God sent his priest and servant, Samuel to go and anoint the next king over Israel. It wasn’t that Israel’s king was dead, far from it – the current king had disobeyed God and was no longer accepted by Him. God’s presence and hand of blessing is removed from King Saul, and Samuel is given explicit directions to find a man named Jesse in Bethlehem and anoint the one that God would reveal to him.
Samuel arranges to have Jesse and his boys come to a time of sacrifice and it is there that the young men are brought before Samuel. Starting with the oldest, and perhaps most handsome, the sons are brought, and yet God continues to tell Samuel that each son is not the one. “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)
When all the sons present have been brought before Samuel and still God has not given a “yes” to His priest, Samuel questions Jesse asking if there are more sons? As it turned out, there was one remaining. Jesse’s youngest son, the one of the least value within the family, was out in the fields shepherding flocks. This was not a job filled with great honor or value, although it was a necessary job. The very fact alone that Jesse did not invite David at the invitation extended to all his sons, seems to indicate that David’s father never believed he would amount to much. And yet, it is this young shepherd that God had chosen.
“So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David from that day on.” (1 Samuel 16:13)
Friend, God saw something in David that we as mortals often miss in one another. God saw his heart. God saw who he was as well as the potential within him. We so often judge and give value to that which we see with our eyes. External things. Yet when we do this, we miss what is of true value to God. And shouldn’t what matters to God matter to us?
David went from shepherd boy to a king. Not just a king – but Israel’s greatest king. He was chosen to fulfill that role not because he looked the part or had the credentials for it – but rather because God knew what was in him and placed His hand of blessing and His Spirit upon him.
May we seek to understand and see how God sees. May we be intentional in looking past outward appearances and into the heart and potential of those God brings across our path. May we not be deceived by what we physically see, but rely upon the Holy Spirit to reveal what is true.
Blessings!