The Lord Looks at the heart

The Lord looks at the heart 1 Samuel 16: 1-13 I suspect that most of us have our heroes, those people who we tend to look up to and admire, people who inspire us, who we feel in a changing world we can rely upon? It’s something that begins when we are children, putting our parents on pedestals. And perhaps, at times, it’s led to our arguing, to the point of fighting, over issues that had been throw away remarks by our Mums or Dads and not really meant to be taken seriously, and yet for us they were the complete truth of the matter ... because they had told it was so. These days, as I suppose has always been the case, there appear to be so many heroes about who, if we wish to, we can latch onto. For example there are the sportsmen and women whose progress we follow with great interest, the actors, the singers, the presenters of television and radio programmes, and then of course there are all the heroes of fiction. Indeed whole programmes as well as magazines are dedicated to our heroes, giving us all the statistics of their lives, their abilities, and achievements. And there are, no doubt, those who look on these people as being close to perfection in their looks as well as their character and lifestyle; someone to admire, perhaps to aspire to, if that were possible. Well, as we’ll find as we delve deeper into the life of David, who became the great king of Israel, he was a hero who in fact was very much flawed. One minute he was defeating giants and the next he was making a mess not only of his own life but of his family’s as well. And yet in that one vitally important area of his life, his relationship with God, he stood out head and shoulders above anyone else. And in this respect he’s a tremendous example for us all to look up to and to model our lives upon. We begin then at the point in 1 Samuel where David makes his first appearance; although if we were expecting some grand entrance with the sound of trumpets we’d be very disappointed. Instead he seems to rather creep onto the stage of Israel’s history from the wings, right at the end of our passage. Which is in stark contrast to King Saul … the one who the prophet Samuel is concerned about at the start of chapter 16; because Saul is someone who during his reign as king over Israel has become a larger than life character. He’s a man who once had it all going for him, tall and handsome, the people’s favourite, God’s chosen man ... someone who Samuel now mourns over because, having started off so well, he’s gone so badly wrong, and as a result has been rejected by God. However it seems that Saul doesn’t want to let go of his crown. He has his spies out, perhaps to pick up on any evidence that there’s a new pretender around to the throne, and so when God tells Samuel to go to Jesse of Bethlehem because he has “chosen one of his sons to be king”, Samuel shows his fear saying “How can I do that? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me” But then the Lord is patient with his servant, as always, recognising his genuine fear and giving him a way of carrying out his instructions whilst feeling comfortable in doing so. God dealt in a similar way with Moses and with Jeremiah when they expressed their natural fear that they weren’t adequate for the job that he was giving them. And the same will be the case for us. When God calls us to tasks that would seem to be beyond us, when we’re tempted to think that we must have misunderstood his will for us because things are getting so difficult, then, like Paul, the Lord’s words, “My grace is sufficient for you”, will become real to us. Notice too that no sooner does Samuel receive God’s encouragement to carry on in his plan for him than he himself is called to give assurance and encouragement to the leaders of Bethlehem who were worried at his coming. Here was Israel’ judge they were saying, what was he here for? A reminder to us surely that we’re always to show the same love and compassion to others that we ourselves have experienced from our Lord. And so Samuel, on the pretext of making sacrifice to the Lord, calls the people of Bethlehem to attend the sacrifice so that he can examine all the sons of Jesse and determine which one the Lord has chosen to be the next king. They begin then to come before him, and immediately when he sees the oldest of the brothers, Eliab, Samuel is convinced that he’s found his man; “This man standing here in the Lord’s presence is surely the one he has chosen”, he thinks to himself. Samuel you see is still looking on the surface for someone who will obviously, to his mind anyway, fit the bill. So that when he says, the man standing in the Lord’s presence, he actually means, my presence; in other words he’s making that all too common mistake of being the judge of what God’s will is. But the Lord says to him, “Pay no attention to how tall or handsome he is. I have rejected him”. Samuel, you see, is looking for his hero, and he has a mental list of all the boxes that will need to be ticked. But the Lord reminds him that His priorities are different telling him: “I do not judge as people judge. They look at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” Oh to have people who are able to judge others properly, in the way that God does rather than according to the world’s standards! When, many years ago now, I studied business psychology at university we were often reminded with regards to interviewing technique and being interviewed that first impressions are often seen as carrying the greatest weight when it comes to choosing someone for a position ... hence the need for a candidate to prepare themselves well in advance of the interview. But this isn’t God’s way when choosing us to carry out tasks for him or in deed when choosing us to be his own. Something that, surely, we all must feel very grateful for. Because, let’s be honest, would we ever be considered anything but prime candidates for rejection if it were? Samuel though is now beginning to understand the Lords ways, and so as each of the sons of Jesse are brought to him he declares that “the Lord hasn’t chosen him either” until, it seems, he’s seen them all. And yet God has told him that he’s to anoint one of the brothers as king, and so he asks Jesse if there are no more; to which he replies that there’s one more, the youngest, but that he’s busy tending the sheep. Samuel tells Jesse to send for him and when he’s brought before him Samuel sees that he also is a strong handsome young man, but this time God tells him, “This is the one.” And we’re told in verse 13 that “Samuel took the olive oil and anointed David