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The context of the above verse pertains to when God had chosen to reveal to Samuel who the new king of Israel would be. The people of Israel had asked God for a king. God gave them King Saul, who disobeyed God in such a way that caused God to choose to replace him as king. God told Samuel, one of God's famous prophets, that he would show him who the new king would be. He told Samuel to go to the home of a man named Jesse, and that one of Jesse's sons would be the new king of Israel.

Jesse brought forth his sons, expecting Samuel to pick the one whom God had revealed. Samuel looked at the group and immediately looked for one who seemed like he may be worthy to be a king. Samuel did what the rest of the world does. He made a judgement based on the worldly values that were mentioned earlier. But in the famous verse, God made it clear that those attributes don't interest him.

Throughout the entire Bible, we see that God is generally most interested in those who have hearts which show reverence for him. This passsage, in 1st Samuel, introduces us to King David -- a man who had true reverence for God his entire life. However, David certainly isn't the only example of this. The entire Old Testament is filled with these types of godly examples, whom God greatly valued. If I took the time to focus on all of them, this article would be extremely long. However, I can't help but briefly mention some of them.

Along with King David, Noah is also a man who had reverence for God. Moses also had a close relationship with God, despite the fact that he had been guilty of murder and was a terrible speaker. Moses knew that he, himself, wasn't brimming with charisma. He didn't fit the world's standards of the type of person who could confront a powerful king. Based on what we read about him, he may have seen himself as a social outcast. The Bible says that he was the most humble man of his day, yet God did great things through Moses. Daniel, Abraham, Job, Gideon and Hannah (Samuel's mother), are all people, of whom, God took notice. The fact that they are mentioned in his timeless book, speaks volumes of the fact that their lives and encounters with God, are valuable.

However, one example, which personally speaks to me about what God is like and what he focuses on, is shown in the New Testament.

As was previously stated, the world views people differently than God. Every human being tends to view people in the manner which was described earlier. On some level, we're all guilty of viewing people that way. I only know of one person who views people the same way that God views people -- That person is Jesus, who is God in the flesh.

The following portion of scripture gives us a glimpse of what I'm talking about.



"The Pharisees heard that Jesus was winning and baptizing more disciples than John. (Actually, Jesus himself did not baptize anyone; only his disciples did.) So when Jesus heard what was being said, he left Judea and went back to Galilee; on his way there he had to go through Samaria.

In Samaria he came to a town named Sychar, which was not far from the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired out by the trip, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

A Samaritan woman came to draw some water, and Jesus said to her, 'Give me a drink of water.' (His disciples had gone into town to buy food.)

The woman answered, 'You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan—so how can you ask me for a drink?' (Jews will not use the same cups and bowls that Samaritans use.)

Jesus answered, 'If you only knew what God gives and who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would ask him, and he would give you life-giving water.'

'Sir,' the woman said, 'you don't have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where would you get that life-giving water? It was our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well; he and his children and his flocks all drank from it. You don't claim to be greater than Jacob, do you?'

Jesus answered, 'Those who drink this water will get thirsty again, but those who drink the water that I will give them will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give them will become in them a spring which will provide them with life-giving water and give them eternal life.'

'Sir,' the woman said, 'give me that water! Then I will never be thirsty again, nor will I have to come here to draw water.'

'Go and call your husband,' Jesus told her, 'and come back.'

'I don't have a husband,' she answered.

Jesus replied, 'You are right when you say you don't have a husband. You have been married to five men, and the man you live with now is not really your husband. You have told me the truth.'

'I see you are a prophet, sir,' the woman said. 'My Samaritan ancestors worshiped God on this mountain, but you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where we should worship God.'

Jesus said to her, 'Believe me, woman, the time will come when people will not worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes. But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is.'

The woman said to him, 'I know that the Messiah will come, and when he comes, he will tell us everything.'

Jesus answered, 'I am he, I who am talking with you.'

At that moment Jesus' disciples returned, and they were greatly surprised to find him talking with a woman. But none of them said to her, 'What do you want?' or asked him, 'Why are you talking with her?'

-John 4:1-27




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