"Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (v.7)
Here in chapter 16, the Lord sent Samuel to Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite, to anoint a new king over Israel (v.1). God told Samuel, "I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” To which Samuel replied, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; then you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you” (vv.1-3)
So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice (vv.4-6). So it was, when they came (the sons of Jessie), that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before Him.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (v.7). God was reminding Samuel to look deeper than physical characteristics. In other words, don't make the same mistake Israel made about their first king. Saul looked the part, but he didn’t have the heart a king of God’s people should have. It didn’t matter how good Eliab looked because God said, “I have refused him” (v.7).
Then Samuel after viewing all of Jesse's sons present at the sacrifice asked, “Are all the young men here?” To which Jesse replied, “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" (v.11). So Jesse sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the LORD said to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" (v.12).
David the shepherd boy did not appear to be kingly material. His youthfulness did not measure up to the age and stature of his older brother Eliab (v.6). Yet the Lord corrected Samuel's original perception (v.7) and David would go on to become a great warrior and the Lord's chosen ruler of His people (1 Samuel 13:14; 18:8; 2 Samuel 7:1-17).
God’s choice of David shows that we don’t have to quit our jobs and enter into full-time ministry to be people after God’s own heart. We don’t need to be famous or prominent to be people after God’s own heart. We don’t need to be respected or even liked by others to be people after God’s own heart. We don’t need status, influence, power, the respect or approval of men, or great responsibilities to be people after God’s own heart.
Now by all outward appearances David’s seven brothers seemed to be better material for royalty than he was. Yet, as unlikely as David was, he was the one chosen by God and anointed by Samuel in the midst of his brothers. From the actions of David, Jesse, and David’s brothers, after this we can assume that only God and Samuel knew exactly what happened here. Everyone else probably thought that Samuel just honored David for an unknown reason. Probably no one even dared to think this was a divine royal anointing. But God knew because He had worked in David’s heart for a long time.
The application for all of us here in chapter 16 would be, when we are tempted to judge someone by his/her outward appearance, we would do well to remember that the heart is what matters to God.
The Truth: “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts.” (Proverbs 21:2)
