Scripture

The Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Observation

The Lord sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king. Samuel takes a heifer with him and invites Jesse and his sons to a sacrifice.

Samuel looks of each of Jesse’s son’s in turn, thinking they must be the Lord’s anointed servant, but the Lord rejects each one. Finally, Jesse sends for his youngest son David, and the Lord tells Samuel to anoint him as the next king.

The Spirit of the Lord has left Saul, and he is tormented by a spirit of depression and anxiety. Saul’s servants send for David to come and play music for Saul to soothe his spirit. David becomes Saul’s armour-bearer and is greatly loved by him.

Application

The Lord does not judge us by our outward appearance, but by what is in our hearts.

People made all sorts of judgements about people they have never met based on their appearance – ethnicity, clothing, apparent wealth, and so on. In fact, the fashionable ideology of Critical Race Theory says that everything about a person is determined by race.

God looks at your heart, the “content of your character” as Martin Luther King described it. Everything else is secondary .

If you love the Lord, it doesn’t matter whether you are short or tall, fat or thin, young or old, European or Asian. These things are secondary to our love for the Lord and our desire to walk in the ways of Jesus.

Prayer

Lord, thank you that you love me for the person you created me to be. Thank you for your unfailing love. Amen.