I Samuel 16
I Samuel 16:7:
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." |
|
![]() Judgmentalism thrives on, among other things, human laziness. It’s easier to look at “the outward appearance” (1 Sam. 16:7), then classify and characterize (often emphatically), than it is to consider that the situation may be more than it seems. But both charity and wisdom call us to go beyond merely seeing. We must try to perceive.
When Jesus told us to evaluate people by their “fruit” (Matt. 7:18-20), He wasn’t calling us to judge only by the most obvious, conspicuous appearances. -Sharper Iron |
|
I Samuel 16:14:
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. |
"This is a difficult passage for two reasons. First, it seems to imply that a person can lose the Holy Spirit by an act of disobedience. But it must be understood that the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament was selective and temporary. The Spirit involved with Saul was probably the same Spirit involved with David in verse 13: a special equipping of the Spirit for ruling as God's anointed king. This unique equipping is not the same as the personal relationship in the Spirit that we enjoy with God as His children today." --Neil T. Andersom (The Bondage Breaker)
|