The Lord looks at the heart

Samuel is sent to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king of Israel. He is rather reluctant because, if Saul hears of it, he will be in trouble; this despite the fact that Samuel did, at times, have to tell Saul exactly where he was going wrong. Nevertheless, Saul is King of Israel and, by anointing another, Samuel is possibly committing treason. No king is going to accept another anointed king while he is alive if the latter is not one of his own descendants. But Samuel, obedient to the word of God, goes along to Bethlehem in order to sacrifice to the Lord, inviting Jesse and his sons along. Jesse and seven of his sons turn up; all seven are rejected. ‘Don’t you have another son?’ Samuel asks Jesse. Well, yes… there is the youngest, but he is out keeping the sheep. Had Jesse not thought it worth bringing David along, or was there no-one else to be shepherd? Or was it just that David was the youngest? (with apologies to youngest children everywhere). David arrives, and he is God’s chosen one. Samuel duly anoints him. (1 Samuel 16).

This passage always slightly amuses me. On seeing Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, Samuel is sure that he is the one. But no; humanity looks on outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart. So how is David described? Handsome and of ruddy appearance …. I’ve often thought that God might have made his point more effectively if David hadn’t been handsome or, at least, if the Bible hadn’t emphasized his looks so much. Nevertheless, God has looked at the heart; David is God focused and, while he makes mistakes, he is ready to own up.

Samuel was also God focused. God told him to anoint one of the sons of Jesse as King, and he does so. He hadn’t wanted to anoint anyone King when the Israelites first demanded one; God was their King. They weren’t supposed to need a human one. But God accedes to their request, and first Saul and then David is anointed. The two books of Kings take us through the history of those kings, starting with David’s son Solomon and continuing through until both the northern and southern kingdoms have fallen. Each King has his reign summed up; he was a good king or a bad king. This judgement is not based on their political acumen, or how well they ran the economy, but on their faith. Bad kings deserted the Lord and encouraged the worship of local idols. Good kings worshipped the Lord and destroyed the shrines of the idols. Although, except for a few, most of the good kings come with this qualification: they did not destroy the hilltop shrines. This was a bad point: the Lord was supposed to be worshipped in Jerusalem.

This may all seem irrelevant to us. We do not have hilltop shrines anymore, and we certainly do not worship idols. But maybe we shouldn’t be so quick. That focus on the worship of the Lord as the key point in someone’s life is still very relevant to us. Humanity looks at outward appearance but the Lord looks to the heart. Both Samuel and David put God before all else. David, after he has to flee from Saul, has the opportunity to kill him … and doesn’t. Saul is seeking his life but David will not kill the Lord’s anointed. (1 Samuel 24; of course, he is also the Lord’s anointed, so maybe that’s not a bad point to get across early). Samuel must literally put his life on the line, whenever he has to confront Saul (who is, after all, the King) – and certainly when he goes to anoint David. It is clear that David did deviate from God’s will: the story of Bathsheba comes to mind, as does the census. (see 2 Samuel 11 and 24). But both times he admits his fault and comes back to the Lord.

So how far up your priorities in life is God? Is God the prime focus, or do other items take precedence? It would be perfectly normal if they did. This isn’t about being perfect, but about recognising where we need to grow. Neither is it about how much time we spend in church versus how much time we spend outside it. David had a kingdom to run, he certainly didn’t spend all his time in the temple. We may have jobs and/or family commitments, which God understands. But the Lord looks at the heart. I have a picture of someone arriving before God and saying ‘Look, Lord, I dedicated my entire life to the church, I did all this for you’ and God saying ‘but I never knew you’; then another person arriving and saying ‘I’m so sorry God, I never did anything for you, it took all my energy to earn a living’ and God saying ‘But I know you’. For the first was doing everything for themselves, whereas the second prioritised God. Most of us will be a mixture of the two, it isn’t normally so black and white. But it is worth pondering the question: where is God in our heart? and how much do we focus on outward appearance? Had we been sent to anoint one of Jesse’s sons, would we have heard that voice saying ‘hang on a moment, Eliab isn’t the one I want’ … or would we have gone ahead and anointed the wrong son? Or, quite possibly, not dared to turn up and anoint anyone at all.

I guess none of us would know for certain, and it certainly isn’t something to castigate ourselves about. However ably we listen to God, and wherever we place God in our priority list, God already knows this. The Lord looks at the heart. This is simply about recognising that, actually, we may not be as God-focused as we could be. It is about allowing God deeper and further into our lives, as quickly or slowly as we are able. The Lord looks at the heart; our Lord knows our hearts, and will lead us only as we can, if only we are willing to be led. Our Lord looks at our hearts with total love.