And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.”
— First Samuel 16:2-3
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.”
— First Samuel 16:7
Samuel may have hoped that God would choose Eliab, the oldest son, for he looked very promising. However, God told Samuel not to be impressed with Eliab’s stature and appearance, for He looked not at the outward appearance, but on the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). We should aspire to have a heart that would allow God to choose us.
Samuel called the next son, and the next, until he had seen seven of Jesse’s sons. Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen these” (v. 10). Jesse indicated he had one more son, the youngest, but he was watching the sheep. Therefore, Jesse sent for David, who must have been some distance away. Samuel said that no one would sit down to eat until the matter was accomplished, so they all waited solemnly.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, pages 42-43.
Monday: “The Anointing of David”