Sullivan church of Christ - Sullivan, MO
Date: February 14, 2010
GOD LOOKS ON THE HEART
Ben Justice
God rejected Saul from being King in Israel. Such was due to his rejection and rebellion against the will of God (cf. 1 Sam 13:8-13; 15:1-25). Samuel informed Saul that his kingdom shall not continue. God then sought a man after his own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).
In 1 Samuel 16, God commissioned Samuel to go to Jesse, who was from Bethlehem. It would be among the sons of Jesse that God would appoint the next King over Israel (v. 1). When Samuel arrived, “he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him” (v. 6). However, such was not the Lord’s choosing. According to v. 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.” The implication of this is that Samuel had only looked on the outward appearance of Eliab and had not given consideration to Eliab’s heart. Samuel didn’t look at Eliab through God’s eyes. A very powerful lesson to be gleaned immediately from this is that we must endeavor to look at things how God looks at them. “In the eyes of God” should be the ultimate standard for every Christian. While man may see things in a particular way, such may not be the case with God, and in fact, is usually not so.
God knew Eliab’s heart, and he knows every person’s heart. The inspired Hebrews’ writer affirmed, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). 1 Kings 8:39 informs us that God “knows the hearts of all the children of men.” Listen to what David said to his son Solomon - “And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (1 Chr. 28:9). Jesus made this interesting statement to the Pharisees in Luke 16:15, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” With regard to Eliab, he was “highly esteemed” among Samuel, but not in the eyes of God. And why not? Because God knew his heart. We may highly esteem some men in this world, but such men may be an abomination in the sight of God - a very powerful lesson to learn.
Eliab’s heart was made known in 1 Sam. 17:28, when he rebuked David’s righteous actions. A person’s heart and mind will always manifest itself outwardly. David was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). How was David a man after God’s own heart? Such is defined for us in God’s word. First, from a negative perspective, 1 Sam. 13:13-14 states, “And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou has not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the Lord have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. (14) But now thy kingdom shall not continue; the Lord hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the Lord commanded thee.” Verse 14 is in direct contrast to verse 13. God sought a man after his own heart, not as Saul who had done foolishly in not keeping the commandment of the Lord. Therefore, a person after Gods own heart is a person will not do foolishly by not keeping God’s commandments.
Second, from a positive statement, Acts 13:22 states, “And when he had removed him (Saul - BJ), he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will.” Thus, a man after God’s own heart is a person who will fulfill all of God’s will. Such will always be manifested outwardly in a person’s life.
There are many different kinds of hearts. Jesus clearly portrayed this when he gave the parable of the soils, wherein the different types of soils represent different types of hearts and dispositions (see Matt. 13:18-23). The kind of heart and mind that does the will of God in all things and that bears fruit is “the good and honest heart” (Matt. 13:23; Mark 4:8; Luke 8:15). A good and honest heart will always manifest itself in keeping all of God’s commandments, correcting error in one’s life, growing and maturing in spirituality, and performing our God-given duties utilizing the abilities we have.
There is another matter that needs to be addressed relative to 1 Sam. 16:7. Some have often appealed to this passage (or perhaps a parallel passage) in which it is argued that God is not concerned with a person’s manner of dress. However, such is a perversion of the passage and is to ignore other scriptures that address that God is concerned with how we clothe ourselves. How we clothe ourselves can be looked at from two vantage points:
1.) The scriptures condemn immodest dress. This is dress that exposes one’s nakedness (cf. Gen. 3:21; Ex. 28:42) or that in otherwise draws undue attention to oneself (1 Tim. 2:8-9). How a person dresses in this world reveals the condition of their heart. It is often the case that such people are simply ignorant regarding this matter. Thus, the heart (mind) needs to be educated. And, when they learn better, they will do better. When this happens, a person’s heart is maturing and growing; it is a good and honest heart.
2.) Another area of attire is how saints clothe themselves when gracing God’s presence in worship to him. I have heard from more than one brother when speaking of the manner of dress in worship to God that the appeal is made to 1 Sam. 16:7 that speaks of God looking on the heart. The implication, therefore, is that it doesn’t really make a difference how a person dresses in the presence of God. If such were the case, then why did God require the OT priests to dress in a certain way when they offered sacrifices for the people (see Ex. 28-29, 39-40). The application that we make under the NT economy is that every Christian is a priest of God who offers up spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet. 2:9).
Worship is a significant and special area for the Christian. It is that sphere of life in which a deeper and abiding reverence is seen, unlike any other area of life. As the Psalmist said, “God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him” (Psalm 89:7). Most everyone understands that coming into the presence of greatness demands respect. Far too many people show irreverence to Jehovah God Almighty by wearing attire that they wear when mowing the grass or working on the car or playing ball. Much more could be said on this, but here is what one author stated,
How could a Christian attorney wear a fashionable suit and silk tie while representing a client in a courtroom and the following Sunday approach the highest Judge in the universe in a short-sleeved sport shirt and khaki pants? (Perry C. Cotham, “Ceasefire,” Pg. 79).
Whatever happened to “our Sunday best?” There is no dress code per se. To a large degree, society dictates the type of attire that is seen as respectful and reverential. Such changes from age to age and culture to culture, but when that Christian attorney has the type of garb that he does to wear in the courtroom, then he has it to wear to the worship assemblies. A person’s best changes from person to person, but when we wear our best on Sunday morning, we have it to wear at anytime we come into the presence of Jehovah God in worship. Shouldn’t it be pointed out that we worship the same God on Sunday and Wednesday night as we do on Sunday morning? Does he not deserve the same reverence at these times also?
Some brethren who dress flippantly and who make no distinction between the everyday, common, and mundane affairs of life and their worship to God, will often go on the defensive thinking that when someone starts talking about respectful and reverent dress, that such is attacking their spirituality, again referring to 1 Sam. 16:7 that God looks on the heart and not on the outward appearance. But, as has already been noted from God’s word is that a person’s heart is always manifested outwardly, and this includes the way we dress. Some brethren have not simply matured to this point. However, the more a person learns and understands about who God is and what worship is, the more their reverence and honor and respect will increase, meaning that some things they did before they may no longer do now. Again, this is clear evidence of a good and honest heart. As one writer noted, “Maturity in the Christian walk will naturally show more reverence and respect for God’s presence.” As the Hebrews’ writer declared, let us, “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb. 12:28).
God looks on the heart, but realizing that the heart is indeed the seat and center of every person’s spiritual and moral life. Such was manifested outwardly in both Eliab and David (see 1 Sam. 17) and is likewise manifested outwardly in every person today. May our hearts be good and honest, for there is no other heart that is acceptable to God. It is this type of heart that will never regard keeping God’s commandments as a grievous thing (1 John 5:3) and will never have divide allegiance in seeking to serve two masters (Matt. 6:24), but who seeks God first in this world (Matt. 6:33). This is the only kind of heart pleasing and acceptable to God.