1 Samuel 16:7 The LORD looketh on the heart.
7“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7, King James Version
In plain words: Samuel was sure that Eliab, a son of Jesse, would be the next king. God told him not to go by Eliab’s looks or his height. People judge by what they can see. The LORD looks at the heart.
What was happening in 1 Samuel 16
God had rejected Saul as king over Israel, and He sent Samuel to Bethlehem with a horn of oil: “I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons” (1 Samuel 16:1).
Jesse and his sons came to a sacrifice. Samuel looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the LORD’s anointed is before him” (16:6). Verse 7 is God’s answer.
Seven of Jesse’s sons passed before Samuel, and the LORD had chosen none of them (16:10). The youngest, David, was out keeping the sheep (16:11). Jesse sent for him, and the LORD said, “Arise, anoint him: for this is he” (16:12).
Samuel anointed David in front of his brothers, “and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward” (16:13).
How God chose David
He looked at the heart
Samuel judged Eliab by his face and his height, and God refused him (16:7). The son God chose was not at the sacrifice (16:11).
He called him from his work
Jesse had to send for him: he was keeping the sheep (16:11). “He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds” (Psalm 78:70).
Faithful in little, then much
His angry brother asked who was minding “those few sheep in the wilderness” (1 Samuel 17:28). But David had gone after a lion and a bear that took a lamb from his father’s flock (17:34-35). “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much” (Luke 16:10).
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Questions about 1 Samuel 16:7
Who is God talking to in 1 Samuel 16:7?
Samuel. God had sent him to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king (1 Samuel 16:1).
Who is the verse about?
Eliab, one of Jesse’s sons. Samuel thought he was the LORD’s anointed (16:6), and God told him not to go by his countenance or his height (16:7).
Who did God choose?
David, Jesse’s youngest son, who was out keeping the sheep. Samuel anointed him in front of his brothers (1 Samuel 16:11-13).
What does “countenance” mean?
A person’s face, or the look on it. “Look not on his countenance” means don’t go by how he looks.