God vision

1 Samuel 16:1-13

     It's a rather long passage to explain how God picks David. By all accounts David was not the one to choose. God has a habit of doing that. From a human perspective, and I am very human, I would not have Jesus be a carpenter if I was pinning the salvation of the world on him. Perhaps the powerful son of a Roman leader who 'finds' God; perhaps the son of a person with a strong religious background. A chief Priests' son perhaps?  But as this passage states, the Lord looks on the heart. God sees what we cannot see or what we choose not to see.

        Have you ever seen a couple together and you say, what does he see in him! or her?  The heart sees what the heart sees. God sees with better than 20/20 vision. He sees into the soul and knows all. We make rash judgements based on our own biases, our own prejudices and our own poor vision of things. We swear to things we really aren't certain of. "well, so and so said it was true!" Sometimes we are so laughable, so gullible. I can see God laughing but I can also see him crying at how we act and what we believe in. 

           Case in point, religion. How many religions and restrictions are out there amongst man? How many are certain they have the true way, the answers, the pipeline to God's revealed word? Even if you have those words in your hand, what we interpret them as is our own doing, not necessarily God's intent.  Still, God sees into the heart of man, each and every one of us. What is your intent? Is it to love? Or is it to love as you think God loves.  Critical questions to be sure. Perhaps that is why we should be more concerned with how we live our own lives and make our own best decisions for ourselves. Let God do the judging.  We know certain taboos that God has placed before us, guidelines to be sure. Inspired words to be sure. How we live them out is a matter of conscience.

          Rules and rubrics can come and go no matter how holy they are told to be. Jesus railed against most of them for sure. Why? Because as Howard says, most of the rules and rubrics are happy horse , uh, manure. What counts is how we live, how we love and what is in our hearts. God sees that. Yes, He sees that.

Samuel Anoints David

The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.’ Samuel said, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’ And 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 you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.’ Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, ‘Do you come peaceably?’ He said, ‘Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘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.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Are all your sons here?’ And he said, ‘There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.’ And Samuel said to Jesse, ‘Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.’ He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, ‘Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.