[The prophet Samuel to King Saul]:“But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” (1 Samuel 13:14 NIV)
The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”
But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”
The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”
Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”
Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the Lord chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”
“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”
So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.
Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”
So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. (1 Samuel 13:14; 16:1-13 NIV)
Do you know which person’s name is mentioned most often in the Bible? Jesus! You thought that was a trick question, didn’t you? Jesus is mentioned 1,310 times in the Bible. Do you know who comes in second? Maybe you’d guess Peter. We hear a lot about Peter. Peter is mentioned 193 times. But there’s someone with more. We have to go back to the Old Testament. Abraham? He’s mentioned 294 times. But he’s not even in the top three. In third place is Moses. He’s mentioned 803 times in the Bible. But do you know who’s second to Jesus? David. David is mentioned 974 times in the Bible. 974 times! Obviously, God wants us to know about David.
David is introduced to us in one little verse in the middle of 1 Samuel. Ironically, the verse doesn’t tell us David’s name. It says, “The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people” (1 Samuel 13:14). Isn’t that a cool phrase? David was a man after God’s own heart. That phrase is used for no one else in the Bible. David did lots of great things. We’re going to hear about some of them in our sermons this summer. But notice what stood out to God. Not: “David killed Goliath!” This: “David was a man after God’s own heart.”
That made David different than Saul. Remember who Saul was? Saul is the 6th most mentioned person in the Bible: 326 times. He was Israel’s first king. Saul was “as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else” (1 Samuel 9:2). King Saul got off to a great start. He was humble. He listened to God’s prophet Samuel. But, sadly, that didn’t last. Saul got proud. He stopped listening. He disobeyed. Finally, Samuel said to Saul, “Your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s commands.”
So God sent Samuel to Bethlehem. Does that town sound familiar? I hope so! That’s where Jesus was born. Christmas is only six months away. Jesus was born in the City of David—Bethlehem. 1000 years before the Wise Men traveled to Bethlehem to worship the newborn King, God sent Samuel to Bethlehem to find Israel’s next king. Samuel was scared to go. He didn’t know what Saul would do if he found out. But Samuel obeyed and went to a man named Jesse in Bethlehem.
When Samuel saw Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab, he knew immediately: “This is the one!” Eliab was tall and handsome, just like a king was supposed to be. He was the first-born son. Finding the new king was turning out to be a piece of cake! I bet Samuel started to pull out his horn of oil to anoint Eliab the next king of Israel, when God stopped him. The LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
This is such a key verse from God’s Word: “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I heard someone put it like this: “Samuel was looking for a king. The LORD was looking for a heart.” Does that make sense? Samuel was looking for someone with the right height for a king. God was looking for someone with the right heart for a king. “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Samuel was looking for a king. The LORD was looking for a heart.
What do you look at? Do you focus your life on appearances or on hearts? As I studied this lesson, I noticed that the pastor got it wrong. Even the great prophet Samuel, who loved the LORD and faithfully served him, got it wrong. Just like I’ve too often judged people based on their appearance inside of based on what’s inside. “People look at the outward appearance.” God is right, isn’t he? Do you know how much Americans spent on cosmetics—make-up—last year? $49 billion dollars. Do you know much Americans spent on gym memberships last year? $33 billion dollars. I didn’t even want to look up what we spend on clothes and cars and shoes…
And here’s the irony: We still feel ugly, right? We still feel insecure, don’t we? Because that’s not how it works! What’s on the outside isn’t what matters. Can you see that? We can exercise and put on our best clothes and our prettiest make-up and our strongest cologne and head out the door looking as great as we possibly can, and yet we still feel ugly and empty and worthless and anxious. Isn’t that true? So what do we do? We judge other people’s looks so that we can feel better about ourselves. “At least, I look better than she does. At least, I’m in better shape that he is.” Do you think God is trying to teach us something? “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Samuel was looking for a king, but God was looking for a heart. So all seven sons passed by. “The LORD has not chosen this one…. The LORD has not chosen this one….” Finally, Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse said, “There is still the youngest. He is tending the sheep.” “The youngest.” How many of you fit in that category? Then you know how David felt. Always the little one. Always the left-behind one. It’s hard being the “youngest.” Somehow, the whole family was meeting with God’s prophet, and David was left out alone with the sheep.
