The Matter of the Heart | 1 Samuel 16

December 9, 2019

Context: Saul, the First king of Israel has been rejected by God. He has forfeited his throne. God has taken His Spirit away from him and brought in this evil spirit—the spirit that’s going to bring judgment upon Saul. In the meantime, He’s chosen David as the new king, placed His Spirit upon David, and now what we see God doing providentially is bringing David to Saul, into the proximity of the royal court, where the Lord can launch David’s career.

1 Samuel 16:1, 10-13

¹The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

¹⁰Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

¹²So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

In 1 Samuel 15 we see that the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king. So Saul’s sin has brought great grief to Samuel, and it’s brought regret to the Lord. The Lord did mention, however, that He had a replacement in mind for Saul, a neighbour, one who is better than Saul, a man after God’s own heart and we meet him in Chapter 16.

In 1 Samuel 16, the Lord chooses a new king, and we’re going to see that the Lord is going to give priority to inner character, not outward appearances, as He chooses this new king.

Note for Sermon:

As we study this passage from 1040 BC, it is important to recognize that we are dealing with historical events from God’s redemptive plan in the Old Covenant. In that time, Israel had physical kings, territories, and real enemies, as part of their unique relationship with God. However, with the coming of the New Covenant through Jesus Christ, everything takes on a new dimension. The Kingdom is now spiritual, with Jesus as our eternal King, not bound by geography or politics. The Bible tells us that we are now the priests in this Kingdom (1 Peter 2:9), and the Spirit of God dwells in each believer.

We must not directly apply these Old Testament events to our current context without understanding the transformation brought through Christ. Instead, we carefully discern what the Holy Spirit is teaching us and how we can draw applications for our lives today.

1 Samuel 16:1-2

¹The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? (Samuel is mourning for Saul. The Lord Said, “Samuel, we need to move ahead.”) Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; (The implication seems to be oil—that’s for anointing; we’re going to anoint a new king.) I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” ²But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

Saul had been king for quite a while and he has his loyals, the secret service that pretty much knew everything and reported to him. So, Samuel was not able to move around freely without being noticed.

And what we need to realize is that this trip will take Samuel right through Saul’s town. The 15-km trip from Ramah to Bethlehem would take the prophet right through Gibeah, Saul’s town. Samuel says, “Lord, if I go through, they’re going to ask me questions. What am I supposed to say? I’m on my way to anoint a new king—they’ll kill me.”

1 Samuel 15:2b-3

^2bThe Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

So, bottom line: the Lord says, just tell them you’re going to offer a sacrifice, which is true, but it’s not the whole truth. It is not that God is telling a lie her, the fact of the matter is that God sometimes hides information as a form of judgment. Individuals can forfeit their right to the truth because of their immorality, because of their disobedience. Saul has forfeited his right to the truth. He has disobeyed God, and the Lord sees nothing wrong with depriving him of the truth.

1 Samuel 16:4

Samuel did what the Lord said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”

There’s something scary about Samuel. The last word in the last chapter was Samuel hacked Agag the king to pieces. Prophet comes—is he coming to announce some kind of judgment? Are we in trouble?

1 Samuel 16:5

Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

1 Samuel 16:6

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.”

He sees Jesse’s son, Eliab, and he’s tall, he’s impressive looking, like Saul. And so Samuel looking at the outward appearances. And notice what the Lord says to him in verse 7.

1 Samuel 16:7

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Man Focuses on Appearance

The Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at the outward appearance. People look at the outward appearance, I look at the heart.”

Application: People gather information by looking at things. We look at appearance, we look at image, we look at presentation, we look at brand, we look at locality, we look at nationality, we look at profession.

When someone is looking for a marriage partner what are the common criteria people look at? Looks, education, family background, job etc. These are all external things.

What are our criteria when we are looking for a job? Rank of the company, position, salary, distance from home, perks they give; etc.

What God is telling here is appearance can be deceptive. It is almost impossible for us as human beings to assess situations based on appearance. The Lord looks at the heart.

