WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?
DAILY WORD
8/2/23
6. When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the LORD’s anointed!”
7. But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16: 6–7 NLT
Today’s Passage ushers us into another Episode of The Story of Samuel with a Revelation that may offer us insight into why Saul was Rejected by God aside from his recalcitrant behaviors. There is a Spiritual Principle at work in these Verses that we of Today’s World would do well to remember.
I’ll try to keep Today’s Commentary brief for once because Today’s Lesson veritably screams off the page. But before we get to that, let’s look back to an earlier portion of The Story of Samuel in which King Saul was initially chosen. In the Second Verse of 1 Samuel 9, what was the first characteristic listed as Saul’s qualification to become King?
In fact, Saul’s only qualifying factor detailed in the Biblical Record was his height and good looks. Think about that for a moment. When Israel, God’s Chosen people, a nation delivered from centuries of servitude to the world’s preeminent power at the time, Egypt, rejected God demanding a King, their only qualifying characteristic was Saul’s looks!
And in the very next Verse, don’t forget Saul’s first act even before being anointed King. He hid from Samuel as the Prophet sought to coronate him. Saul was afraid of his Calling because he knew his capabilities. He intimately felt his own lack and understood what God Knew. Saul was not the man for this job!
Israel had rejected God as their Ruler and put an inadequate pretty boy in His Place. Not a wise move! But now, God is replacing Saul before he has even left the position. That is Today’s First Lesson. God can just as easily replace you in the role He’s Granted you if you refuse to Obey Him.
God does indeed Grant us His Permissive Will, but when we are in direct defiance, He may choose to replace us instead of dealing with our defiance. That is Saul’s unenviable position. But there’s another Lesson tucked into Today’s Passage.
The King James Version reads, “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” That is Today’s Second Lesson. In Today’s Society, where we revere the wealthy, and all you have to do to become rich is cut your face to resemble what we deem beautiful and your body into a cookie-cutter version of supposed Perfect Physiology, many of us put ourselves into compromising moral positions, and upload it to the internet, and BAM, you’re Famous!
But God doesn’t esteem looks or wealth. God Loves Obedience and Faith. He looks at our actions and Judges our Characters by what we do, how we think, and how we treat others. How we emulate His Perfection is a far better indicator of our Proximity to His Glory than the Facade of our Physical Appearance.
But to judge by Today’s Standards, King Saul would have made a perfect American Leader. We have so corrupted God’s Standards in our nation that Saul would make a better candidate for leading this nation than our current stock. That is how far we’ve fallen.
In our society, we may judge people by their appearance, but God still sees and Judges our hearts. When He looks under the hood of your life, what’s He going to find, a well-oiled machine or a motor in need of an oil change? Only you know that answer, but believe me when I tell you, it has nothing to do with your outward appearance!
Have A Wonderful Wednesday, FB, And Regardless Of What You See On Your Screens Daily, Never Forget; Man Looketh On The Outward Appearance, But The LORD Looketh On The Heart!
#dailyword
