The Lord Looks on the Heart

6/9/09
I am drawn to this phrase, "the LORD looks on the heart," from I Sam. 16:1-13. We judge people all the time by outward appearances--their height, their clothes, their cleanliness, their race, their gender. We judge by the size and location of a house, what kind of car they drive, and what office they hold.
Samuel was tasked with finding the new king for Israel. He started with the eldest of Jesse's sons and went through all seven of the oldest boys. But none of them were the one that God chose. The youngest wasn't even considered. He was out in the fields tending the sheep. He was the one that Samuel anointed to be king, because the LORD doesn't look like we humans look, "the LORD looks upon the heart." His name was David. He became the paradigm for what Israel's king should be like. The messiah was to be a Son of David.
How do we look at people? "The LORD looks upon the heart."

Love,
Pastor Lynn