Chapter 244 of 1163

1 SAMUEL 16

Reject what God rejects. You expect Samuel to mourn over Saul and his sin (1 Cor. 5:1–2), but mourning alone will not solve problems. There comes a time for action (Josh. 7:10ff.).

See as God sees. How strange that Samuel had not learned his lesson after the failure of Saul (1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23–24). God told Samuel that He would tell him the man of His choice (v. 3), but the old man was tempted to run ahead of the Lord. The heart determines the life (Prov. 4:23), and only God can see the heart (Acts 1:24–25).

Let God do the rest. Samuel anointed David to be king and then departed from Bethlehem, for his work there was done. How would a shepherd boy get from the fields to the throne? That was not Samuel’s responsibility; God would see to it. God used David’s musical skill to bring him into the king’s presence. Empowered by the Spirit (v. 13), David had nothing to fear.

(The ominous statement in v. 14 should be compared with David’s prayer in Ps. 51:11.)

God Sees the Heart

God not only sees our hearts, but He searches them (1 Chron. 28:9) and knows our thoughts and motives (Heb. 4:12–13). We think we know our own hearts, but we do not (Jer. 17:9), so we had better accept God’s verdict. We should be careful not to judge others since we cannot know their hearts (John 7:24; 1 Cor. 4:5).

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