The Lord Looks at the Heart
In the holdings of the Library of Congress is the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, a wonderful collection of photographs from the Holy Land. Most date from 1898 to 1946. This photo of a camel caravan is one of my favorites.
When I decided to write about the shepherd boy David for today’s post, I searched for an appropriate photograph from Library of Congress. I thought I might find a drawing or a painting. Instead, I found this photo from the Matson Photograph Collection. It is an example of one of their black and white negatives or prints which was later hand-colored. This particular picture was then photographed with color film. The collection has several images like this one in which photographers staged Biblical events, using local Middle Easterners to play the roles of various people from the Bible.
I thought you might find these photos interesting, but my real topic for today is what the Lord told Samuel after sending him to Bethlehem to anoint a king to succeed King Saul.
God told Samuel to invite the Bethlehemite Jesse to a sacrifice. God assured Samuel that he would show him what he should do. When Samuel saw Jesse’s son Eliab, he thought that surely Eliab would be the one the Lord wanted to replace King Saul. God made it clear to Samuel that Eliab was not His anointed one. One by one Jesse brought his sons before Samuel, and the Lord rejected each one. Finally Jesse brought his youngest son David, who had been tending the sheep. God told Samuel to anoint David as the new king of Israel.
When God rejected Eliab, he told Samuel why. He said:
“Do not look at his appearance
or at the height of his stature,
because I have rejected him;
for God sees not as man sees,
for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
As we rear our children, we must also remember the Lord’s words to Samuel and take care that we are caring for and training not only the child that others see, but the heart of our child that the Lord sees.
Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life.
Proverbs 4:23