But when that youngest son came in, something unexpected happened. God said, “This is the one!” So, right then and there, Samuel took his horn of oil and poured it on David’s head in the presence of all of his brothers. Can you picture them standing there with their mouths wide open: “What is going on? Him? He’s the baby of the family!” We’re talking about the Trinity today. About how the True God is different than every other god. There is no other God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We could add this too: There is no other God who “does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Is that a good thing? It sure sounds like a good thing, doesn’t it? God doesn’t judge based on appearances. Whew! There is no beauty pageant to get into heaven. God just looks at your heart. Wait a minute. What does your heart look like? Is it full of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control,” like God loves to see? (Galatians 5:22). It’s not? Mine’s not either. That’s a problem. God is looking at your heart. Not at your clothes. At your heart. What does he see? Bitterness? Complaining? Pride? Lust? Know what God’s telling us today? We can’t hide it. Oh, you can make yourself look good on the outside. But the LORD doesn’t care. “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
Our sermons this summer will focus on stories from King David’s life—the “man after God’s own heart.” But we’re going to notice something: David didn’t actually have a good heart. He was sinful on the outside and on the inside—just like you and me. In fact, this summer we are going to hear stories of adultery and murder and pride and cowardice and failing to discipline children. Do you know who is going to be the subject of each story? You’re right: King David.
As you hear about David’s life, you’re going to ask yourself: “How on earth could anyone describe David as a man after God’s own heart?” He was sinful, from the inside out. But this was special about King David: He admitted that. King David confessed his sin over and over to God. In fact, it was David who wrote: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). And, “create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). If David was going to have a pure heart, where was it going to come from? God. If we are going to have a pure heart, where is it going to come from? God.
David believed something that was already written down in the Bible at the time of David in 1000 B.C. Way back in Genesis, in the first book of the Bible, it says: “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6). How did Abraham get declared righteous in God’s eyes? He believed the LORD. “Abram believed the LORD, and he credited to him as righteousness.” How did David get declared righteous in God’s eyes? He believed the LORD. How do you and I get righteous in God’s eyes? Forgiven? Saved? By believing in Jesus.
Our world looks at beauty and muscles and wealth. God looks for hearts that trust in him alone.
And that’s what David did. He trusted in God’s heart. After all, the phrase—“a man after God’s own heart”—doesn’t actually talk about David’s heart at all. It talks about God’s heart. Do you know what God’s heart is like? David described God’s heart for us in Psalm 103: “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12). That’s the heart of God: Gracious and compassionate and forgiving.
Don’t live your life focused on outward appearances. Repent of that! Trust in the heart of Jesus. Do you know how Jesus is described in the Bible? Listen to this: “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:2-3). What a description! Jesus had no beauty. No attractiveness. Just a heart of love and grace that led him to die on the cross for you and me and King David and everyone else in this broken world. Don’t look at outward appearances. Look at the heart of Jesus: He loves you. Every one of you.
This is what we’re going to see in the life of King David—the heart of God that took a sinner and made him into a saint. That’s who David was: A sinner and a saint. That’s who we are: Sinners and saints, at the same time. Left to ourselves, every one of us is a sinner, with a sinful heart that no amount of make-up can cover up. But, by God’s grace, he calls us saints, his children who are forgiven and washed by Jesus’ blood. King David was a sinner and a saint—at the same time. Like you are a sinner and a saint—at the same time. Because we have a God like no one else. A God who looked at our sinful hearts, and then gave his own heart to make us pure and clean. Remember this: “People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
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