection
doesn’t cancel your calling.
You may be forgotten by people—but you’re still remembered by God. - Your
labels are not your identity.
You’re more than your charges, your mistakes, or your past. - Legitimacy
comes from the Lord.
He anoints the ones the world overlooks. He sends His Spirit to those left in the field—and those locked behind fences. - A
mother’s pain matters.
If someone in your life suffered silently while you were pushed aside—God saw them too.
Reflection:
If you feel like you’re on the outside, If people called you
a failure, If you were left behind by your own family, You’re in good company.
God doesn’t just use kings in palaces. He raises up
shepherds from the fields. And sometimes, He starts a legacy right in the place
of rejection.
You are not forgotten. You are not discarded. You are not
done. You are chosen.
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