Look on the heart

I Samuel 16:1-13

¹The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” ²Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” ⁴Samuel did what the LORD commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” ⁵He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’S anointed is now before the LORD.” ⁷But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” ⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” ⁹Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” ¹⁰Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” ¹²He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” ¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

            Our text is part of the cycle of stories of David, the boy shepherd who became ancient Israel’s second and greatest king.  You may recall that other, more familiar boyhood story of David, when he volunteers to go up against the giant Goliath. In a way, this story is a prelude or foreshadowing of that story of how a young boy defeats a large and dreaded warrior.

            As our text opens, things for the first king of Israel have started to go badly.  So God sends the spiritual leader of Israel, the judge Samuel, to anoint God’s chosen successor to Saul.  Samuel is told to go and pick out God’s chosen one from among the eight sons of Jesse of Bethlehem.  When Samuel arrives, Jesse brings out his first born son – a tall strapping lad, a worthy successor to Saul, who was also chosen for his impressive physical features.  But Samuel hears God telling him, no, this is not the one.  So Samuel asks to see the other sons. And one by one, from the oldest on down, Jesse’s sons appear.  After seven sons – none of whom are acceptable – Samuel says, “Is this all of them?”  With some reluctance, Jesse brings out the youngest son – David. Now, in this ancient culture, the youngest son was about as unimportant as you could get.  But David is the chosen one, and Samuel calls him forth and anoints him.

            Within the context of the Hebrew Bible, this story sets the stage for the choosing of David as God’s king and priest for the people of Israel.  Within the context of our lives, the story is a reminder that God does not consider outward appearances, but inward faith and character.

            As children, we all enjoyed this story.  I suspect Norman heard this story a little differently than most of us did and do.  For Norman knew what it was like to be passed over.  To be the shortest guy in the class.  To be the runt of the litter.  To be picked last. To be stared at, because his body was misshapened.  But through his family – and especially that aunt – Norman learned the full meaning of Samuel’s word when he explains why that tall strapping eldest son was not going to be the next king:  “The LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

            Now this is an important lesson for all of us to learn.  To not judge a book by its cover.  To judge a man on the strength of his character – not the color of his skin or the shape of his body (cf Martin Luther King).  To look for the inward and lasting strength of a person.  Something we need to be reminded of, to be sure.

            But there is a larger and deeper, and more important lesson here, I think. One that is for all of us, and it is this:  When we stand before God, who among us is tall and deserving and worthy?  As the Psalmist said, when we consider all that God has done, who are human beings to be considered at all?  Compared to the goodness and greatness of God, who dares to say, “I measure up”?  None of us, of course.

            Yet, God in God’s grace, loves us all anyway.

            God, in God’s grace, calls us his children and makes us heirs of the kingdom.

            God, in God’s grace, takes our broken bodies and wounded spirits, our shattered hopes and deepest despair, and declares, “You are mine. You are my children. You are my beloved. You belong to me!”

            God, in God’s grace, surrounds us with everlasting love.

            God, in God’s grace, is with us from the first cries of birth until we take our last breath – and on beyond even the mysteries of life and death itself.

            And therein lies our hope. Therein is our comfort, even in our grief.  Especially in our grief.  For we belong to God.  We belong to the God who is with us in even in the valley of the shadow of death.  And so we fear no evil.  For God is our rod and our staff. God is a very present help in time of trouble. God is our rock and our salvation.

            This is the word of the Lord.  This is God’s word to you.  Now let us take comfort in these words.  AMEN.

R. Charles Grant

Bon Air Presbyterian Church

Richmond, VA

September 14, 2007