When the sacrifice was ended, and before partaking of the offering feast, Samuel began his prophetic inspection of the noble-appearing sons of Jesse. Eliab was the eldest, and more nearly resembled Saul for stature and beauty than the others. His comely features and finely developed form attracted the attention of the prophet. As Samuel looked upon his princely bearing, he thought, "This is indeed the man whom God has chosen as successor to Saul," and he waited for the divine sanction that he might anoint him. But Jehovah did not look upon the outward appearance. Eliab did not fear the Lord. Had he been called to the throne, he would have been a proud, exacting ruler. The Lord's word to Samuel was, "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." No outward beauty can recommend the soul to God. The wisdom and excellence revealed in the character and deportment, express the true beauty of the man; and it is the inner worth, the excellency of the heart, that determines our acceptance with the Lord of hosts. How deeply should we feel this truth in the judgment of ourselves and others. We may learn from the mistake of Samuel how vain is the estimation that rests on beauty of face or nobility of stature. We may see how incapable is man's wisdom of understanding the secrets of the heart or of comprehending the counsels of God without special enlightenment from heaven. The thoughts and ways of God in relation to His creatures are above our finite minds; but we may be assured that His children will be brought to fill the very place for which they are qualified, and will be enabled to accomplish the very work committed to their hands, if they will but submit their will to God, that His beneficent plans may not be frustrated by the perversity of man.

Imellem ofringen og offerfesten begyndte Samuel at tage Isajs prægtige sønner i øjesyn. Den ældste hed Eliab; han var både høj og smuk og lignede Saul mere end de andre. Profeten lagde straks mærke til hans smukke ansigtstræk og hans harmoniske skikkelse. Da Samuel betragtede hans kongelige holdning, tænkte han: "Det må være ham, Gud har valgt som Sauls efterfølger!" Han ventede blot på, at Gud skulle give ham tilladelse til at udføre salvningen, men Herren så ikke på det ydre. Eliab frygtede ikke Herren. Han ville være blevet en stolt og hård regent, hvis han var blevet konge. Herren sagde til Samuel: "Se ikke på hans ydre eller høje vækst; thi jeg har vraget ham; Gud ser jo ikke, som mennesker ser, thi mennesket ser på det, som er for øjnene, men Herren ser på hjertet." Ydre skønhed skaffer ikke sjælen Guds yndest. Det er den visdom og skønsomhed, der giver sig til kende i karakteren og opførselen, der er et udtryk for menneskets sande skønhed, og det er den indre skønhed, hjertets renhed, der skaffer os hærskarers Herres yndest. Det er denne sandhed, der bør ligge til grund for vor bedømmelse af både os selv og andre. Vi kan lære af Samuels fejltagelse, hvor grundigt man kan tage fejl, når man bedømmer et menneske ud fra ansigtstrækkene og legemsbygningen. Samuels erfaring viser os, at mennesket ikke besidder visdom til at forstå hjertets hemmeligheder eller til at fatte Guds råd, før det har modtaget specielle kundskaber fra Himmelen. Guds tanker og planer med hensyn til hans skabninger overgår langt vor begrænsede forstand, men vi kan være forvisset om, at hans børn vil få netop den stilling, som de er kvalificeret til, og at de vil få evner til at bestride det hverv, som bliver betroet dem, hvis de blot er villige til at lade Gud råde, så at hans velsignede planer ikke bliver krydset på grund af menneskets fordærv.