He Sees the Heart: What We Miss, God Knows

In chapter 15 of 1 Samuel, God rejected Saul as king because he repeatedly failed to obey Him.

The people of Israel had sinfully demanded a king, and God allowed them to have the king of their choice. By the end of chapter 15, it was obvious to everyone that their choice had been a poor one. Saul’s failure may have taken the people by surprise, but it didn’t surprise God. It didn’t cause God to have to change his plans.

God had planned to give Israel a king, but it would be God’s chosen king at his chosen time. In his sovereignty, God had allowed Saul to fail as part of a bigger plan. God used Saul’s failure not only to place his person on the throne but to demonstrate to the people that God’s plan is always better and his foresight is always farther than ours.

We are regularly surprised in life, but God never is. He’s in complete control of everything going on in your life. He has a reason and a purpose for everything you face, and that purpose will be accomplished.

He also loves you beyond comprehension. We may never understand his plan or get an answer to all our “why?”s, but we can rest in the truth that nothing can ever separate us from his steadfast love (Romans 8:38-39) and in his promise that he’s working everything for our good (Romans 8:28).

Back in 1 Samuel, God had already dropped some hints about the person he had chosen as king. He was “a man after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) and “one of [Saul’s] neighbors” who was “better than” Saul (1 Samuel 15:28). But who was it?

In chapter 16, we find out. The last time we saw Samuel, he was mourning for Saul. Now, God gives him a job to do:

The Lord told Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” (1 Samuel 16:1)

Samuel was tasked with anointing God’s person as the new king. He traveled to Bethlehem and, once there, invited Jesse and his sons to attend a sacrifice. It was here that God would show Samuel which son of Jesse was the future king. In the process, we learn a valuable lesson about God.

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But 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 16:6-7)

This is one of those verse to underline and highlight in your Bible. Samuel looked at Jesse’s oldest son and thought, “This must be the guy. He looks the part!” God says, “Not so fast, my friend. Saul looked the part, too, didn’t he? How’d that work out for ya?”

Actually, God didn’t say that. Instead, God said something like this: “Don’t judge a man by his looks. Judge people the way I do, by their character.” We can’t see inside a person’s heart, but God can, and God is much more concerned with who we are than how we look.

When I attended seminary in New Orleans, I learned how great the food is there. It’s where I first had étouffée and jambalaya, and where I fell in love with crawfish (yes, I sucked the heads). It didn’t take us students long to figure out that the best food was in the most hole-in-the-wall places. The uglier the place, the better the food. We learned not to judge a restaurant by how shabby it looked but by the character of the food.

We must do a better job of evaluating people by their character, not their appearance.

Conversely, we all spend time working on our looks, and there’s nothing necessarily wrong with that. But do we spend enough time working on our character?

Back in Bethlehem, Jesse sent his sons one by one to pass before Samuel. And one by one, Samuel said, “Nope, it isn’t him.” Finally, he asked Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” “Well,” Jesse said, “there’s my youngest, but he’s out tending sheep. Surely you aren’t looking for him. He’s just a teenager.”

Every time I read this story, it reminds me of Cinderella when Chad Michael Murray comes to the house with the glass slipper and asks, “Isn’t there anyone else here besides this mom and her two daughters?” “Yes, there’s Lizzie McGuire, but it can’t possibly be her.” Wait, that didn’t happen. Wrong movie. It was Alex Russo and a Zune. No, that isn’t quite right either. Where was the glass slipper? Listen — don’t judge me. I have two daughters, and there were multiple times when I cried out to God, “How many versions of this story can they possibly make??” The answer is obviously “Infinity.”

Back to 1 Samuel. As soon as the youngest son walked up, God said to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he” (1 Samuel 16:12). Here he is, Israel’s next king. Ladies and gentlemen, meet David.

God knew David’s character. He knew David was a man “after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). He was certainly not someone the people would have chosen as king, at least not at the time of his anointing, but he was the person God wanted for the job. And remember, God often uses the most unexpected people to do his greatest work.

Samuel took olive oil and anointed David as king. The oil represented holiness, and anointing designated the recipient as holy and set apart for special service for the Lord. While it would be years before David would become king, his anointing verified that one day he would.

When David was anointed, “the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward” (1 Samuel 16:13). At the same time, the Holy Spirit left Saul (1 Samuel 16:14). As we discussed in our study of the Holy Spirit, in the Old Testament he didn’t indwell people the way he lives within Christians today. Instead, he came “upon” people, empowering them to do his work. The Holy Spirit was no longer upon Saul but upon David instead.

The rest of chapter 16 tells us how David was invited by Saul to serve him in his court. God worked his will in such a way that David was able to live with the king and learn what it was like to lead a nation. Even though he was already anointed as king, David had lots to learn before he sat on the throne. This waiting time wasn’t wasted time. It was time orchestrated by God to prepare David for the future.

The same is true for us. When God makes us wait on him, he’s working his plan, which is always perfect. While you wait, remember that he may be giving you the time and opportunity to grow into the person he needs you to become. Whatever the reason, there’s always a purpose for the waiting.

God sees what others don’t. He looks past the surface and into the heart. He knows exactly where you are and what he’s preparing you for. As someone once said, “The anointing may come before the appointing,” but every step between is part of God’s perfect process. When times are difficult, trust that God is shaping your character and your circumstances, getting you ready for what’s next. Rest in his sovereignty, rely on his Spirit, and remember — God often chooses the unexpected to do the greatest work.