John Woodhouse, in his commentary on this passage says, “it is hardly surprising that we all see lots of things differently. But God is not limited as we are limited. Therefore, if God has a point of view, that point of view will have an absolute validity.”2 Woodhouse goes on to explain that the only view worth pursuing is God’s view; to literally seek to see what God sees, even though we will never fully see what he sees, this side of Heaven, because we are limited by sin.3

Being able to see is such a gift. Those who are physically blind long for the day when their eyesight is fully restored and rightly so. Sometimes we all walk through seasons where we do not understand our circumstances, and we wish we could see the purpose of them right now. But oftentimes we do not see that purpose until some time later and even then, we probably only see partially as though we are looking through a faded mirror. Through those seasons, we must ultimately trust in the sovereign will and purposes of God that are beyond our understanding in this present age.

This is basically where we find this passage today. A lot has happened in our story so far. The first fifteen chapters were all about the theme of rejection; Samuel’s boys rejecting God, Israel’s rejection of Samuel and ultimately their rejection of God, Saul’s rejection of God, and then finally God’s rejection of Saul.4

We will remember that in Samuel’s final confrontation with Saul in chapter fifteen, he said that “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you” (1 Sam. 15:28). In our study today, immediately following that final confrontation, we will see God teaching Samuel about learning to see what God’s heart sees and we should be challenged to learn to see what God’s heart sees too, the best we can in our limited state.

1The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3And invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. 4Samuel 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?” 5And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. 6When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him.” 7But 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 sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 8Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 9Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the LORD chosen this one.” 10And Jesses made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen these.” 11Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” 12And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” 13Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

#1: GOD’S INSTRUCTIONS (VV. 1 – 3)

The first thing we see in our passage is an interaction between God and Samuel in verses 1 – 3 where we find Samuel grieving over the loss of King Saul and God basically tells him to stop grieving because God is the one who sovereignly rejected Saul and is now prepared to anoint the new king. Samuel of course is a bit terrified of what Saul might do if he learns that Samuel is anointing a new king; Saul fears for his very life. So, God develops a plan to keep Samuel safe by telling him to go and prepare a sacrifice in Bethlehem and while doing that, he is to invite Jesse to the sacrifice.

Ultimately, God is asking Samuel to trust him and move forward in obedience. God literally says in verse 3 that, “I will show you what to do”. Samuel must trust in God’s sovereign plan and move forward in obedience even though all he can see right now is the potential threat of death ahead of him.

And that is exactly what Samuel does, he moves forward in obedience to God while trusting that God can clearly see what lies ahead and that he will in fact protect him and show him what to do along the way even though he himself cannot see anything but the threat of death in front of him.

#2: SAMUEL’S OBEDIENCE (VV. 4 – 5)

The second thing we see in the text is Samuel’s obedience. In verses 4 – 5 we read these words, “Samuel did what the LORD commanded him” which once again is a stark contrast to Saul who continuously disobeyed God and then played the age-old game of deflection, blame, and taking credit for half-hearted obedience. We remember from last week that that age old game, going back to the garden of Eden (Gen. 3) costs you nothing to play, but it will ultimately demand the payment of destroying your very life at the finish line if you participate in it.

Once again… Samuel stands in stark contrast to Saul as he obeys God against all human wisdom and when he arrives in Bethlehem, the elders of the city are rightly trembling with fear, wondering if Samuel is coming in peace or if he is coming to confront them for some kind of sin as he had done in the last chapter with Saul; an episode that ended in a bloodbath as Samuel did what Saul refused to do.5

Samuel’s response to the elders’ fear is to reassure them that he has come in peace to offer a sacrifice (as the LORD had instructed) and he instructs them to consecrate themselves as he consecrates Jesse and his sons for the sacrifice. That word “consecrate” is used in this case, to refer to dedicating yourself, devoting yourself, or setting yourself apart for the service of God.

It is literally a way of understanding what true obedience really is. Obedience to God is not merely an individual thing, although it is for every individual to do. But it is a communal thing to do as each individual in the community devotes, dedicates, and sets themselves apart for honoring God as a community. Lone ranger Christianity has no biblical basis whatsoever.

Samuel’s obedience, his dedication, his devotion, his setting himself apart for honoring and serving God, has now invigorated an entire community to do the same thing, whereas Saul’s disobedience had left Israel fractured and living in fear. Never underestimate the power of disobedience and obedience on an entire community of believers. Disobedience to God can infect the entire community whereas, obedience can invigorate the community even when the outcome of that obedience looks to be deadly. Our complete obedience to God must be rooted in the belief that he sees what we cannot see and that oftentimes, what we do see is not what God is seeing at all.

