1 Samuel 16:7 – Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Summary

God's and Samuel's criteria for who should rule are not necessarily the same.

Analysis

Samuel was initially attracted to Eliab, Jesse's eldest son, because of his impressive height or physical prowess. God's warning to Samuel that a person's stature is not a reliable measure of an individual's qualifications is, on the surface, reminiscent of Samuel's earlier experience with Saul, who was also remarkable for his height (9:2; 10:23) but also rejected by the Lord (15:23).

A theological principle, however, is also involved in this memorable verse. Samuel's limited perspective arose out of his inability to see beyond outward appearances. Since Eliab (and Saul!) had apparently been blessed with good looks, it was natural to assume that God's blessing would extend to leadership. But God states very clearly that there is much more involved: "The LORD looks on [better: "into"] the heart." In the thought world of the Old Testament, the "heart" represents what we would call "the mind"--the seat of the will, the intellect, and decision making--attributes that Samuel could not "see," but which were of the utmost importance and divinely discernible. God will be the one to choose Israel's king, and it will be on the basis of God's criteria.

• 1 Samuel 1:1-7:17
  Samuel the “Segue”
• 1 Samuel 1:4-20
  Samuel’s Birth
• 1 Samuel 2:1-10
  Hannah’s Song
• 1 Samuel 2:18-26
  Samuel at Shiloh
• 1 Samuel 3:1-20
  Samuel’s Prophetic Call
• 1 Samuel 4:1b-7:2
  The Adventures of the Ark
• 1 Samuel 7:2-4
  Samuel as Preacher of Repentance
• 1 Samuel 7:5-14
  Samuel’s Unique Form of Judgeship
• 1 Samuel 7:15-17
  Samuel’s Career in a Nutshell
• 1 Samuel 8:1-12:25
  Samuel and Saul
• 1 Samuel 8:4-20
  Israel Demands a King
• 1 Samuel 12:1-25
  Samuel’s Farewell Address
• 1 Samuel 13:1
  Saul’s Regnal Formula
• 1 Samuel 13:1-15:33
  God Rejects Saul as King
• 1 Samuel 14:41
  Urim and Thummim
• 1 Samuel 14:47-51
  A Positive Summary of Saul’s Achievements
• 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13
  Samuel Anoints David King
• 1 Samuel 16:14-23
  Saul’s Evil Spirit
• 1 Samuel 17:1-49
  David and Goliath
• 1 Samuel 17:4
  The Name and Size of the Philistine Champion
• 1 Samuel 17:57-18:16
  Saul Becomes Jealous of David
• 1 Samuel 18:1-4
  David and Jonathan
• 1 Samuel 18:6-20:42
  David Flees Saul
• 1 Samuel 21:1-22:23
  David Grows in Military Might
• 1 Samuel 21:1-9
  David and the Holy Bread
• 1 Samuel 24:1-26:25
  David’s Respect for the Lord’s Anointed
• 1 Samuel 28:3-25
  Saul Consults a Medium
• 1 Samuel 31:1-13
  The Death of Saul
• 1 Samuel 31:4
  Saul’s Suicide