Verse 6 in 1 Samuel chapter 16 tells us that Samuel, having been sent to the house of Jesse the Ephrathite of Bethlehem Judah to anoint one of his sons to be King, looked at Eliab son of Jesse and said, "Surely the LORD's anointed is before Him".
But the LORD said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7 World English Bible, British Edition
Then Jesse called Abinadab, followed by Shammah, and one by one altogether seven of his eight sons passed before Samuel the prophet.
None of them were chosen by the LORD.
It turned out that the chosen son was the youngest, who was herding sheep outside in the pastures. Verse 12 tells us that this young man had a youthful looking handsome appearance and did not look anything like a king, but the LORD told Samuel,
"Arise! Anoint him, for this is he."
He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. The LORD said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”
1 Samuel 16:12 World English Bible
Nobody knew that David was well trained for war. David went through combat training while herding his father's flocks of sheep. I wrote a commentary on this about thirteen years ago, link below:
More recently, about six months ago, I wrote about the trust that David had in the LORD, that just as the LORD had saved him from bears and lions which he fought off with his bare hands, the LORD would also save him from the giant Goliath whom he fought without sword nor shield:
Brothers and Sisters in the Anointed One, people around us may look at us and judge us only by our outward appearance. God, however, looks at our hearts.
Today, let us ask ourselves, "What does God see in my heart?"
