1 Samuel 16:1-23

And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. ² And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. ³ And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. ⁴ And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? ⁵ And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. ⁶ And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. 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. ⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the Lord chosen this. ¹⁰ Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The Lord hath not chosen these. ¹¹ And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. ¹² And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the Lord said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. ¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. ¹⁴ But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. ¹⁵ And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. ¹⁶ Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. ¹⁷ And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. ¹⁸ Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him. ¹⁹ Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. ²⁰ And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. ²¹ And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. ²² And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. ²³ And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.

What does God value? That is the question we asked last week to start us off in our series on the life of David. It is an important question for us to consider, not just for our understanding of David’s life, but for how we live our own lives. In David’s story, we have this contrast set up between the king that the people of Israel wanted in Saul, who was a king like all the nations around them. They had rejected God as their king. When Saul proved himself to be a coward, disobedient, and rebellious, God rejected him as king and went about to establish and call a king who was after His own heart. Whereas Saul had the outward appearance and looked the part, inwardly he did not walk with the Lord. What made David a man after God’s own heart? It was that he walked with God. Last time we left off being introduced to the family of David. Samuel was told to stop mourning over Saul and go and anoint God’s chosen king that He had provided. When Samuel goes to offer the sacrifice in Bethlehem according to God’s instructions, he goes to Jesse and his family to find the son of Jesse that God had chosen. Seven sons were brought before Samuel. Eliab, the oldest, looked the part to Samuel, but God had rejected them all. The one He had selected was the young shepherd boy out doing the task no one else in the family wanted to do which was tending his father’s sheep. No one even thought to bring him before Samuel, but it was that boy that had nothing to offer in the eyes of the world that God had chosen to be king. What we find about David, in his life and the psalms, is that despite all of his failures and flaws, he had a heart that was tender and bent toward the Lord from years of walking with God when no one else was looking. The sixteenth chapter of 1 Samuel teaches us four principles we must consider when we think about what it means that “the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Last week, we learned that God’s Word directs us to trust in His plan and that God’s wisdom teaches us to follow His instruction. Samuel was directed to trust in God’s plan for His people in anointing another king when Saul had been rejected. He was also called to operate on God’s wisdom, not looking at the outward appearance of the sons of Jesse (like Israel had mistakenly done with Saul), but to see as God sees. This week, we will learn two more important principles as we consider what it means that “The Lord Looks On The Heart.”

Thirdly, from this passage we note that God’s presence equips us to fulfill His purpose. For the first time, we are introduced to David. At the time of these events, he was just a young shepherd boy, not even 20 years old. We know that because he wasn’t old enough to fight in the military. God chose him “from the sheepfolds…to feed [shepherd] His people, and Israel His inheritance” (Psalm 78:70-72). We don’t know much about David at this point, but Psalm 78 tells us about his character when he walked with God while tending those sheep as a young boy. Psalm 78:72 says, “So he fed [shepherded] them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.” It is remarkable that we don’t have any other details about David’s early life other than this, but it is certainly enough. His appearance is described only here in the Bible and not much is recorded other than that he was a handsome young man, possibly with red hair. The emphasis is upon the fact that he didn’t match the stature or appearance of Saul who appeared as the warrior king Israel had wanted. Notice that God called David while David was being faithful about his ordinary business. It is in the ordinary, mundane, and sometimes drudgery tasks of everyday life that God forges the character of those He will use in His kingdom. Samuel anointed David with oil and the Spirit of God came upon David. Again, in contrast to Saul whom the Spirit of the Lord had left, David is equipped by God’s Spirit to be king of Israel. No amount of oil, no amount of training, no amount of education, no amount of experience, and no amount of knowledge can qualify an individual that God has not called. God calls, God equips, and God alone qualifies. Godly character and godliness qualify a person for service to Him and only God gives those things to those who walk with Him. When we think about what qualifies someone for ministry, we often look at their resume or outward things in their life. We judge pastors on their speaking ability, their age, their degrees, their experience, the size of their churches, etc. It may surprise us to know that none of those things are listed as qualifications of a pastor in Scripture (1 Timothy 3:1-7). In fact, the only “ability” that is listed is that they are “apt [able] to teach.” The rest are characteristics of a godly, mature Christian. God’s presence in our lives is what qualifies us for a task. Many get deceived into thinking that because they’ve learned a truth, taken a class, or gotten a degree that they are then qualified and entitled to ministry. No. The only thing that qualifies is God’s presence and us walking faithfully with Him. He qualifies us; we do not qualify ourselves.

Lastly, we learn that God’s providence positions us to glorify His name. From one area of obscure faithfulness to a new area of faithfulness, David was taken from tending to sheep to spending at least part of his time in the presence of King Saul playing music for him. In the providence of God, an evil spirit came upon Saul to torment him. Whether this was a demonic spirit or an envious bitterness that dominated Saul’s mind, Saul was now miserable and paranoid because he had forfeited his kingship through disobedience. His friends and servants gave him worldly advice to have some music played to calm him down. However, God used this scenario to bring David into the king’s court and position him for what would come next in his life. David faithfully submitted to Saul even though he knew that he would one day replace Saul as king. Think about that. He played music and helped the man he knew he would replace. David had no trouble submitting to this authority, even a wicked one, in his life because he had already settled his submission to the ultimate Authority, God. The Puritan Richard Sibbes once wrote, “No one despises human authority unless he first despises divine authority.” When we face difficulty at work or perhaps with the government, this may serve as a calming reminder that God has us exactly where He wants us in life. The events of our lives are not random circumstances thrown helplessly together for us to figure out and struggle our way out of. No, the Bible tells us that God is sovereign and that He works all things “for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). David rested in the Lord and was able to do whatever task was put in front of him faithfully because of it. The problem for Saul was that David could not give him what he truly needed, reconciliation with God and the restoration of God’s Spirit. However, we find that God had purposes for David in Saul’s court. He would be positioned to encounter Goliath in 1 Samuel 17, but he would also be able to see how Saul operated as king. God was preparing David for the work He had for him just as He had been doing for all of those years while he tended sheep. We must never discredit where we are in life. God has us there for a reason and He has positioned us to glorify Him where we are. Many people wish to do bigger things for God when they have not yet been faithful where God has had them. Let us be found faithful where we are.

From relative obscurity to the king’s court is the drastic change that occurred in David’s life in a short time. The young shepherd boy had been anointed as the future king of Israel and hired to serve the current king that he knew he would replace. God providentially worked in David’s life to prepare, equip, and position him to glorify Him by fulfilling His will. In this message titled, “The Lord Looks on the Heart,” we have learned four principles that we must consider as we think about God’s way of doing things and applying it to our own lives. We learned that God’s Word directs us to trust in His plan, God’s wisdom teaches us to follow His instruction, God’s presence equips us to fulfill His purpose, and God’s providence positions us to glorify His name. Our focus in every circumstance of life must be to be faithful to the Lord. If we cannot be faithful with the ordinary, mundane, and even unwanted matters of everyday life, we certainly cannot expect to be faithful with serving God’s kingdom. Right now, the Lord knows where our hearts are. Are we faithfully serving Him and walking with Him through life? Or are we discontented and seeking something greater for ourselves? No one else may know the difference. Both Saul and Eliab looked the part, but were rejected for reasons that are revealed in their lives. Our focus must be on Christ. All that we do should be done unto Him. The Lord looks on the heart. What does He see in ours?