“The Lord
Looketh on the Heart”
Lesson 22 – 1
Samuel 9-11; 13; 15-17
“Hyssop” – can you guess what
this word means? After giving your best guess, if you wanted to know the
correct definition, you’d go to the Bible Dictionary, wouldn’t you? Guessing at the definition of an unfamiliar
word is like making decisions based only on our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5-6
says: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto
thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct
thy paths”. Just
as we would turn to a trusted source to learn the correct definition of an
unfamiliar word, we need to trust the Lord and seek his will to make correct
decisions in our lives. This lesson contrasts the experiences of two men, Saul
and David, to teach the importance of trusting the Lord and seeking his
guidance when we make decisions. If we learn as we should from today’s
scriptures, we will resolve to trust in the Lord rather than our own
understanding.
Saul sought guidance from Samuel and was anointed to be king. (1 Samuel 9-11)
The Israelites wanted a king like those of the
nations around them. Yielding to the Israelites’ request, the Lord told Samuel
to anoint Saul as Israel’s first king.
1 Samuel 9:2 - Saul
was “a choice young man, … and there was not among the children of
Israel a goodlier person than he”. Saul’s actions before he was anointed king
and shortly thereafter demonstrated his good qualities:
·
1 Samuel 9:3-4 – He
was diligent in his search for his father’s donkeys.
·
1 Samuel 9:5-10 – He
listened to and followed the wise counsel of his father’s servant
·
1 Samuel 9:18-25 - He
trusted the prophet Samuel and communed with him
·
1 Samuel 9:20-21 – He
was humble.
·
1 Samuel 10:6-10 – He
was spiritually reborn, and he prophesied.
·
1 Samuel 11:11-13 – He
forgave his critics.
·
1 Samuel 11:13 - He
recognized the help of the Lord in Israel’s victory over the Ammonites.
Saul offers a burnt offering without the proper authority.
Two years after Saul was anointed king, the Philistines gathered a mighty army to fight against Israel. Saul’s men were so afraid that many of them hid and scattered.
1 Samuel 13:7-8
- Saul wanted Samuel to offer sacrificees to the Lord in behalf of the people.
1 Samuel 13:9 - When Samuel
did not come at the appointed time, Saul offered the sacrifices himself even
though he did not have the priesthood authority to do so.
Elder James E. Talmage wrote, “Saul prepared
the burnt offering himself, forgetting that though he occupied the throne, wore
the crown, and bore the scepter, [he had] no right to officiate … in the
Priesthood of God; and for this and other instances of his unrighteous
presumption he was rejected of God and another was made king in his place”
(The Articles of Faith, 12th ed. [1924], 185).
1 Samuel 13:10-14 - Samuel’s
response to Saul’s offering an unauthorized sacrifice was a pronouncement that
Saul’s foolishness and disobedience would end his kingdom.
1 Samuel 13:14 - Saul’s
offering an unauthorized sacrifice revealed that he was no longer “a man after
[the Lord’s] own heart”.
He had grown impatient, failed to trust the Lord, and disobeyed. In
addition, his presuming the authority to offer sacrifice suggests that he had
an exaggerated opinion of his own power and importance. Sometimes our own impatience with the Lord
or his servants can cause us to fail, but we must be aware that there are
consequences accompanying such impatience.
We must come to trust the Lord fully even if his timetable is different
than ours.
Saul disobeyed the Lord in the battle with the Amalekites
and was rejected as king. (1 Samuel
15)
1 Samuel 15:1-3 - The
Lord commanded Saul to smite and destroy the Amalekites and all they
had.
1 Samuel 15:4-9 – Instead
of obeying, Saul saved some animals to sacrifice.
1 Samuel 15:11 - Saul’s
actions revealed that he followed his own judgment rather than the Lord’s will.
1 Samuel 15:13-15, 20-21, 24 - Saul tried to justify his disobedience in saving the best
of the Amalekites’ animals by blaming his people for wanting to save the
animals. According to Saul, it was his people wanted to save the
Amalekites’ animals for sacrifice, not him.
Sometimes we try to justify disobeying the Lord
by telling ourselves, “It’s just a little sin,” “I’m obeying the spirit of the
law rather than the letter of the law,” “It won’t hurt anyone,” “I’ll try it
just once,” “Other people are doing it,”
or “That commandment doesn’t apply to me.”
