As The Lord Sees

PROPERS:          FOURTH SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR A  

TEXT:                1 SAMUEL 16:1-13

PREACHED AT ST. JOHN’S CHURCH, PASCAGOULA, ON SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 2023.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        Samuel had to have God’s vision in choosing the new king of Israel.

 

            In the Old Testament lesson today, we hear of a critical moment – in the history of Israel, in the course of salvation history, down to this gathering today.

 

            Young David, a child, is anointed King of Israel – and a thousand years later, in the same village in which he is anointed, his descendent, Jesus, will be born.

 

            But we are well ahead of ourselves here.  And we are missing a key point of the story.

 

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            The primary figure in the first verses of this passage is Samuel. A prophet and an old man.

 

            But we have heard of him before.

 

            He was originally a gift from God to his mother, Hannah.  She had prayed fervently to be given a child… a child she would dedicate to the Lord’s service.

 

            While serving in the House of God at Shiloh, the boy Samuel had received a vision from God against the family of his mentor Eli.  The voice of God had spoken clearly: “Samuel! Samuel!” And his mentor had urged the boy to hear the message and to disclose it to him.

 

            Which Samuel did.  And it was not good news for Eli.  His sons had sinned, and his house would fall.  His lineage would become like dust in the wind.

 

            Later, as a man and a much-respected prophet, Samuel would anoint the first King of Israel. Saul, the first king, was chosen because he was the tallest of all Israelites – head and shoulders above others. But he proved to be a disappointment, an utter failure.

 

            Samuel grieved… He grieved over King Saul’s failures and faithlessness.  He knew someone else had been chosen. He would discern and anoint the successor. The next king would be mightier than Saul.

 

            He thought he knew what he was looking for. He was willing to be guided.  That brings us to today’s lesson.

 

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The old man Samuel was revered by the people. He came to the Tribe of Benjamin, to the village of Bethlehem, where he had found Saul. He was looking for Jesse and his family.

 

            He found them, certain that one of Jesse’s sons would be chosen by God to be the new king. One-by-one they came before him – Eliab, Abinadab, Shammah, and four others.  Mighty though they were, God had not chosen any.

 

            Samuel, thinking this task would be easy, heard God say, “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.”  The Lord looks on the heart.

 

            So, Samuel posed a simple question to the father, Jesse: “Are these all your sons?”

 

            “All except one – the youngest.  He is tending the sheep.”

 

            Samuel sent for the youngster – David, a child, ruddy and handsome. And he would be king. The greatest of kings.

 

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            There is a lesson here somewhere for us.  That lesson could be for us as individuals… or for this congregation as it enters a search process.

 

            We are called to see not with our eyes, but with the eyes of God. We are called to see things not on-the-surface but with eyes of discernment.

 

            There is an old saying, “All that glitters is not gold.” Those are helpful words for us as we continue our ordinary lives, and as this congregation enters the search process.

 

            We are to look beyond the obvious… to see the depth… to see the diamond embedded in the lump of coal.