I Shmuel 16: Fear

God instructs Shmuel to move on from Shaul and anoint someone else as king. Shmuel's response is surprising: “Samuel replied, ‘How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.’” (וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל אֵיךְ אֵלֵךְ וְשָׁמַע שָׁאוּל וַהֲרָגָנִי) (verse 2). Shmuel's reaction is fear. Yet the fear seems irrational. Shmuel is the honored prophet and former judge of Israel. He anointed Shaul and has already informed him twice that his kingdom will not endure. Neither time did Shaul threaten him or even lash out against him. Nevertheless, Shmuel imagines the worst. Shmuel is not the only person gripped by fear at the beginning of the chapter. When he arrives in Bethlehem, “the elders of the city went out in alarm to meet him and said, ‘Do you come on a peaceful errand?’” (וַיֶּחֶרְדוּ זִקְנֵי הָעִיר לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֲשָׁלֹם בּוֹאֶךָ) (verse 4). Here too, the fear seems puzzling. Shmuel regularly traveled throughout the country. Why would the elders panic at the sight of the nation's leading prophet? Abarbanel explains that they saw Shmuel approaching with a calf and assumed he had come to perform the ceremony of the eglah arufah. They feared that a murdered body had been discovered nearby and that their city might be implicated. In this reading, the calf provided Shmuel with the perfect cover for his journey while simultaneously explaining the townspeople's unease. The common thread connecting both episodes becomes clear later in the chapter. At the sacrificial feast, Shmuel sees Eliav, Yishai's eldest son. Eliav is tall, impressive, and kingly in appearance, much like Shaul. Immediately Shmuel assumes he has found God's chosen successor. God rebukes him: “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For not as man sees does the LORD see; man sees only what is visible, but the LORD sees into the heart” (אַל־תַּבֵּט אֶל־מַרְאֵהוּ וְאֶל־גְּבֹהַּ קוֹמָתוֹ כִּי מְאַסְתִּיהוּ... כִּי הָאָדָם יִרְאֶה לַעֵינַיִם וַה׳ יִרְאֶה לַלֵּבָב) (verse 7).This statement is not merely about Eliav. It is the interpretive key to the entire chapter. Human beings see with their eyes and then fill in the gaps with assumptions. Shmuel sees the possibility of danger and assumes Shaul will kill him. The elders of Bethlehem see a prophet carrying a calf and assume disaster has struck their town. Shmuel sees a tall, handsome firstborn and assumes he must be the future king. In every case, appearances lead to mistaken conclusions.God, however, sees what human beings cannot. God sees into the heart. He knows that Shaul is not plotting against Shmuel. He knows that Bethlehem has nothing to fear. Most importantly, He knows that the future king is not the son who looks like a king, but the son whose character makes him one. Israel's first king was chosen largely because he appeared kingly. This time God chooses differently. David may not look like a king on the outside, but he is already a king on the inside.