Old Testament Summary Lesson 22: “The Lord Looketh On The Heart”

Imbalance of Faith and Works: In Judaism, “belief” is super ceded by “doing.” Hence the 613 commandments (365 do not’s and 248 do’s) have preeminence over faith. “The biblical word emunah (and its other forms) which is often translated as “belief” really means “trust” or “confidence,” which is something quite different.” (Encyclopedia Judaica Jr.)
Choosing of a New King: After Saul, choosing a new King was to become a spiritual exercise rather than using human comprehension. It resulted in finding, in obscurity, as a child and a shepherd, a king of the Lord’s choosing with the Lord’s spirit (who turned out to be the finest king Israel would ever have).

David, the Youngest: It is human nature to see the obvious, but with God’s insight the not so obvious, the subtleties, become profound. After interviewing all the obvious sons of Jesse, Samuel asked, 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:” (1 Samuel 16:11, 13) Samuel was inspired to ordain the shepherd boy David as the next king of Israel. And the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward.
Came From Obscurity: David, who eventually became the finest and most revered king Israel had, was ordained a king in obscurity and kept his obvious God-given calling quiet until the proper time. His descendant, Jesus of Nazareth also came from obscurity and kept his holy calling unspoken until the proper time.
David Makes Quite an Impression! David took just one stone, and struck Goliath in the head. It is obvious in the reading of this account that David killed Goliath with a sling and a stone. To make it more obvious, he cut off his head. But more important is the not so subtle implication that he conquered Goliath with his faith in the Lord, the spirit that led him.