I Samuel 16:7,
"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the
height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth
not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the
LORD looketh on the heart."
This morning, once again man is plagued by the observations and
judgments of things that are seen. We perceive, discern, and act based
on the things that we see, and many times, our error lies in the fact
that our senses betrayed us, as the answer was not seen, heard, felt,
tasted, or smelled. To act simply on measurable observation of the
senses is a recipe for a sure and ready disaster. To believe that our
observation of a thing is the gold standard is one of the peaks of human
arrogance and pride. Therefore, let us learn from the Master of
observation as nothing passes beyond or around His eye of sense that
perceives and knows the fulness of all things in this old world. To do
this and do it correctly, we must admit our own fallibility and
shortcomings. We must admit that there are realms that we cannot
traverse or pass over in our daily activities.
Samuel has come to the house of Jesse (at the command of the Lord) to
anoint a new king over Israel to rule in the place and stead of Saul.
Because of Saul's disobedience, the Lord chose a new house and a new
line for royalty in Israel. Now that Israel has a king (by their own
desire), the Lord will establish a new house from which the King of
kings will spring. As Samuel seeks the new anointed of the Lord, the
Lord teaches the prophet (and us today) a great lesson that we would do
well to take heed. Samuel was a man subject to like passions as are we,
and as mortal creatures, we cannot judge the heart of a person as it
falls into the realm beyond our scope to discern. While we at times see
and observe the fruit of a heart, we cannot state with absolute
certainty the state of a man's heart. To think we can beyond a shadow of
a doubt flies in the face of clear, Scriptural statement and shows man's
utter folly of self-aggrandizement.
Samuel looked upon Jesse's firstborn Eliab as being surely the anointed
of the Lord. What Samuel was doing was placing Saul as the standard by
which the Lord would act. Saul stood head and shoulders above the realm
in physical stature, and Samuel looked for the new king to be commanding
in physical presence and lordly in his appearance. The Lord, however,
plainly declares Eliab as not the Lord's anointed along with the next 6
sons of Jesse. When the last of the sons (David) comes in, he is but a
youth and of a ruddy complexion. To the worldly estimation, David is a
far inferior choice based on his age, experience, presence, and
appearance than Eliab is. But, the Lord chose David and rejected Eliab.
What should we learn from this?
While David was young, tender, and inexperienced by worldly standards,
the Lord saw a tender heart (made so by God Almighty) that He had
prepared to rule over His people Israel. The world would have the
choicest, richest, lordliest people to inhabit the chiefest places on
this earth, but the Lord has chosen the despised, poor, and rejected
people of this earth to inhabit the choicest land (church) on this
earth. (Zephaniah 3:12) This poor and afflicted people have not much to
offer in worldly things, but the heart of that people is tender in the
sight of God and prepared and fit as vessels of honour to the Master's
use in His courts.
Also, we are to learn pivotally and foremost that we are not the judges
of who the Lord's people are. As inept as Samuel was at discerning who
the Lord's anointed was, we are just as inept at declaring the Lord's
elect family in this world. The Lord knoweth them that are His (II
Timothy 2:19), and we need to be content keeping ourselves unspotted
from the world, while leaving the final chair and bar of authority on
that matter to Him. Our best fruit inspection that we have (profession
of faith in Christ) pales in comparison to His eye that cuts through the
dark and hidden things to discern those that He knows, loves, and paid
for.
Lastly, David, in the Scriptures, foreshadows his future offspring
(Christ) in many ways. In the next chapter, David will defeat the giant
Goliath in miraculous fashion, and also give us a picture of the
ultimate battle that Christ fought and won on our behalf as the
spiritual house of Israel. So, what does David's anointing on this
occasion foreshadow? Hebrews 1 tells us that the Father has anointed His
Son with the oil of gladness above His fellows. The Father honoured His
Son while He lived and worked in this old world to be the Prince that
brought us life. While He did not have much in worldly goods, His is the
richest King that has ever lived. While His outward appearance looked
meek and lowly, He brought the salvation of sinners in full resplendent
glory through the gates of heaven. While living in the poorest of
conditions with not even a place to lay His head, He owns and rules over
all. While perceived to the world as the son of a
lowly carpenter of Galilee, He is declared to be the Son of the Highest
by the resurrection from the dead.
David went from his anointing to do great things by the hand of the
Lord. His beginning looked feeble and poor, but his end is glorious and
refulgent. Christ came into this world as the anointed of God in humble
beginnings, but He left this world as the victorious and conquering
King. What no one but God saw in David before this time was manifest in
short order, and what no one saw in Christ's beginning will be manifest
in due time. David was anointed in the presence of just a few witnesses,
but soon all of Israel knew him as their leader and king. Christ came
and was heralded to the knowledge of just a few, with even some of His
miracles being perceived by a small handful, but soon all of spiritual
Israel will know Him as their Lord and Master.
Dear friends, the outward appearance can only tell us a little, but God
knows all from the inside out. Let us leave the inside to Him, seek to
perceive and discern what we can justly and righteously and always seek
to honour the One that soon all will see coming in the clouds with
glory. When David ascended the throne, his enemies knew who he was (he
had defeated many of them before his ascent), and some of the Lord's
enemies know who is as He obliterated their power and grip before His
ascension. At that last day, all will know Him from the least to the
greatest, and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus
is Lord. Let us be found following His commands till He shall call us
home and leave His matters to Him.
In Hope,
Bro Philip |