Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
1 Samuel 16:6-7 (NIV)
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:6-7 (MSG)
When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Here he is! God’s anointed!” But God told Samuel, “Looks aren’t everything. Don’t be impressed with his looks and stature. I’ve already eliminated him. God judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; God looks into the heart.”
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“So it happened, when they had come, he looked at Eliab [the eldest son] and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” -AMPLIFIED
God has sent Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint the next king. Samuel arrives and speaks to the elders of the town. He instructs them to consecrate themselves to participate with him in sacrificing to God. He also asks them to call Jesse and his boys to come and be part of the sacrifice ceremony.
When it was time for the sacrifice we find Jesse’s boys coming to Samuel one at a time. First it was Eliab, the eldest. When Samuel saw him he thought to himself, “This has to be the guy!” But God spoke to him in this way, “Take no notice of his looks or his height. He is not the one, for the Eternal One does not pay attention to what humans value. Humans only care about the external appearance, but the Eternal considers the inner character.” -(VOICE)
Next, Abinadab came before Samuel. Right away Samuel knew that he was not the one chosen by God. Then there was Shammah, but he too was rejected as the one. Seven of Jesse’s sons passed in front of Samuel, and yet each time, Samuel refused them. The Lord had not chosen any of them. Seven sons of Jesse, but not one of them was the one that God had selected as the future leader of the nation of Israel.
Puzzled, Samuel asks Jesse, “Are these all of your sons?”
Jesse replies, “Well…there is one more. He is the youngest; just a boy. He is out watching over the sheep.”
Samuel tells Jesse to send someone out after the boy. So they waited for the shepherd boy to come in from the fields to join them. When David arrived we find a handsome, healthy, bright eyed young man coming to stand before Samuel.
God tells Samuel, “This is the one! Rise up and anoint him; for this is the one I have chosen.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil that he had brought with him and anointed the boy; right there before all the leaders of Bethlehem and David’s family. Scripture tells us something very important too; God’s Spirit fell upon David. “Then Samuel took the horn filled with olive oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Eternal fell strongly on David and remained from that day on.” -1 Samuel 16:13 (VOICE)
In the very next verse we are told something pertinent and very sad about Saul, “The Spirit of the Eternal left Saul, and an evil spirit sent from the Eternal One tormented him.” -1 Samuel 16:14 (VOICE)
Through this whole process we need to understand what the bottom line was. It is the fact that, “…man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart!” God sees the true man, the character of the man. God can see the deep down, hidden things that make a man who he truly is. We only can judge by actions and words; those two things only give us a partial picture of who a person truly is.
David may have been handsome, but there was more to him besides his looks; much more. He may have only been a boy, but he was already being prepared for great things. He had spent much time in isolation out in the fields learning to rely on God. He had developed a relationship with God that was personal. We are told that he was a man after God’s heart and that all started because
It is a natural tendency for humans to look at a person’s outward appearance. It is what we can see with our senses and understand. We must remember that God sees so much more in a person than we can. God appoints people to serve Him in various capacities because He can see what they are truly made of; what they are capable of.
No one looked at David and said, “Future king of Israel.” God knew what David was capable of though. Yes, as David grew he made mistakes; we all do. But each time that he realized he had sinned he humbly sought forgiveness from God.
Psalm 51 is the prayer of confession from David which he wrote when caught in the sin of adultery with Bathsheba. “Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.” -Psalm 51:7-12 (AMP)
Everyone else saw David’s inexperience. God saw a king!
My Prayer:
Lord, help me not to be so focused on the outward appearance of a person. Help me to be tuned into your Holy Spirit so that I can see their potential; just as you do. Thank you, that you saw something in me that was worth cultivating. I know that without you I would be nothing. You have made me into something wonderful; a servant of the Most High God. I am honored and blessed to be able to serve you, my King.
Growing with God 