2019-01-20T11:00:00-06:00
30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version copyright (c)2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. http://www.esv.org
Notice how the truest person in this scene is God. Samuel is at the brink of despair over the king who is no longer. It seems that his vision for God’s kingdom has been shattered, and there is no hope to replace the destruction. So he grieves. But the Lord meets him in his grief (brinking-on-despair) and tells him He has a plan. But Samuel’s doubt has not ceased; in fact, he blurts it out to the Lord: If Saul hears it, he will kill me. This is fear, the fear we all know when we are faced with the impossible. But the Lord provides even for Samuel’s fear by promising to lead him along the right path. Here we have a prophet who isn’t very courageous, much like Jonah.
The situation is very back and forth: God offers a solution, His servant pushes back in doubt, God offers a solution, etc. And God is very patient with people like that. Samuel has a vision also for the new king, since his vision for the old one didn’t work out. But God has a much better vision for the new king—and this text doesn’t even reveal all of that plan!—and He softly breaks it to Samuel by telling him tenderly, the Lord sees not as a man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.
Now we see a shift in Samuel’s heart: he no longer believes his eyes and the criteria for a king now goes deeper than mere appearance. The Lord is helping him to look on the heart of Jesse’s boys. Good-looking sons are no longer qualified just because of their looks. One by one, Samuel sets them aside. And look how he communicates that: The Lord has not chosen these. Samuel is finally admitting that it is all the Lord’s choice, because it is the Lord’s plan. And yet an odd thing happens: the man the Lord does choose is ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. David is just as visually appealing as the rest. So why was he chosen?
The Lord looked beyond David’s outward appearance and knew that he was “a man after God’s own heart.” What that means and what it doesn’t mean will make more sense as we move through the rest of David’s life. But for now, it’s important to note that, in the Lord’s eyes, outward appearance—whether desirable or not—should not be our primary focus. Like Samuel, we struggle to get beyond the surface in evaluating ourselves and others. How are we distracted by outward appearance? What would it mean for us to learn to look on the heart? It’s worth remembering that Jesus “had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2). If we would know and love the Son of David, the true Man after God’s own heart, the Lord must open our eyes. Lord, help us to see as you see!