Human Response 436: Look Not on Outward Appearance

1 Samuel 18:7 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.

Samuel went to the family of Jesse to anoint the next king of Israel, as the Lord instructed him. None of Jesse’s first seven sons were chosen by the Lord, even though by outward appearance they looked fine. God told Samuel a Biblical principle: look not on the outward appearance. Humans respond to life’s relationships according to what they see outwardly. God sees the heart. Thus David was anointed because saw a man after His own heart.

Only God can see the heart of a person. We cannot. Therefore we are told, “Judge not.” We can judge behavior according to God’s Law, but we must not judge the person. While we cannot see the unseen with physical eyes, we must “look to (trust in) the things that are unseen [2 Corinthians 4:18].” God reveals to us what we cannot see with our eyes or know with our minds. By faith we see.