I Samuel 16:1-13
Most all of us are familiar with the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. However, if we follow society’s lead today, we will be guilty of that over and over. Society tells us we will be both happy and successful if we surround ourselves with beautiful and glamorous people, ones who wear the latest fashions and spend multiple hours working out in the gym, who drive fancy sports cars and have the latest I-phones, computers and televisions. Society today also tells us that we need to check someone’s investment portfolio, their business resume, and the neighborhood they live in before we consider them worthy of associating with. Would it surprise you if I told you that God doesn’t consider any of these for His followers, or when He’s looking for someone to serve Him? Our Scripture passage today takes a look at what man considers important in a person, and what God is looking at.
Not that long after the nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan River, entering into and taking possession of the Promised Land, they started clamoring for a king to rule over them, like the other nations around them had. Though this was not what God desired for His people, He allowed them to have a king. Israel’s first king was a man named Saul, which the Scriptures say was a tall, handsome, good-looking man (I Samuel 9:1-2). That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. There’s nothing wrong with having a good-looking king. However, if that was the only reason the people picked him, that was a mistake. It ended up that Saul was disobedient to God and His laws, and God rejected him as king (vs. 1). Saul had the good looks and height that people desired, but not the fear of God, the character or integrity that the Lord sought in a leader. Because Saul refused to submit himself to God’s command, the Lord handed the kingdom over to a man who would.
God sent the prophet Samuel to anoint the man that God would select for the next king to replace Saul. He sent Samuel into the village of Bethlehem, to the family of a man named Jesse, to anoint the next king from among his sons (vs. 1-5). Samuel asked Jesse to gather all of his sons together to sanctify them. God told him that the one He picked would be the one he should anoint as next king. Jesse lined up his many sons before Samuel, and Samuel began to fall into the same mistake that so many do, judging by appearance. When the eldest, Eliab, stood before him, Samuel was impressed by his looks, and thought surely he would be the one the Lord chose (vs. 6). God told Samuel otherwise, that He doesn’t look at physical appearances when He picks someone, but by what’s in the heart (vs. 7).
After Samuel went through each of the sons that Jesse had presented, and he felt that God had not picked any of them, he asked Jesse if there were any more sons he hadn’t included. Jesse admitted that there was still the youngest son who was out tending the sheep in the field, but he hadn’t thought to consider him (vs. 8-11). Jesse quite possibly didn’t think much of David. He didn’t think it worth the bother to include him when Samuel asked for all of his sons. David was insignificant and forgotten with his family. As much as that may have hurt David, God’s opinion is the only one that matters. In His eyes we are important.
God does not see or judge in the same way that we do. We are always evaluating people by how they look. God looks only at a person’s heart, their inner disposition and character. We have value to God, not because of our height, weight, hair color, or clothes, but because He loves us. He created us, and we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).
Physical appearance doesn’t reveal what people are really like, or what their true value is. God judges us by our faith and character, not our appearance. Since only God can see what is in our inside, only He can accurately judge us. God checks our motives, whether what we do is for self, wanting to be seen by others, whether it is to feel important, etc. Wrong motives do not please God. He knows the truth.
We may have made a great start in life, but that doesn’t assure us of a good finish. We may look great on the outside, but be filled with rottenness on the inside, like a tree that looks fine, but is filled with rotted, dead pulp. For all of the time we spend maintaining our outward appearance, we should do even more to develop our inward character, patterning it after that of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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