1 Samuel 16:1, 7

Hebrew Key Terms:

• H3988 מָאַס (maʾas) - "to reject" (same verb used of Saul)
• H4427 מָלַךְ (malak) - "to reign, be king"
• H4758 מַרְאֶה (marʾeh) - "appearance, sight"
• H6967 קוֹמָה (qomah) - "height, stature"
• H5869 עַיִן (ʿayin) - "eye"
• H3824 לֵבָב (levav) - "heart"
• H7200 רָאָה (raʾah) - "to see, look"

Context: After Saul's final rejection (ch. 15), God sends Samuel to Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse's sons. When Samuel sees Eliab, the eldest, he assumes this impressive figure must be the LORD's anointed. But God corrects him: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance (לַעֵינַיִם), but the LORD looks on the heart (לַלֵּבָב)." This verse is the explicit repudiation of the Saul-selection criteria and the foundation for understanding David's—and Christ's—true kingship.

OT-to-OT Development:

• This verse directly contrasts with Saul's introduction (9:1-2), which emphasized height and appearance. The very qualities that commended Saul are now explicitly rejected as criteria.
• The phrase "I have rejected him" (מְאַסְתִּיהוּ) uses the identical verb applied to Saul (15:23, 26), creating lexical linkage between Saul's rejection and God's rejection of Saul-like criteria.
• "Man after His own heart" (13:14) is now explained: God evaluates the heart, not externals.

Connections:

• TO OT: 1 Samuel 9:1-2 (Saul's appearance emphasized), 1 Samuel 13:14 ("man after His own heart"), Genesis 6:5 (LORD saw wickedness of human heart)
• FROM OT: Psalm 51:10 (create in me a clean heart), Jeremiah 17:10 (I the LORD search the heart), Ezekiel 36:26 (new heart)
• FROM NT: Acts 13:22 (David as "man after My heart"), John 7:24 ("Do not judge by appearances"), 2 Corinthians 10:7 ("You are looking at things according to the outward appearance")

Christological Connection: This verse is programmatic for understanding Christ's kingship. (1) Rejected Appearance: Isaiah 53:2—"He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him." Christ fails the Saul-test; He passes God's test. (2) Height of Stature: Saul stood above the people; Christ "made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant" (Phil 2:7). Divine kingship inverts human metrics. (3) God Looks at the Heart: Christ's heart is perfectly aligned with the Father's will. He is the true "man after God's heart." (4) Rejected by Man, Chosen by God: "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone" (Ps 118:22; Matt 21:42). Christ is Eliab inverted—rejected by human evaluation, chosen by God. (5) New Criteria Established: Through Christ, believers are taught to "judge not by appearances but with right judgment" (John 7:24). The Saul-pattern of external evaluation is repudiated.

Connection Method(s): Contrast, Redemptive-Historical Progression — God's explicit repudiation of outward appearance as kingship criteria ("the LORD looks on the heart") programmatically anticipates Christ, who fulfills the "man after God's heart" standard despite having "no form or majesty" (Isaiah 53:2).

Trajectory Table: 140 - Saul (Rejected King)