Lent
March 14, 2023
Scripture Reading:
1 Samuel 16:1-13
When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, ‘Surely the Lord’s anointed is now before the Lord.’ 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.’ Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, ‘Neither has the Lord chosen this one.’ Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ 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.’ 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.’ 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. –1 Samuel 16:6-13
The Hebrew word heart used above is the translation of the Hebrew word “lebab” which has a broader, more encompassing meaning than people in the modern area might consider in describing the word heart. Lebad describes the entire person, including mind, will, and heart*. We might today think of David as being a person with the right stuff to get the job done; perhaps we would see him as wise, tenacious, and caring about people.
The Bible indicates that God searches for the right person to do a job and then sends the Spirit of the Lord to come upon that person and guide their work—Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Deborah, and even David’s great-grandmother, Ruth. And while we may never make the annals of history like these examples, I believe God calls us all to do jobs that only we can do and provides the spirit’s support to make it happen, if we open our hearts to God’s service.
Prayer: Lord, help us claim our job and work to perfect our delivery of it with the help of your Spirit. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/hebrew/3824.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.