![]() Proverbs 4:23 explains that everything we do flows from our hearts. The heart in Scripture is a person’s inner moral and spiritual life. Moral and spiritual considerations are far more important to God. Outward qualities are, by definition, superficial. Physical looks don’t show us a person’s value or character or integrity or faithfulness to God. The outward appearance doesn’t reveal what people are really like. In his time alone in the fields, shepherding the flocks, David had come to know God as his Shepherd (see Psalm 23).Īppearances can be deceiving. But David had developed a heart after God. Although the Bible says he was handsome (verse 12), David was not a striking figure. After Samuel passed over the other sons, they sent for David, and the Lord said, “This is the one” (1 Samuel 16:12).ĭavid was God’s choice-imperfect but faithful, a man after God’s heart. David, Jesse’s youngest son, whom they had not even bothered to call, was out tending the sheep. God was looking for one who had a faithful heart. Samuel looked at all seven of Jesse’s older sons, but the Lord rejected them all as His choice for king. The Lord had earlier revealed to Samuel that He sought a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). But God had a different man in mind to anoint as Israel’s king. Samuel may have been looking for someone like Saul, and Eliab’s appearance was quite striking. Saul, Israel’s first king, was tall and handsome. Humans look at outward appearances, but the LORD looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, GWT). “Surely, this is the man the Lord wants me to anoint,” said the prophet (verse 6).īut God told Samuel, “Don’t look at his appearance or how tall he is, because I have rejected him. As Samuel looked at Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, Samuel was impressed with what he saw. In 1 Samuel 16, the time had come for Samuel to go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem to anoint Israel’s next king. ![]() God knows our true character because he “looks at the heart.” But God has the unique ability to see inside a person. Often these are the physical qualities we seek in a leader. If a person is tall, good-looking, well-built, and tastefully dressed, then he or she possesses physical qualities that humans generally admire and respect. People tend to judge the character and worth of others by looking at outward appearances.
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