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'The Lord Looks at the Heart'

Walter J. Chantry

'The LORD looks at the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). God had seen that David already was 'a man after His own heart' (1 Sam. 13:14). But Samuel's first glimpse (and ours), of this fascinating figure of history comes on the day of David's anointing.

He would become the champion of armies, a fugitive in the desert, living as a sort of 'Robin Hood' to the people of God, while pursued by a mad man. He would sit on the throne of Israel, leading God's people to a golden era. He would oversee a new administration of the covenant of grace, instituting new patterns of worship and personally writing the greatest prayer book of all time. He would be a prodigal, falling deeply into sin, but humbly blazing a trail of repentance to give all sinners hope. How many compartments there would be to David's life! Yet, as he had a horn of oil poured on his head, he was a simple teen-aged shepherd in a small agricultural village.

1. The record of David's anointing reminds us that human authorities strike fear into the hearts of their fellow-men.

Samuel spent some time when he was not reconciled to the secret purposes of God through which he had passed. Personal attachments to Saul and anxiety for the future of Israel brought the prophet into a grieving state of inertia. A gentle rebuke from the Lord and the surprising announcement that there was another king to anoint awakened the man of God into a state of fear.

Yes, Samuel had boldly withstood the king to his face in the name of the Lord. But then, men of God often find courage to speak in the power of the Spirit which is not native to their own frames. Saul was already under the power of an evil spirit. He would have unjustly slain his very own son, had not others restrained him. What would this king, abusive of authority from God, do to Samuel if he anointed a rival for Saul's own throne? In Eastern lands, from time immemorial, regimes had changed only by civil war or the most bloody mutinies. In terror, this brave servant of God said to the Lord, 'If Saul hears of it, he will kill me!'

Samuel was directed to Bethlehem with plans to hide his mission from Saul. As he travelled along the way, leading a heifer for sacrifice, he would surely have known that Rachel was buried at Bethlehem. Had he also heard the beautiful account of David's great-grandfather, Boaz, and his great-grandmother, Ruth? Did he think of these events along the way? Did it occur to him that these events were to be related to the Messiah?

As Samuel arrived in Bethlehem, there was a scene many ministers of the gospel have shared. The man of God was greeted by trembling elders of the town, asking, 'Do you come peaceably?' A prophet who received revelations was sometimes told by God the sins of individuals and communities so that he might rebuke them, call them to repentance or pronounce curses on the hard of heart. Had Samuel's last mission not been a stormy pronouncement of doom on a king?

Ministers must realize that their people have trembled under the Word of God which they preach. Consciences have been exposed under preaching in such dramatic ways that sinners flee from the church, wondering who has told the minister about them. All of us have seen the fear in the eyes of congregation members until they are assured by us that our present visit is for peaceful purposes. Never must a minister abuse this part of his calling to tease or to terrify for personal reasons. Rebukes must be used only for serious sins of the impenitent.

2. The record of David's anointing carries a most instructive word from the Lord.

Samuel obediently went to the house of Jesse to make it plain that he had a special desire for Jesse and his sons to attend the sacrifice. What an honour it was to have such exceptional attention from this prophet, so legendary to all in the nation! As Jesse and his seven sons prepared for the feast, Samuel was impressed by Eliab, the eldest son. No doubt he was tall, mature, well educated, ready, even then, to march into battle with Saul. Samuel thought, 'Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him'.

We all have our plans for God's kingdom, our assessments of those most suited for leadership among God's people. The Lord spoke to Samuel in these memorable words, 'Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as a man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart'. Here was a great spiritual man at full maturity and with long experience in God's kingdom on earth. Yet Samuel still evaluated by observing the outward appearance. Man always does that. Only God 'looks at the heart'. This is true even in our self-evaluations. To some extent, I can look into my own heart as God can. No other man may do so. God and I have access to the inner workings of my heart (mind, emotions, will). However, Jeremiah 17:9&10 tells us, 'The heart is deceitful above all things and incurably wicked; who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I test the mind.' There are depths to our sin which are self-deceiving. Too many imagine that a democratic method of choosing church officers is the safest. But in the New Testament, apostles searched the Scriptures for qualifications, prayed and fasted to know the will of God who 'looks at the heart'. Do our churches still fast and pray to have ministers, elders and deacons who are 'after God's own heart'? Or have we grown content with constitutions and 'Book of Order' processes?

When we look at other men and seek to judge their spirituality or reality of character, let us never forget this text. Perhaps churches are shocked by seeing apostates go out from their midst as periodic reminders that man is always observing outward appearances and that only the Lord searches men's hearts. Those who vainly imagine they have a gift for discerning the condition of others' hearts are due to receive serious disappointments. Thus every group of elders who rightly judge the profession of faith and experience of those who wish to be church members must remember that they do not look upon hearts. They examine credible professions and outward evidences only. Over the years, spiritually minded elders will find that they have been too doubtful about some and too confident of others who join their churches.

Samuel, at the height of his service to God, is humbled by his inability to judge Jesse's sons. Had he seen Eliab in the Valley of Elah, serving in Saul's army, he would never have said, 'Surely he is the Lord's anointed'. None of the seven was the 'man after God's own heart'. So Jesse summoned his eighth son. Finally David stood before Samuel. He was handsome, but so were Jesse's other sons. Samuel anointed David for only one reason. 'The Lord said, Arise, anoint him; for this is the one.'

The Lord chose David to be king, not Samuel nor the people of Israel. Nothing that we can observe was decisive with God. He chose David for unseen qualities of the inner man. God finds his servants in unexpected places: Joseph in a prison, David in a sheep pen, Luther in a miner's cottage. At the lowest point of his life, David was to cry, 'You desire truth in the inward parts, and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. ' (Psa. 51:6). In Psalm 66:16 the psalmist of Israel wrote, 'If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear'. David's son by Bathsheba wrote, 'Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life' (Prov. 4:23). The Lord searches your heart. What does He find?

3. The anointing of David was attended with spiritual realities.

God commands that symbols and ceremonies be used. Samuel was told to anoint the lad with oil. It was an act rich with meaning. But God Himself gave the reality! 'The Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.'

At that hour, the youth of Jesse's house entered a new phase of development for his inner life. For the most part, David will keep in step with the Spirit. He would not be conscious of the Spirit stirring within him at every moment. At times he would be profoundly aware that he was unlike any other man, because he was full of the Spirit. He would grow to cherish the inward operations of the Spirit. After his fall into adultery and murder, he would give his anguished cry, 'Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me' (Psa. 51:6). Immediately after seeing that the Spirit had fallen upon David, we are told that 'The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul'. David personally observed the piteous and horrific consequences of the Spirit of God having left a man so as to lend no more of His operations to that person's life.

Do you treasure the Holy Spirit as a guest in your heart? Do you labour not to grieve the Spirit, not to quench the Spirit? When you sin, do you anxiously pray, 'Take not Your Holy Spirit from me'? He is the Spirit of truth, the Spirit of life, the Spirit of peace and joy. He is the Spirit of righteousness, the Spirit of worship, the Spirit by whom we commune with the Father and the Son. He is the Spirit of power and of grace. We stand amazed at the life of David. Here is the explanation of all that was to follow: 'The Spirit of the Lord came upon David'.

'If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!' (Jesus, in Luke 11:13). Is this on your prayer list? Can it be found amidst your desires for health, safety, prosperity? Do you pray more for leaders than for the Spirit? In our Christian assemblies, may we have less of appearances, less of empty ceremony and more of the Spirit attending Biblical forms.