ESOCS Devotional 15 July 2024 – When God Chooses
MEMORY VERSE: ““But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 KJV
TEXT: 1 SAMUEL 16:4-END
So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?”
5 And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
8 So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. 15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16 Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.”
17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.”
18 Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.
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The outcome of Samuel’s visit was that he anointed David, youngest son of the family of Jesse. Anointing was a way of marking out people for other important positions besides kingship, and Samuel gave no indication to the onlookers why he had anointed David. For David’s sake, as well as for Samuel’s, Saul was not to know that Samuel had already anointed David as Saul’s successor. Many years would pass before David actually became king (vv. 6-13).
Now that the special power of God’s Spirit came upon David (v 13), it departed from Saul. Troubled by his own jealousy and sense of insecurity, Saul became emotionally and mentally unstable. Meanwhile, David matured. He became skilled in speech, writing and music, and learnt to be a brave fighter through having to defend his flocks from wild animals and Philistine raiders (vv. 14-18; 17:34-36). The next step in his preparation for kingship was his introduction to Saul as one who could play music to relax the king’s troubled nerves. The outcome of this was that eventually, he became a permanent member of the royal court (vv. 19-23).
“Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him:” Samuel made the mistake of judging Eliab based on his appearance. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.
The LORD has not chosen these: God told Samuel that He had not chosen any of the seven sons of Jesse attending the feast. God had a man in mind different from Samuel’s or Jesse’s expectation. By all outward appearances, David’s seven brothers seemed to be better material for royalty. As unlikely as he was, David was the chosen one.
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” There remains yet the youngest: This shows the low regard David had among his own family. First, his father didn’t even mention him by name. Second, he wasn’t even invited to the sacrificial feast. Third, he was only called to come because Samuel insisted on it. So small was David in his father’s esteem that it wasn’t considered necessary to include him in the family when the prophet of God called them to sacrifice.
God often chooses unlikely people to do His work, so that everyone knows the work is God’s work, not man’s work. You may not be intellectual or well thought of in your family circle; you may be despised by others for your faith in Christ. Perhaps, you had only a little share in the love of your parents, as David did. But remember that those who are rejected of men often become beloved of the Lord – “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29 KJV).
Rather than operating by sight, let us look to God in faith to lead in every aspect of our daily lives. His evaluations are perfect, and His directions are unfailingly right!
- Do you rely on outward appearance to make decisions?
- O Lord, help me to make right decisions to your own glory by faith through Christ our Lord.
Further Reading: Joshua 5:1-end; Mark 16:9-end; Luke 8:1-3
ESOCS Devotional 15 July 2024