#3: DAVID IS CHOSEN (VV. 6 – 13)

Do you see it yet? Isn’t it wild to begin to see that what God sees, far surpasses the earthly things we often get hung up on seeing? This entire time, Samuel, fearful of death because he had seen Saul in action, was walking a little blindly – blind faith maybe? – while trusting in what God could see. And the reality is that God could see with his own heart – where there is no division or variation or weakness or limitation.

God literally made Samuel to walk through the valley of the shadow of death in obedience to his calling, so that he could anoint the King that God had chosen according to the vision and choosing of his own heart!

In verses 6 – 13, Jesses parades seven of his sons before Samuel and at times Samuel thinks, “this must be the one” because of his outward appearance. But God says in verse 7, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him [ultimately all seven of them]. For the LORD sees not as man sees man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” 

Now at this point, Woodhouse’s commentary is very helpful once again, as he explains that the literal wording of this passage says, “For the LORD sees not as man sees, for man sees according to the eyes, but the LORD sees according to the heart” and furthermore verse 1translated literally, says, “I have seen for myself a king among Jesse’s sons” which ties in with 1 Samuel 13:14 where Samuel says, “The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart”.6

What’s the point here? The point is that God does not choose David because of what he sees in David – that David is committed to God’s heart – but rather that David is the man that God’s heart chose and because God’s heart chose him as the object of his affection and purposeful plan, David would be enabled to honor God and lead faithfully even as he struggled with sin.7

If God had chosen David because there was something special in him, then we are left with a doctrine of works-based salvation rather than the doctrine of salvation by grace, through faith, in Christ, according to scripture, for the glory of God alone.

God saw and chose David through and with his own heart and nothing could ever change God’s sovereign choice, not even David’s struggle in sin. This is why the end of the passage says that as Samuel anointed David, “the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward” (v. 13). David was chosen by God’s own heart because God’s heart is fully capable of seeing, not what is good in a man that makes him well suited for service, but what God intends to do with the man he has chosen.

We would rightly remember that God chose Saul as an instrument of judgement for their rejection, in response to the people’s rejection of him. In choosing David, God is choosing a man who will be an instrument of redemption. God’s ultimate plan, throughout the Bible, is his plan of redemption. In David, as we continue this study in the coming weeks, we will see that he is the foreshadow of the coming Christ who would bring about the full redemption of all God’s chosen people.

APPLICATION…

So why does any of this matter? Well, by way of application, we have to ask, what do we see in our study today? Better yet, what does God want us to see? What can we see a little bit more clearly that was a little foggy before today?

  1. We can see that God calls us to obedience, oftentimes, despite what we can see with our physical eyes.
  2. We can see that obedience to God is wrapped up in being devoted, dedicated, and set apart for honoring and serving God even when our very lives are on the line.
  3. Finally, we can see that God chooses people for himself according to the intentions and plans of his own heart, which never fails to get it right every time because God’s heart is undivided and full of perfect sight.

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, ultimately, we see that God is trustworthy and faithful despite our circumstances. What we see in front of us right now is not the end of the story. It was true in Samuel’s time as David enters the storyline. It is true in our time as we look back on Christ.

Jesus is the ultimate prophet who speaks nothing but perfect truth. Jesus is the ultimate priest who bore our sins and intercedes for us when things look dismal at best. And Jesus is the ultimate ruling king over all things, especially when all hell has broken loose in our lives.

Seeing like God sees, is literally wrapped up in learning to see Jesus – the ultimate prophet, priest, and king – as the only answer to our most complex questions, our greatest fears, our deepest wounds, and our greatest struggles with Satan, Sin, and Death.

David was not the Messiah. But David will foreshadow much of what we long for and have in The Messiah… The crucified, risen, and returning Christ. Look for Jesus as you seek the Lord and He will be faithful to protect you, faithful to enable your obedience, and faithful to help you see beyond your circumstances into eternity with him. – Amen!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 John, Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader, Preaching the Word Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008), 286.

3 Ibid., 281 – 290.

4 Ibid., 283 – 284.

5 Ibid., 285.

6 Ibid., 286 – 287.

7 Ibid., 287 – 288.