in front of his brothers.” The first time David’s name has been mentioned. Why though was David chosen whilst his brothers were rejected by God? Because on the face of it, it seems as though there wasn’t that much to choose between them. Well of course to say exactly why, we ourselves would have to have the mind of God, which of course we don’t have. So much about the Lord and his ways is cloaked in mystery, who can understand why he should care at all for mankind, let alone love us with such a love? But what we do have is the benefit of hindsight. We’re able to read of the history of David and, also, we’re able to read his psalms, the poems and songs in which he so clearly expresses his feelings towards God. We read psalm 19 for example where he writes, “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech…” or psalm 23, “The lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.” So that we’re able to understand something of the thoughts of this shepherd boy as he daily tended his sheep. For he obviously uses the time that’s available to him there well. To think and to meditate on the God who created all that he sees, who cares for and protects him in the way that he seeks himself to protect those under his charge. He obviously has been given a deep insight into the ways of the Lord. And the Lord who looks at the heart sees deep into David and understands what really motivates him … something that David no doubt became more and more aware of as his relationship with the Lord developed. Leading him to declare in Psalm 139, “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I arise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” David had a heart for God. But we can also see that in David God chose someone to be king who had potential ... the potential to successfully do the job to which he was being called. David had learned patience, strength of will, perseverance, courage, cunning, as he looked after the flock ... all qualities that would serve him well. But then we could say that Saul also had potential, and lots of it. The problem however was that he failed to live up to that potential. How could that be? Well the truth is that life is complicated, with choices that constantly have to be made. Saul would have had so many opportunities to do what pleased God, and yet gradually he made decisions that took him further and further away from the place of obedience where he started. As his own importance, in his own eyes, gradually began to replace the importance of the Lord. David on the other hand remained humble before God. He remembered who he was when he was called. And so, even though the people were later to heap praises upon him, he continued to look to the “One” who called him, not depending at all on himself or the opinions of others. As we find in psalm 27, when he writes: “The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?” So what do we then learn from our passage and from David’s example that might apply to us and to our daily walk? Well firstly we might consider how we arrive at our opinions of others, where ever that might be: at home, at work, when perhaps we’re reading those articles and magazines that tell us so much about people. Do we focus on the external, on what we see, or do we think to look deeper, to the heart of the person, so that we, and perhaps they themselves too, might be able to grasp their true potential? How do we in the church environment judge each other’s potential? Do we wrongly see some people as simply keepers of the sheep, people who can work away in the background but who are not equipped to take a more prominent role? And what about how we view ourselves? Do we, for instance, spend time on building an image that we like to present to others that somehow “hides the real us”? You sometimes get the impression that even some preachers, in this age where image is all important, devote more thought to how to dress to impress, how to develop a compelling and attractive voice and style, than they do to maintaining a pure heart. It’s very tempting for all of us to be like this, in a society where often it’s what we’re seen to do, rather than what we are, that’s important. Secondly, how do we use the time that is available to us? Do we waste too much time on things that are of no consequence? Do we split our lives into separate segments, religious and the rest? Or do we, like David, see God’s hand in every part of our lives, looking to please him and to bring glory to him whatever it is we’re doing? And then thirdly, if we know the Lord, and know that we’ve been chosen by him, then it follows that we definitely have potential. But do we prefer to pretend that we haven’t, that actually we’re totally unworthy, so that we’re in danger of never achieving that potential. Instead of recognising that God has chosen even us for a purpose, and seeking his guidance and enabling so that we might find what that purpose is and achieve it in his strength. Or do we tend towards the other extreme? Do we see our potential as a given so that we’re in danger, much like Saul, of failing to achieve it because our abilities have become more important to us than God’s? A final thought, Don Carson has said that “those who know their Bibles cannot help but feel a thrill of excitement at the simple words of verse 12 where the Lord tells Samuel with respect to David, “This is the one – anoint him.” For indeed, David was the one”, says Carson, going on to say: “Here are the inauspicious beginnings of a major new step in the history of redemption, one that leads directly to David’s most eminent descendant – and his Lord”. In other words David’s life was an important part of God’s ongoing purpose for this world, whilst Saul was merely a diversion. What, though, will be said of our life? We each have our role to play, given to us when we in humility accept Christ’s Lordship over us. But then are we continuing to be obedient to him, are we concerned that our heart is for God, or is the world’s influence a greater influence on us? How determined are we to have the heart that God delights in? To say, along with David (Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24): “Search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” True, we’ll probably never be classed as heroes by the world. But who knows what we’ll achieve, what part we’ll play in the Lords plan of salvation. If only we allow him to mould our attitudes, our hearts, our lives given into his service. If only we present ourselves to him for him to use us, as he wills, so as to fulfil the potential that he’s so graciously gifted us each with. Amen