What Does He See

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

WHAT DOES HE SEE

1 Samuel 16:1-7

6:1 The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." 2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? Saul will hear about it and kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate." 4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?" 5 Samuel replied, "Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD." 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 man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

NIV

It is now time for the selection of David, but we must make a few stops along the way because we see truths we must ponder. The LORD sent Samuel to Bethlehem, the city that will forever be called the city of David. First, we notice the LORD tells Samuel it is long enough to mourn over Saul, it is time to move on, and to anoint the new king of Israel. As he encounters Jesse, Samuel sees this son of Jesse, a hunk of a man, tall, muscular, one who would demand respect. But the LORD told Samuel not to look at the outward appearance, for the LORD does not look at the outward appearance, but he looks at the heart. Here is where we need to ponder. We know everything is about the condition of our heart. We would think that all our actions, our behavior, and our speech are all influenced by our thinking, which should be controlled by our heart. But we wonder if that is always true, for we know we do things, behave, and say things that are not from a heart dedicated to God, from a heart bent toward self. Simply put, we fail; our heart fails. Yet, at the same time, we want to serve our Lord, we want to do his will, we want to follow the path he has laid out for us. He knows our heart, he knows we desire to do his will, and he knows we are weak, as we live in this frail flesh with all its faults. However, our flesh is still formed by our creator; in fact, he knew us before we were in our mother’s womb. He knows the very fabric of our hearts, and he loves us. He saw fit to make sure we heard the good news about the kingdom of God, Jesus. He made sure we would know he is the Lord, showing his mighty power, overshadowing everything we thought was true, proving he is the Lord, the master of the Universe. Why would our hearts not always be bent toward him? Of course, we do things, we perform works of service, or good deeds, and we gather to worship, and although all that might be good. God really looks right into our hearts to see who we truly are on the inside. He looks at our hearts. What does he see?