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God's Vision is Different From Ours
From 1 Samuel 16: 1 The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons." 2 Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, "I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you." 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"5 He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord." 7But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. 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 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these." 11Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here." 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
Samuel had a hard job. He was the prophet of Israel. He did not work for Israel, he worked for God. It was his job to anoint the kings when they were selected by God. Samuel did not expect to see Saul go as king and this grieves his heart. God visits Samuel and asks how long he was going to grieve the loss of Saul. God rejected him as king and so a new king had to be found. God orders Samuel to fill his horn with oil and to set out to visit Jesse the Bethlehemite and from his sons, God had chosen a new king. This frightened Samuel because he knew Saul's temperament and he was prone to violent outbursts and Samuel feared for his life, and rightly so. God gives him the excuse for going out and he comes to the house of Jesse. At the entrance to Bethlehem he was met by worried elders of the city. Samuel assures them he is there in peace and had come to sacrifice to the Lord. As he looks on Jesse's sons, he wonders if the oldest, Eliab, is the new king. The indication is that he was tall and good-looking, but God reveals an interesting thing about his character: "Do not look on his appearance or the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." How does your heart look? Is it filled with love? Does it hold peace? Does it contain a love for God? Is it open to receiving the Lord as the Lord knocks on your heart's door? All of the sons present that day were not the ones God had selected to be the new king. The youngest, David, was out tending the sheep, and once he arrived God said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one." Samuel anointed him with oil and God anointed him with the Spirit of the Lord.
I have said throughout the years that the Bible is a mirror to our heart. As we read and study and apply its teachings, what is our heart receiving and what does our heart look like? Does it reflect the things of God or is it filled with the things of earth? A heart filled with fear, doubt, suspicion, evil, carnal desires will never reflect the face of God; the heart open to receiving the Lord is the one that blesses God and blesses us. We've heard and said the expression, "Ah, a man after my own heart," or women have said, "A woman after my own heart," which means the thoughts and actions of both are almost the same. There is a connection between people in either things said or done. In the same way the things of God should be the things of our heart.
This week we have been talking about vision and the ability to see. In the spiritual realm we should be able to see as God sees if we have sought to be people born of the Spirit. Look beyond what the world sees to what God sees. Look beyond dress, speech, appearance, or any other thing that might turn off people and see what God sees. No matter the outward appearance, every heart beats the same and all blood is red; and all hearts open to God can be filled with God's precious love.
PRAYER: Loving God, let me see as You see. I want to rise above seeing what others see. I want to know Your thoughts and learn Your ways. This is my prayer and I lift it up in the precious and powerful name of Jesus my Lord, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
