1 Samuel 15:34-16:734Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. 35And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel. 1And the Lord said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 2And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the Lord said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. 4And Samuel did that which the Lord spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? 5And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the Lord: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. 6And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed is before him. 7But 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. (1 Samuel 15:34‑16:7)
Samuel, then returned to Ramah, which means “height.” Saddened as he was, no doubt, by Saul’s failure, he did not allow himself to be overcome by it. Every true-hearted servant will always feel the failure and breakdown of everything in the hands of man, but we ought not to allow this to hinder us from “dwelling” in the heights of our blessings in Christ, and viewing His own there, in the purposes of God. His purposes in grace are not altered by man’s failure, and He will never fail in love and faithfulness to those whom He has redeemed at so great a cost.
Samuel did not come to see Saul again till the day of his death. It is solemn indeed when God’s Spirit ceases to strive with a man, as He did with Saul, but such a thing can take place even today, and it is final. It makes one tremble to think of it. As we think of those around us who seem to have closed their ears to the truth, we cannot but mourn as Samuel did for Saul here. Dear reader, if you are rejecting the gospel of the grace of God, beware lest God should give you up. We cannot treat the Word of God with indifference, and be guiltless. God says, “Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:77Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. (Hebrews 4:7). And again, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?” Hebrews 2:33How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; (Hebrews 2:3).
The Lord told Samuel that he must not allow his grief over king Saul to hinder his service to the Lord. We have to watch against this ourselves. When someone in whom we have placed a great deal of confidence breaks down, we are liable to get discouraged and feel like giving up, but this is wrong. God must allow us to see the end of all perfection (Psalm 119:9696I have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad. (Psalm 119:96)), and sooner or later we find out that “the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:6363It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63)). Happy for us if we take God’s Word about it, instead of being oveome when we learn it experimentally.
The Lord then sent Samuel to anoint another, even David, to be king over Israel in place of Saul. At first Samuel was afraid to do this lest king Saul should kill him, but the Lord told him to go and call the house of Jesse to a sacrifice, and then He would show him what to do. We are always slow to walk in the path of faith, for there are difficulties in it which we never encounter in the path of nature. The anointing of Saul as king, of which we have read previously, was entirely different to what we have here. There was no sacrifice when Saul was anointed, but a “choice young man and a goodly,” head and shoulders above the rest of the people, put in a position of honor before others. Because of this no doubt, when Samuel went to choose another in Saul’s place, he looked for another “Saul”—another man of impressive appearance and great stature. After he had called the house of Jesse to the sacrifice, Eliab the oldest son came before Samuel. Samuel was pleased with him because of his appearence and height, and thought “surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him.” But the Lord said to 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.” This was a needed word to Samuel, and indeed for us, for we are often taken up with a man’s appeance and stature, only to find him a disappointment. Let us never forget that the Lord looks upon the heart, and He knows the hearts of all men.
ML 09/12/1954