Intermediate Level, Block 6—Establishing Kingdom
Week 54
God’s Selection of David
Point to Emphasize: We can learn to look at people’s heart and not just see the outward things.
Reference Reading: 1 Samuel 16
Memory Verse: …For it is not how man sees that matters; for man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7b)
Story Sample
God sent Samuel, the man of God, to find a man among the children of Israel who, as king, would not disobey Him as Saul had done. God sent Samuel to find one who would obey Him and care for His kingdom. God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem, for God had selected a king among his sons.
It seemed that all of Jesse’s family was gathered together in their house. Jesse’s oldest son came before Samuel first. Samuel saw him and thought, “Surely this is the one Jehovah will make king!” Samuel was impressed with how tall and strong the oldest son was. Because the son looked so impressive, Samuel was sure that this one must be Jehovah’s choice! But actually, Samuel was very wrong! Jehovah told him not to mind man’s appearance. And then He said, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but Jehovah looks on the heart.” This means that human beings judge a person based on how the person looks on the outside, but God does not do that. God looks at who we are on the inside. That is what matters to Him!
A lot of times we are like Samuel, aren’t we? We look at someone’s clothes or hairstyle or backpack and decide if we like the person or not. But God doesn’t look at the outward things like that. He doesn’t look at people like that. He doesn’t look at YOU like that. He is not looking at whether you are tall or short or rich or poor or cool or not. God cares about your heart! And because we have a heart that loves God, we can learn the same thing Samuel learned that day: we can learn to look at people’s heart and not just see the outward things.
One time I met a very skinny, weak girl. She had stringy hair and wore clothes that were old and worn out. She and her mom came every week to volunteer at the place I worked. That little girl loved to help. She would do whatever jobs we asked her to do. Now, on the outside she did not look like a “cool kid.” And maybe she would not be the first one the other children would pick to be on a kickball team, but whenever she came to my work, what I saw was her heart. She was happy to come with her mom, and she was very glad to help others. Now, what do you think that little girl is doing today? Well, she is in college now, and she is studying to be a nurse. Ever since she was a little girl, she had a heart that loved to help others, and nurses help a lot of people. So you still can see her heart today. [Storyteller, insert your own story of looking at someone’s “inside” more than their outward appearance.]
After Jehovah told Samuel that He looked at the heart, the rest of Jesse’s sons came. Seven sons passed before Samuel in total, but Samuel knew that each one was not the one Jehovah had chosen. After the seventh son, Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” Jesse said that he had one more, his youngest son, who was out taking care of the sheep. This eighth son was so young, about 15 years old, that he did the lowest family chores. While his older brothers did all the big, important things, he was always sent to look after the sheep. Wow, Jesse had not even thought to call him! He had not thought there was anything about his youngest that would interest Samuel, the man of God. But Samuel told Jesse to send for the youngest son.
Can anyone guess what Jesse’s youngest son was named? That’s right! David! David was the youngest of these eight brothers, and when he came before Samuel, Jehovah said, “Arise; anoint him, for this is he.” This is how the youngest son of Jesse was selected to be Israel’s next king.
Although David’s family did not think he was able to do much, David was the one chosen by God among the children of Israel! From this we see that God didn’t care for David’s outward appearance. He did not care that David was the youngest one and the one doing the lowest chores. God knew his heart and selected him to be king over Israel.
It is so important while we are at this age, to begin to choose friends who have good hearts. We can learn to look at people’s heart and not just see the outward things about them.