You Can't Judge a Book...

1Samuel 16:1, 6-7

The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is now before the LORD.” But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

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You can't judge an apple by looking at a tree
You can't judge honey by looking at the bee
You can't judge a daughter by looking at the mother
You can't judge a book by looking at the cover

"You Can't Judge a Book by Looking at the Cover" by Bo Diddley

How many times have we heard it, you can't judge a book by looking at its cover. How many times do we look at the Call of David from 1Samuel and realize that this is one of the lessons?

Jesse's eldest son is named Eliab. His name means "God is my Father" in Hebrew. Now that's a name suitable for the King of Israel. On top of his appropriate name, he's Jesse's eldest son which makes him a prime candidate for Kingship. On top of that, He is tall and good looking. Appearance meant as much then as it does today when selecting a leader. But the Lord is not picking the new king on these criteria.

David is Jesse's eighth son, not even the seventh son who in numerology would have been a special birth. He's not the oldest. He's not the seventh. He is the selected.

The Lord will use his own criteria to select the leader of Israel, not human tradition or customs. It's the Lord's choice and the Lord does not judge a book by the cover. Then David is ordained, covered in oil by the old prophet.

So what happened next? What comes after the anointing? The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David and Samuel takes off. Really, nothing happens for a while and that too is God's plan.

We have to beware our expectations. It's not uncommon for us to have preconceived notions about people, notions which prove to be baseless. We rely on our customs and traditions to help us make decisions, customs and traditions which might have outlived their usefulness. We want to get up and go, we want to do something when the Lord wants us to wait.

It's not easy to break the molds of our automatic behaviors, but that is what the Lord calls us to do. David's selection and ordination break the expectations of his family. Soon he will do the same through the world.

Oh, Very Young

1Samuel 16:10-13

Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The LORD has not chosen any of these.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; for this is the one.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

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Oh very young
What will you leave us this time
You're only dancing on this earth
For a short while

"Oh Very Young" by Cat Stevens

This is how David is anointed King. The Lord has told Samuel the priest that one of the Sons of Jesse will be the next King of Israel. This is kind of dicey though since there is currently a king of Israel. At any rate, the Lord will leave a new king in the land.

So The Sons of Jesse go before Samuel. One at a time until seven pass by and none of them are to be anointed. Don't misunderstand, they all have standing. The eldest son would have been a traditional choice. The seventh son would have been a good choice, especially among those who love the numerology. Each of the sons were handsome. Each of them were strong from work. But none of them found the Lord's favor.

Yes, there is one more. He is young and he is in the fields keeping the sheep. He is ruddy, has beautiful eyes and is handsome. The Lord picks him. From that day forward, the Lord came mightily upon David.

David lives into the blessing he receives. Not every day mind you, there are some things that would have been better left undone, but even his mistakes had holy consequences. So it's a question of either serendipity or the work of the Holy Spirit, "Oh very young, what will you leave us this time?"

When we consider what can be done, we have to remember that what we think is important, what we think is needed for success is sometimes just that much smoke. Sometimes what we think is vital is just window dressing. The skills we think are requires sometimes build walls that get in our own way. Instead, we need to be open to what God is doing in our lives and our world. Because only by the Holy Spirit, will great things ever happen.