Theme: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF A GOOD PERSONAL IDENTITY
Text: “And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:6, 7.
Comment: God rejected Saul, whom the Jews chose based on his valour, and sent Prophet Samuel to anoint a king for Israel from among the sons of Jesse. In Samuel’s eyes, Eliab had the identity of a valiant man, one who could hold Israel together and defend it in battle against the nations; but God corrected him with the statement in the text for today. (1 Samuel 16:1-7) Samuel’s judgment was based on Eliab’s outward appearance, but God anointed David king, a man after His heart. The best identity is that of the heart, which can be “deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”. Absalom was excellent in beauty (2 Samuel 14:25); but was depraved in heart and far from God’s righteousness; he nursed hatred for his half-brother, Amnon for two years, lured and killed him in a spurious family get-together; returned from self-exile after three years and committed heinous crimes against Israel. Absalom died disgracefully in the battle and was buried in a shallow grave outside Jerusalem. – 2 Samuel 13:1-38; 15:1-37; 17:14; 18:9-18.
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