Man Focuses on Experience.

Samuel was old at this point. He had done a lot of things in his life. He probably had this great temptation to rely on experience.

By God’s grace Glory and I are in our midlife. We have lived half of our lives by God’s grace. I see that it is big temptation for me to rely on experience. We have to rely on the Spirit of God, not what we have done many times in the past or what has worked in the past.

So Samuel need to be reminded that the Lord looks at the heart.

The Lord is Looking at My Heart.

That is sobering. He sees what others don’t see. And if the Lord is looking at my heart what does my heart look like? We will just pause here on the issues of the heart and move on in this narrative.

1 Samuel 16:10-11

¹⁰Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The Lord has not chosen these.” ¹¹So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

¹²So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

¹³So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah. ¹⁴Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

When Jesse paraded all the able sons in front of Samuel, the Lord’s eyes looked at David who was a shepherd boy, taking care of his father’s sheep. Saul too had a similar beginning. He was a shepherd boy looking for his father’s lost donkeys; very obedient, very careful. David is also presented as an obedient shepherd boy.

When David was presented before Samuel, the text says that David was glowing with health, had a fine appearance, and handsome features. In original language it says David had beauty of eyes and good of appearance.

When God looks at the heart why is the narrator telling us about David’s appearance?

I think the narrator, the author of 1 Samuel is making a point here:

David is a man after God’s own heart, and that’s what counts with God. But David has some qualities that make him attractive in the eyes of people, and people may look at David the wrong way. In fact, David’s fine appearance could be a problem and a temptation for him someday.

David’s good looks can lead him to pride, a sense of entitlement and the power that goes with good looks. And I find it very ironic when he sees Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11:2, she is described as — very beautiful in appearance. That pretty much matches the way David is described here.

And so, I think this is the narrator’s way of saying, “Yeah, God is making the choice on the basis of what He sees inside David, but you need to realize that David has a lot of human qualities that are attractive that could cause people to gravitate to him for the wrong reasons. And if he gets focused on some of that, he himself could run into trouble.”

Our God-given Strengths can Become Weaknesses if We Allow Them to be.

But Samuel anoints David as the king. The Spirit comes powerfully upon David.

1 Samuel 16:13-14 (See the two contrasts here)

Earlier the Spirit of the Lord had come on Saul. Now, the Spirit departed from Saul. Everyone still thinks he is the king. He is going to walk out as a king, but the Spirit of the Lord has departed from him. He is no longer a representative of God. Now the Spirit of the Lord has come upon David.

In OT times the Spirit of the Lord came upon someone or the Spirit of the Lord departed someone as God directed. This should not be applied to a NT Christian’s experience. Jesus has died, gone to heaven, sent his Holy Spirit. When we ask forgiveness of sins and believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwells in us. It is a constant indwelling of the Holy Spirit upon us.

An evil spirit from the Lord tormented Saul. Does God send an evil spirit?

One way to look at this is in Exodus: Pharoah hardened his heart, hardened his heart and finally and God hardened Pharoah’s heart. God confirmed him in the direction that he was sent to go.

We can better understand this by telling that when God took away his anointing the same Spirit has been sent as an agent of God’s judgment against Saul—that’s probably the main point here. God allowed Saul to go in the direction that he wanted to go.

Saul is being tormented.

1 Samuel 16:15-16

¹⁵Saul’s attendants said to him, “See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. ¹⁶Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.”

1 Samuel 16:17

¹⁷So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.”

¹⁸One of the servants answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”

What a great assessment of David’s character from a distance: He knows how to play the lyre. David is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.”

I wonder what someone would say about me from a distance.

The Lord is with him. That’s a good testimony to have. We need to be such kind of people. Believers need to be such kind of people where others will look at us and say, “The Lord is with them.” “I need to go to this brother, I need to go to this Sister. The Lord is with them. Just being with them makes me so happy, gives me a release in my spirit.”

And so David enters into Saul’s service, and what we see here is Saul likes him very much.

