Faithfulness: Inside
God Doesn’t Regard the Outside
1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
Rev. Tim Callow
Preached Sun. June 13th, 2021
Saul was the first King of Israel, and he was everything the people of Israel would have wanted. We are told Saul was, “a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders above everyone else.” Samuel said of Saul, “there is no one like him among all the people.” Saul was not only tall and handsome, but he was a ferocious warrior and great leader. One of his first acts as King was to draw the people together and defeat the Ammonites who had oppressed the tribe of Gad and Reuben. When the Spirit of the Lord was upon him he routed their armies in a single day.
But Saul was also a flawed man. We are told one time he had waited for Samuel to arrive and offer sacrifice before battle. When he saw his soldiers slipping away, he took matters into his own hands and offered the sacrifice himself. Another time he had beat back the Amalekites but did not destroy all that the Lord had asked him to destroy, instead it seems he wished to keep it for himself. When Samuel confronts him he explains he wished to offer these things in sacrifice, but I don’t know if we can believe him. He is a King like Samuel had warned, he takes.
We are told the Spirit of God left Saul, and left him to his own devices. While he remained King, commanded the armies of Israel, and had every appearance of being a mighty King, God no longer regarded him as King of his people.
Samuel, as we might expect, takes this hard. Israel’s leadership was once in his hands, he handed it over to Saul. And now God has rejected Saul. What will become of Israel? But God tells him to stop grieving, for he has provided a new King for Israel, one of the sons of Jesse the Bethlehemite.
So Samuel heads to Bethlehem and claims he is there to offer sacrifice, so he can fly under the radar. Saul, being a King, would not appreciate someone else being anointed to take his job. These things need to be done discretely.
When Jesse and his sons arrive Samuel looks at them and sees many prime candidates. Men tall and strong and handsome much like Saul. When he looks at Eliab, the eldest, he is certain this is the man God has provided to be King of Israel. But God tells him, “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.”
Samuel sees the next youngest, Abinadab, and is certain that this man must be the one God has chosen. But again, God tells him he has not chosen Abinadab. And so it goes until Samuel is told God has chosen none of these sons. Samuel asks Jesse if all of his sons are here. "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.”
Someone has to keep the sheep, might as well be the youngest. Samuel asks that this kid, David, be brought before him. He was ruddy, handsome, but young. Though he didn’t look it to Samuel, God looked upon his heart and chose him to be his King.
We’ll learn a little more next week why God chose David over all of his brothers. But it is enough to say today that God does not regard the outward as much as the inward when it comes to those he works through. Saul had every advantage. He was tall, strong, wealthy, and handsome. He was a leader of men. But what he lacked was faithfulness and humility. He took charge, and wanted to take matters into his own hands. He couldn’t leave matters in God’s hands.
David was not as tall, dark, handsome, and strong as Saul. He was not, yet, the great leader of men. He was only fit, in his father’s eyes, to tend to the sheep. But God does not regard the outward appearance. He does not see as we see. God looks upon the heart. What is on David’s heart? I would suggest his faithfulness. He is willing to put things into God’s hands, as we will see.
Ironically, God won’t do too much with the strong and powerful. God prefers to work with the faithful. You can have all the trappings of success and not get very far when it comes to the mission of God. But you can be filled with zeal and strong in faith and God will move mountains.
One of the great American frontier preachers was a man by the name of Lorenzo Dow. I don’t know how may of us have heard of Lorenzo Dow, but at one point his autobiography was the second most purchased book in America after the Bible. He regarded himself as a Methodist, though he was a little too wild to become formally connected to us. He lived a life of poverty. He had long hair and a large beard, which he kept unkempt. The only clothing he owned was the clothing he kept on his back, and when it tore up he was dependent on others to buy him a replacement. He would show up in public spaces and at public events and shout that he would preach in this place a year hence. And always showed up. He had a unique style with lots of shouting, and hollering, and weeping, and insults. He was mesmerizing for his time, though he didn’t preach conventionally, probably because he was so unconventional.
He certainly did not look like the preacher of his day. He was not well regarded by the well to do. But he left a great influence in Britain and frontier America. He became a household name. Not because of the outward appearance, but because of the faithfulness within.
Jesus, too, did not look or act like a king. From the outward appearance I’m sure he was perfectly normal. He did not have any of the trappings of glory or pomp. But he remained faithful to all, and obedient to his Father. On account of his faithfulness, we have come to know salvation.
Don’t worry about the outward appearance. Don’t worry about whether you possess great gifts. Saul had all the talent in the world, but he lacked the faith. David had the faith. And he took down Goliath. All God looks for is faith. And through faith comes blessing.