The LORD Looks At The Heart

God rejected Saul as king of Israel because of a problem with his heart. He was "unwilling" to completely obey God's command to destroy the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:9). Saul started with a humble heart. Before he was anointed king, he saw himself as "the least" in his clan - Benjamin (1 Samuel 9:21), even Samuel said, "Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel?" (1 Samuel 15:17). How did it go wrong for Saul? It must be the trappings of his position as "king" that infected his heart.  Or could it be that the position only amplified what was always wrong with his heart? Perhaps it's both.  A quick look at Saul's actions will show us how defective his heart was.

The first assignment God gave Saul after he was anointed king of Israel was to "attack and totally destroy the Amalekites." God's instruction was clear and unambiguous. Saul and his army destroyed everything that was "despised and weak", but they kept for themselves everything that was "good" - "the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs." (1 Samuel 15:9). They kept Agag, the king of Amalek alive too. When confronted with his disobedience, Saul resorts to excuses ... "the soldiers kept the best to sacrifice to the LORD" he said. He blamed others. Worse still, he did not immediately repent, he kept on defending his actions and where possible shifting the blame on others. To Saul, partial obedience should be good enough for God. He said, "But I did obey the LORD, I went on the mission the LORD assigned me, I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. The Soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God..." (1 Samuel 15:20-21). 

The truth is that Saul's heart was defective. Rather than falling face down and asking God for forgiveness, he chose to defend his actions. It was not until Samuel gave him God's verdict - "The LORD has rejected you as king" - that he showed any form of remorse. "I have sinned" he said, "I violated the LORD's command and your instructions.  I was afraid of the men and so I gave in to them." (1 Samuel 15:24). Even after he asked for forgiveness and Samuel refused to go with him to worship the LORD, it was his "honour" before the elders that was his concern. It was how people perceived him that was important to Saul, not what God thought of him. (1 Samuel 15:30). Rather than give up all the cattle he had taken and ask his soldiers to give up all they had taken and bring out Agag the king of Amalek before the LORD, he was concerned about his reputation. Contrast Saul's action with David's when he sinned concerning the issue of Bathsheba and Uriah. David made no excuses, he immediately said, "I have sinned against the LORD." He did not blame others. (2 Samuel 12:13)

Later in Saul’s life when God won an amazing victory for Israel through David and the women praised David, he became so jealous that he spent all his time and effort trying to kill David, a man he should honour and reward. This self-preservation, the desire to be praised and his obsession with his reputation was what led to Saul's downfall and eventual death. More importantly, he failed to honour and revere God as God. When God was going to choose Saul's replacement, he sought out a man with the right heart - David. ((1 Samuel 16:7).

Jesse, David's father did not present him when Samuel asked for his sons. Jesse excluded David because he was the youngest and couldn't possibly be the one the LORD would anoint as king. Even Samuel thought it was the impressive-looking Eliab, but God said no, "I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."  There is a lesson here for us. We must pay attention to our hearts. It does not take a lot to develop a defective heart. A good act with a wrong motive is not acceptable to God. When you say sorry, but you do not mean it, this may be a sign of a defective heart. If your primary motivation is to impress people and be praised by men, you may be in danger of acting to please men rather than God. If you resent people in your heart, but smile at them when you see them, your heart may need a touch from the LORD. 

In Psalms 51, When David noticed he had sinned regarding the issue of Bathsheba and Uriah her husband, he immediately noticed the defect in his heart and he cried out to God to change his heart. "Create in me a pure heart, O God" he prayed. He asked God for a renewal of his heart. Men may applaud our efforts, they may sing our praise. We may impress them with our achievements because all they can see is the empirical information available to them. God sees farther than men. He rewards and affirms those whose hearts are pure, and whose motives are right. How is your heart, what's in it, will the LORD be pleased when He looks in your heart? Let's turn to the LORD with all honesty and sincerity of heart and ask Him to work on our hearts, for there is were He looks.