“Don’t judge a book by its cover” and “Be careful what you wish for” – both of these phrases come to mind when I read today’s passage.  

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First, some context. The people of Israel had entered the Promised Land years before, and God’s plan was for God to be the King of Israel, though He appointed judges to lead Israel. However, when the Israelites were displeased with their judges and saw that other nations had kings, they wanted a human king to rule over them (I Sam. 8:5, 20; 12: 12). It wasn’t what God wanted for them – He knew that they were rejecting Him as their King (8:7) – but He gave them a human king anyway (8:22). He gave them Saul, a tall, handsome man whose father was a man of standing in the community (9:1-2); he was extraordinary, to the point that even Samuel recognized that there was no one else like him in all of Israel (8:24). God knew that Saul would not be a good choice to lead Israel, but He acceded to their desires for a king, even though it was not part of His perfect plan for Israel.

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Saul was a poor choice for a king. Though he looked the part, he led Israel astray and ultimately died fighting the Philistines, setting the stage for David to rule. Conversely, David did not appear kingly initially. He was the youngest son of Jesse, and when Samuel went to anoint a son of Jesse as king, David was the last of the eight sons to be chosen. His father didn’t think he was kingly, nor did Samuel. Yet, he was God’s choice to be king. God told Samuel in today’s passage that He values the heart, not outward appearances, so He rejected Saul and chose someone else that had a less-kingly appearance. While David also showed his sinful nature at times, he was God’s choice to be king, and his rule set history in motion for the eventual coming of Jesus, the Messiah, born in the lineage of David, which we celebrate only five days from now!

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Like me, the Israelites were quick to judge outward appearances, without asking about the inward traits and character of people. Like me, the Israelites were quick to ask for something that seemed good to them, but was outside God’s plan for them.  How about you?  Are you quick to judge something or someone superficially, or do you take the time to understand a situation or get to know a person so that you can fully understand before making a decision?

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How do you make significant decisions? Do you ask God and seek and follow His guidance before making those decisions, or like the Israelites, do you make decisions that seem right in the short term, but have been made contrary to God’s direction?  

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We don’t have the benefit today of having someone like Samuel to tell us what God wants. Even better, we have the Holy Spirit, access to God through prayer, the Bible, and hopefully godly counsel from others from which we can get guidance.  

Today, I encourage you to think of the two phrases mentioned at the beginning of this devo, and think about some specific examples as we experience the Christmas season:

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When you think about not judging a book by its cover, how do react when:

- You experience the homeless and needy in Anchorage?

- You deal with angry and stressed people doing last minute Christmas shopping?

- Someone driving the fancy car or truck on the Glenn cuts you off?

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When you think about being careful what you wish for, do you:

- Jump at the first job opportunity that comes along?

- Chose to keep your money for yourself, or spend it on God’s Kingdom?

- Spend too much time focusing on how you look or how others perceive you?

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Today, pray that you will see people as God sees them and look to their hearts, not their outward appearance. May we seek God’s will, not our own, during this Christmas and holiday season.