Of the readings in the
Revised Common Lectionary for 25 January 2014 (Saturday before the Third Sunday after Epiphany), I chose to reflect on 1 Samuel 15:34—16:13
The Lord looks at the heart 1 Samuel 16:7b
As this reading begins, the Lord has repented of making Saul the king of Israel and tells his prophet Samuel to anoint a replacement. Now, while Samuel and Saul are no longer BFFs, Samuel is wary of antagonizing Saul, especially since the Lord wants him to travel to Bethlehem to anoint one of the sons of Jesse. Still, the Lord tells him to go and provides a means by which he can do so without raising the suspicions of Saul. However, he doesn't tell Samuel which son of Jesse to anoint. That would be too simple, and it also would deny whoever wrote this story the chance to impart a lesson.
Anyway, Samuel goes and meets with Jesse and has Jesse bring his sons before him. The first to be shown to Samuel is Jesse's firstborn son, Eliab. The name is certainly auspicious, meaning "God is my father". Moreover Samuel likes the look of Eliab, thinking “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands here before the Lord.” For all that Samuel is a prophet of the Lord, he seems not to have grasped an important lesson. Seldom does it pay to be the firstborn son in the Bible. I probably ought to sometime do a thoro comparison of the fates of firstborn sons to their brothers in the Bible, but in the stories I recall, it's not good. But back to the story.
Sure enough, the Lord basically tells Samuel that despite Eliab's auspicious name,
the kid is not my son. Nor is he to be the next king. The Lord tells him that while men look at appearances, the Lord looks at the heart. But Eliab is not the only one of Jesse's sons that the Lord tells Samuel to reject. He rejects all seven of the sons Jesse presents. But Samuel isn't flustered in the least and asks if Jesse has another son. Of course, there is. The youngest son, David, had been left to tend the sheep. Samuel calls for him to brought to him and he anoints him with the olive oil he had brought.
The similarities and the contrasts with the anointing of Saul are quite evident, most especially the contrast. While both Saul and David are described as being handsome, Saul is said to have been among the largest of Israelites, standing a full head taller than those around him, whereas David is described as a youth, and presumably not yet full grown, tho the Bible does not state that with certainty. Saul came to believe that he had accomplished what he did out of his own strength. Apparently with David, the Lord intended to not have that happen, tho David would have his own faults.
