Kings I 16:7

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

Kings I 16:7 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 16:7

And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu, the son of Hanani,
came the word of the Lord against Baasha, and against his house
Which is here repeated, as Abarbinel thinks, because in the former prophecy the threatening was on account not of his own sin, but because he made Israel to sin; but here it is because of his own evil works, as it follows:

even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord, in
provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the
house of Jeroboam:
worshipping the golden calves as they did:

and because he killed him;
either Jeroboam; for, according to Dr. Lightfoot ^F2, he was alive this year; rather Nadab the son of Jeroboam, who it is certain was slain by Baasha; though it may refer, as Abarbinel thinks, to the whole house of Jeroboam; though it was agreeable to the will of God, yet was not done by Baasha with any regard to it, but to gratify his malice and ambition, and therefore punishable for it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F2 Works, vol. 1. p. 79.

Kings I 16:7 In-Context

5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessae and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice.

6 And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed before him.

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.

8 And Jessae called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

9 And Jessae caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one.

Footnotes

• [a]. face.
• [b]. will not see.