1 Samuel 16:7 New
Living Translation
But the Lord said to
Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The
Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward
appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
This event found
in the first book of the Samuel, Israel’s last judge, shows us the criteria God
uses to see the true value and motive of a man.
He can do what no mortal man can do; he can see the true nature of one’s
heart. This world is so fixated on the
outward appearance of an individual that they overlook the type of person they
truly are. Samuel was to pick Saul’s
successor. The King had worn on God’s
patience to the point where it was time for him to be replaced. The Lord sent Samuel to the tribe of
Jesse. He looked over each of Jesse’s
sons thoroughly and based on their outward appearance thought that any one of
them would have been a sound choice, but the Lord said ‘no’. Samuel was looking
for a man who was tall and handsome with the appearance of a commander. The Jews were looking for that type of man in
the Messiah as well. It would appear
that we are all flawed in that way.
God uses who or
what he chooses to accomplish his will.
Here is used a mere boy in David.
He knew that David had a heart after him and that his motives were
pure. That was his choice for the next
King of Israel. David became the
greatest King Israel ever had.
The Lord many
times uses the exact opposite of what we would use. Paul speaks of this in his first letter to
the Corinthian church. “… but God
has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has
chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and
the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that
are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast
before God.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29) Now
David certainly wasn’t despised or weak, but he also wasn’t who Samuel would
have chosen if the choice had been left up to him. We must learn to see others as our Lord sees
them. It’s the only way we can ever hope
to make a difference for God in this world.
Making decisions regarding others based on who the Lord says they truly
are is one of the only things that makes us different than those who are
unsaved. Until next time, walk with the
King and be a blessing!
Resource: The Life Application Study
Bible; published by Tyndale House.
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