1 Samuel 16:21-23

²¹David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. ²²Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, “Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.”

²³Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

We see how everyone wants now David who is out with the sheep, the one who is the least likely the choice in the world.

God saw David.
God was pleased with his heart.

First, Samuel wanted him.

Second, the king’s attendants recommend him.

Third, Saul wants him.

When God sets his eye on someone, he will show us favour in the eyes of people.

Saul liked him very much.

Saul was pleased with David.

David’s presence brought relief to Saul.

Saul felt better when David was around.

Evil spirit would leave Saul when David played his lyre.

We need to be aspire to be someone like this. Now, David works for Saul as a part-time lyre player and armor-bearer, but there are occasions when he goes back home to Jesse. This ends Ch. 16.

Hidden years: David is anointed king immediately after King Saul was rejected as King. But it will take many years for him to be recognized and take the kingship of Israel. Those are going to be years of trial, years of difficulty, and years of perplexity and years of injustice in his life.

When God has a call on our life, it can sometimes takes years before we actually do that. In between is called the ‘Hidden Years.’ In God’s economy, not everyone profits from hidden years. It depends on attitude they have. Those who are with a heart yielded to God will benefit from every situation whether it is positive things and negative things. David is going to have a lot of negative things in his life and it is simple faith that leads him through.

I will to have a brief look the major theme here: God looks at the Heart.

God looks at the Heart.

Heart in the Bible:

The Inner Man. The whole physical man, centre seat of physical and spiritual life.
The Seat of Thought and Reflection. The heart is the storehouse of knowledge as the seat of the memory. (Lk. 1:66; 2:51; Heb. 4:12; 10:16).
The Seat of Emotions. Anger (Mt. 15:19), Fear (Jn. 14:27); Excitement ( Jn. 16:22; Acts 2:46); Love (Mt. 22:37; Eph. 5:25).
The Seat of Moral Consciousness (Heb. 10:22).
The Seat of Volition/Will (Rom. 6:17; 2 Cor. 9:7).

Heart is related to the spirit/soul, mind, conscience.

The heart is sinful or deceitful.

Jer. 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things.

Mt. 15:18-20

The Heart is the agent of faith. Seat of regeneration.

Romans 10:8-9

⁸But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

The Holy Spirit indwells our heart.

If the Lord is looking at my heart what does my heart look like?

Romans 5:5 God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 4:6 God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.

The Lord looks at our heart. If God had a look at our heart, would it reveal? Will he find your inner self, your thoughts, reflections, emotions, will, and conscience in line with God’s standards?

We know history unfolded in David’s life. He sinned with Bathsheba and he prays:

Psalm 51:10

Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Life Application

One can Forfeit Their Right to the Truth Due to Disobedience.

Is there an area in my life where I may be ignoring God’s direction or truth due to disobedience or sinful habits?

Our Strengths can Become Weaknesses if we Allow Them to be.

Am I using my strengths in a way that honours God, or have I allowed them to become a source of pride or self-reliance?

Do Not to Rely on Appearances.

Things can come into our lives that seem good. Am I seeking God’s will and direction in all areas of my life, or am I making decisions purely based on outward appearances or worldly measures of success?

The Lord is Looking at Our Heart.

While people may judge by outward appearances, God looks at our inner motives and the condition of our hearts. What does my heart look like before God? Am I more concerned with how I appear to others, or am I focused on the condition of my heart and relationship with God?

In our next sermon on 1^st Samuel, we will look at Chapter 17.

1 Samuel 17 is probably the most famous chapter in the books of Samuel: David and Goliath, and certainly one of the most famous chapters in the entire Bible. It’s a long chapter, and we’ll be looking at it in some detail, and I’ll be saying some things that might be new to your understanding of it. I don’t think it’s the case of a little underdog defeating a big, powerful giant as much as it is a wise servant of the Lord who trusts the Lord to help him execute skills that the Lord has already given him. But more on that in the next sermon.

City Harvest AG Church

The Matter of the Heart | 1 Samuel 16