• Date: October 19, 2025
• Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 51:10-14
• The Point: God sees beyond the exterior to what is within our hearts.
• Free Resource: Gift Charades (3rd-6th, NL)
• Unit Theme (October 12—November 2): Called by God

By putting together the story of David’s calling (1 Samuel 16) with verses from Psalm 51, we can dig deeper into what it means for God to look on people’s hearts.

Since Last Time

Samuel is all grown up. While we don’t know how old Samuel was when he was called (“boy” can mean anywhere from infant to adolescent), it is often assumed that he was around 12 years old. According to the Bible Timeline on BibleHub, Samuel was around 76 at the time of today’s reading. In the meantime, a lot has happened. Of most relevance here is that the Israelites demanded a king (who wasn’t God), God chose Saul, Saul disobeyed, and he was rejected as king.

Samuel was called by God, Saul was called by God, and now David is being called by God. 

A Man after God’s Own Heart

To vastly oversimplify, things were going great for King Saul until he got impatient waiting for Samuel on the eve of battle. Before fighting began, Samuel would go and sacrifice to God. Samuel was delayed, and so Saul decided to do the sacrifice himself. Just as he finished, Samuel showed up and got very angry that Saul disobeyed.

Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which [God] commanded you. The LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever, but now your kingdom will not continue; the LORD has sought out a man after [God’s] own heart, and the LORD has appointed him to be ruler over [God’s] people because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

1 Samuel 13:13-14

Just minutes after Saul’s unlawful sacrifice, Samuel is telling him that he’s being replaced. And specifically, he is being replaced by “a man after [God’s] own heart.” That is a refrain that will appear again and again to describe the next king of Israel.

The LORD Looks on the Heart

Samuel grieved over Saul, but God had had enough of that. It was time for Samuel to (commit treason and) anoint a new king, despite the fact that the old king was still alive and on the throne. God directed Samuel to the home of Jesse, a Bethlehemite, and declared that the new king would be one of Jesse’s sons. Instead of just telling Samuel whom God had chosen, Samuel had to go through the lineup of Jesse’s seven oldest sons (leaving the youngest and least important in charge of the sheep). The prophet immediately thought that the oldest son, Eliab, must be the one. I guess he looked the part: tall, dark, and (presumably) handsome. 

But God had a lesson for Samuel: it’s not the looks that matter, it’s what’s inside of a person that does. This is not, in the end, a very revolutionary concept. A leader should be chosen because of character and qualifications, not outward appearance. But God specifically said:

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.”

1 Samuel 16:7

A person’s heart, in Hebrew thought, was not just the blood-pumping organ. It was not even just a person’s emotional center (as in our culture). The heart was the seat of a person’s entire interior life. And since God is God, when the Lord looks on a person’s heart, God sees the past, present, future, and the hidden depths of a person. God was not just looking for leadership skills; God was looking for a man after God’s own heart—someone who sought to follow God’s way.

A Clean Heart

Seeking to follow God’s way is not the same thing as always following God’s way. David was far, far from perfect. He wasn’t even always a good person. In his most famous episode, he used his authority to have sex with a married woman, and then tried to cover it up with deception and murder. (He was also a pretty bad father, and his final instructions to his son Solomon sound a bit like those of a mob boss (1 Kings 2:5-9).)

But the point is generally made that David repented when he was confronted with his horrible behavior. It is said that he specifically wrote Psalm 51 after he was confronted regarding his behavior toward Bathsheba. Psalm 51:10-14 is paired with our narrative passage today.

To me, it connects to God’s words to Samuel on the issue of the heart. God looks on the heart (inward being), and David prays for a clean heart (inward being).

Faith Formation Connection

What does this have to do with us? While it is an important lesson for us to not judge a person on their outward appearance, I think it is more relevant to know that God sees our hearts, our inmost being. And God loves us, no matter what God sees.

In God’s Spirit,

Gregory Rawn (Publisher)

Free Resource

During the main Narrative Lectionary year (September 7 to May 24), we provide a free resource download from one of our products to help you in your faith formation ministry. This week, download “Gift Charades,” an activity from our Living the Word: Kids (3rd-6th, NL) curriculum.

Order Faith Formation Resources

The 2025-2026 program year is here! Do you have all the faith formation resources you need? Order now and download immediately! Our Narrative Lectionary (Year 4, 2025-2026) and Revised Common Lectionary (Years C & A, 2025-2026) resources are online, ready to order, and available for immediate download! If you don’t have much time for full-length children’s Christian education, then check out our Kids Mini Lessons for the NL and RCL. If you don’t use a lectionary, check out our non-lectionary Living the Word: Classroom (PK-2nd, 3rd-6th).

Are you looking for resources for topical Sunday school, family/intergenerational events, retreats, and more?

Learning Together is a series of five-lesson units on a variety of topics. Our faith formation resources are easy to use, theologically sound, and inclusive.

Check out our newest Learning Together unit: Travelers (Immigrants and Refugees).

Our unit Celebrations is a recommended VBS curriculum by Building Faith (and the only curriculum they reviewed from a small, independent publisher)!!!

You can read outside reviews on both our Do Justice and Created to Care units!

I am very honored to announce that I was a guest on the premiere episode of season 3 of the Around the Table podcast! The topic: how faith formation is different than Christian education. Check it out at Around the Table S03E01.

Our Resources

At Spirit & Truth Publishing, we might have exactly what you are looking for:

• Resources for the Narrative Lectionary (2025-2026): Products for all ages, including mini lessons for PK-6th, if you only have a short time for elementary faith formation.
• Classic Sunday School Curriculum: Key Bible stories for PK-2nd and 3rd-6th, also great for your Christian elementary school!
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