The sixteenth chapter of the first book of Samuel presents to us a quite popular story about the day the LORD sent Samuel the prophet to go and anoint the next king of Israel, a replacement for Saul, from the house of Jesse the Bethlehemite.

Now, Samuel would have anointed Jesse’s first son, Eliab, had the LORD not stopped him.

1 Samuel 16:1,5–7(NKJV)

1 - Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons."

5 - And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.

6 - So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him!"

7 - But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical 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."

It is important to know that there are a number of factors that influenced Samuel's judgment. One that really stands out, as emphasized in verse 7, is physical stature.

Now why is this a thing at all? It wasn't really all about Samuel’s personal bias, but about the fact that this was just the second time that God was going to choose a king for the nation of Israel, and the first time, physical stature appeared to be part of the divine metric.

1 Samuel 10:20–24(NKJV)

20 - And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen.

21 - When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen. But when they sought him, he could not be found.

22 - Therefore they inquired of the LORD further, "Has the man come here yet?" And the LORD answered, "There he is, hidden among the equipment."

23 - So they ran and brought him from there; and when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward.

24 - And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen, that there is no one like him among all the people?" So all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"

This was something because the kings of other nations usually had big statures and were warriors who usually led their nations in battle.

1 Samuel 8:4–5,20(NKJV)

4 - Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah,

5 - and said to him, "Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations."

20 - that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles."

So you get the drill?

Hence, when Samuel saw Eliab, he thought he had seen another potential hero.

But God was not limited to that kind of thinking. He knew better and had better plans.

1 Samuel 16:7(NKJV)

7 - But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical 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."

We find some vital conclusions from this:

1. Outward appearance matters before men.

2. The state of the heart matters more before God.

3. Divine leading is not stereotypical. The fact that God chose a man of great stature the first time did not mean He would choose a man of great stature the next time.

[Interestingly though, David also had a very good stature; he wasn't the weak-looking teenager we see portrayed in some Bible illustration pictures. For a better understanding of this, read the blog post: How Old Was David When He Defeated Goliath?]

We should learn not to be stereotypical in our recognition of divine leading. This understanding would help David greatly many years later.

2 Samuel 5:17–20(NKJV)

17 - Now when the Philistines heard that they had anointed David king over Israel, all the Philistines went up to search for David. And David heard of it and went down to the stronghold.

18 - The Philistines also went and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

19 - So David inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You deliver them into my hand?" And the LORD said to David, "Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand."

20 - So David went to Baal Perazim, and David defeated them there; and he said, "The LORD has broken through my enemies before me, like a breakthrough of water." Therefore he called the name of that place Baal Perazim.

2 Samuel 5:22–25(NKJV)

22 - Then the Philistines went up once again and deployed themselves in the Valley of Rephaim.

23 - Therefore David inquired of the LORD, and He said, "You shall not go up; circle around behind them, and come upon them in front of the mulberry trees.

24 - And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the LORD will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines."

25 - And David did so, as the LORD commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

We may have expected Samuel to have been more discerning but, one might argue that his bias wasn't independent of the fact that God actually did lead him specifically to Jesse’s house, amongst thousands of households. This shows that the prophet wasn't acting on sense knowledge all the way. In the end, he was human—a man of God, but a man nonetheless.

Victor Ibosiola © 2025