1 Samuel 15:22 - Samuel
responded to Saul’s explanation with counsel that obedience is more prized than
sacrifice. Samuel’s words apply to us
when we try to follow our judgment rather than the Lord’s.
1 Samuel 15:23 - When
reprimanding Saul for being stubborn and rejecting the word of the Lord, Samuel
told him, “Stubbornness is as … idolatry”. If we reject God’s instruction, we are not
worshipping him.
1 Samuel 15:23, 26, 28 - The result of Saul’s becoming stubborn and rebellious was that his
kingdom was taken from him at the Lord’s direction. The results of our being stubborn and rebellious can be just as
damaging to us—we may lose our eternal kingdom.
Although Samuel anointed David to be king, David
did not become king until Saul died many years later.
1 Samuel 16:6-7 - Samuel
learned the Lord’s method of choosing an individual to serve. Elder Marvin J. Ashton said: “We … tend to evaluate
others on the basis of physical, outward appearance: their ‘good looks,’ their
social status, their family pedigrees, their degrees, or their economic
situations. The
Lord, however, has a different standard by which he measures a person. … He
does not take a tape measure around the person’s head to determine his mental
capacity, nor his chest to determine his manliness, but He measures the heart
as an indicator of the person’s capacity and potential to bless others”
(Ensign, Nov. 1988, 15).
1 Samuel 16:14 - Because
Saul had been disobedient, the Spirit of the Lord departed from him.
1 Samuel 16:18 - David
qualified as a leader because he was valiant, prudent,
and the Lord was with him.
David slays Goliath in the strength of the Lord. (1 Samuel 17)
1 Samuel 17:8-9 - The
Israelites would gain or lose their freedom in the fight with Goliath.
Saul and his army were afraid to fight Goliath
because they did not think they could defeat Goliath because of his size,
strength, armor, and weapons.
1 Samuel 17:32-37, 45-47 - David
got the courage to fight Goliath because he recognized that the Lord had
delivered him from a lion and a bear, and he trusted the Lord to help him fight
Goliath.
As a youth, David’s victories over a lion and a
bear helped prepare him for the greater challenge of Goliath.
Each day we face challenges that prepare us for
greater challenges. Our responses to
these challenges affect our ability to battle the Goliaths that may come
later. As we defeat the lions and bears
in our lives, we will develop the confidence, character, and faith to defeat
our Goliaths.
President Gordon B. Hinckley said: “There are
Goliaths all around you, hulking giants with evil intent to destroy you. These
are not nine-foot-tall men, but they are men and institutions that control
attractive but evil things that may challenge and weaken and destroy you.
Included in these are beer and other liquors and tobacco. Those who market
these products would like to enslave you into their use. There are drugs of
various kinds which, I am told, are relatively easy to obtain in many high
schools. For those who peddle them, this is a multimillion-dollar industry, a
giant web of evil. There is pornography, seductive and interesting and
inviting. It has become a giant industry, producing magazines, films, and other
materials designed to take your money and lead you toward activities that would
destroy you. The giants who are behind
these efforts are formidable and skillful. They have gained vast experience in
the war they are carrying on. They would like to ensnare you. It is almost impossible to entirely avoid
exposure to their products. You see these materials on all sides. But you need
not fear if you have the slingshot of truth in your hands. You have been
counseled and taught and advised. You have the stones of virtue and honor and
integrity to use against these enemies who would like to conquer you. Insofar
as you are concerned, you can hit them ‘between the eyes,’ to use a figurative
expression. You can triumph over them by disciplining yourselves to avoid them.
You can say to the whole lot of them as David said to Goliath, ‘Thou comest to
me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the
name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast
defied.’ Victory will be yours. … You
have His power within you to sustain you. You have the right to ministering
angels about you to protect you. Do not let Goliath frighten you. Stand your
ground and hold your place, and you will be triumphant”
(Ensign, May 1983, 46, 51).
Trust and obey the Lord. By doing so you will
grow stronger and have the Lord’s assurance that he will help you triumph over
personal Goliaths. The Lord looks upon our hearts, not upon our wealth or
position or conformity to popular standards.
These
lessons are available on the Internet at http://www.neumanninstitute.org/