2026 Lent Devotions
Monday, March 9
1 Samuel 16:1-13
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” 2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” 4 Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling and said, “Do you come peaceably?” 5 He said, “Peaceably. I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely his anointed is now before the Lord.” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him, for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 8 Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. He said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.” 12 He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. The Lord said, “Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.” 13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.
“… for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart …”
One of the first events when I first arrived at the seminary was a gathering of all the students and faculty. As I sat with friends looking over the crowd, we saw a rather gaunt-looking man lurking along near the side. His clothes were wrinkled and too big for his frame, His hair was disheveled, his glasses thick, and his manner resembled that of a vagrant. We whispered quietly among ourselves how a homeless person had managed to enter this introductory event.
As the seminary president continued his introduction of the faculty, he called out the name of Dr. Charles Siegel. Suddenly, the vagrant in the wrinkled suit with the disheveled hair arose from his chair and walked onto the stage. We were astounded.
What further amazed us was that Dr. Siegel was one of the kindest, gentlest, and wisest professors I’ve ever encountered. His lectures were brilliant, his manner gracious, and his care for his students unmatched. Obviously outward appearances didn’t match the depth of his loving heart and the richness of his faithfulness.
God called Samuel to anoint as king the one whose appearance didn’t match his heart or his faith. So too it is with us. Often, it is from the least expected sources that God’s grace flows. It is ones such as these that we truly learn faithfulness to God.
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for those who have touched our lives with grace, hope, and peace. Teach me that outward appearances seldom match Your depth within another’s heart. Amen.