Joel M Bradshaw

6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.”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 sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”–1 Samuel 16

Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint the next king. He did this while Saul was still living, so it was a stealth mission. And Samuel made an honest mistake in his thinking. We remember that Saul was the original choice to be king. And Saul was taller than everyone else, a mighty specimen. So certainly Jesse’s son Eliab was the choice. We learn two fundamental matters in today’s passage.

1. GOD CHOOSES SOME AND REJECTS OTHERS. As Samuel passed before each man, God told him either yes or no. We don’t know why God chooses the way he does. We want him to show that grace to everyone. But God’s choice is always his business alone. This gives us comfort for example when we don’t know the faith situation of someone who died. God handles his business. If you belong to Jesus, rejoice in the fact that God chose you. That choice was before the creation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Keep praying for the unsaved people in your life and in this world. We never know God’s final choice, because God ultimately handles his business regarding a person’s heart. And that leads to the second point.
2. GOD SEES THE INNER PERSON. God obviously cares about the outward things. Just look at all the prohibitions against outward sins in the Bible. But the outer flows from the inner. Murder is not manslaughter, because murder requires intent and intent is the heart. People in Jesus’ day could live outward holy lives, but could secretly sin in their heart and God called them hypocrites. Now in our text today, it didn’t help the argument that David was still handsome with bright eyes. Maybe all the guys in Jesse’s family were lookers. But David’s heart is what stood out to God originally.

This is what sealed it for Boaz regarding Ruth (Ruth chapter 2). I’m sure she was quite impressive looking working so hard in the fields the day they met. But it was her heart to take care of her mother-in-law that stood out to him! Our first inclination is to look at the outside. We prioritize beauty, attitude, popularity, personality, and wealth. These are what we can see. We can’t see the inner person until journeying with a person reveals it to us. We can see the perspectives they have, the stories they maintain. We can see the fruit hanging on their spiritual branches. We can see what they are intentional about. We can see where and how they relationally invest. We can notice how they use their influence. Are they caring? Above all else, we can recognize a person who is seeing their story used for God’s glory.

The outside beauty has a shelf life. The inside beauty just gets more beautiful. We are challenged personally to live lives where our outside flows from our faithful inside. God famously challenged Israel to love Him with all their insides (Deuteronomy 6). We are also reminded to see what God sees regarding a person. As I interview leaders for the support groups I oversee, I need to know their stories and how their faith in Jesus actually impacts others. I need to know motivations and perspectives. The inner person is what will lead someone to care for another.

…he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:2b-3)

The greatest servant of all time was not beautiful or desirable. He instead had a story that connected with the rejected and depressed of the world. A person of outer beauty can have inner beauty, too, but we spend so much time in front of mirrors worrying about what others see. Do we even care what God sees?–JMB