Jesse Tree Devotional for December 11th

December 11

Looking on Hearts

Today’s reading: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice. And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD's anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

Samuel came to Jesse, looking for the one to anoint. As I come looking for the One who can restore and fulfill. It is the season of seeking.

Samuel was seduced by the beauty of Jesse’s sons, as I am enticed by the shimmer and sparkle of the season.

To both of us, You come and say, “The Lord does not look at the things that man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7)

I align the tree, thumb through the cookbooks, set the CDs on random play, light the candles, read seasonal stories. And You come, but not for any of that. You do not look on things we gaze upon; You are not enraptured with the decor, the smells, the sounds.

You have come seeking too, Lord. You come seeking hearts.

Lord, as I meditate this Advent on the story of the Jesse Tree, the story of Your coming, may I too come—to You. And in this season of looking for that perfect something, may You find that which You seek: an open heart.