1 Samuel chapter 16 vs 7:
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.”
This was a pivotal moment in Israel’s history and only the prophet Samuel truly understood it at the time.
King Saul had not obeyed God’s commands, and presumed to take on the role set apart only for the priests.
So God had sent Samuel to anoint a new king, one of the son’s of Jesse.
At first, Samuel thought Eliab was the one, but he was wrong. To be fair to Samuel, you could understand why.
Eliab was:
1. The first born
2. Good looking
3. Tall
4. A warrior in Saul’s army
But for some reason God rejected him as an option for the next king. And the next brother and the next. Seven of them altogether.
Instead he chose Jesse’s youngest son, David, who was such an unlikely candidate that Jesse didn’t even bother having him in the house when the prophet arrived.
He was out looking after the sheep.
The message is pretty clear: It’s important to look at what’s in someone’s heart, and not at the outward appearance of “having it all”, before appointing a leader.
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This must have an astonishing moment in Jesse’s home. He had 8 sons, and the YOUNGEST is anointed king.
We see later that Eliab was somewhat bitter and jealous, as he gave David a very hard time when he came to the battlefield to give supplies from his father to his brothers.
At that point David was still too young to be in the army, but we all know the story … he took down Goliath and changed Israel’s future.
Admittedly, he would make some monumental mistakes, but in all of this his heart was still after God.
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