ACQUIRE A HEART AGREEABLE TO JEHOVAH

HE WAS tall in stature and attractive in appearance. Upon seeing him, the prophet Samuel was so impressed that he concluded that this eldest son of Jesse was the one God had chosen to be king after Saul. But Jehovah declared: "Do not look at [that son's] appearance and at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. . . .Mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is." Jehovah's choice proved to be Jesse's youngest son, David- "a man agreeable to the heart." -1 Samuel 13:14; 16:7.

God can read the human heart, as he later made clear: "I, Jehovah, am searching the heart,examining the kidneys, even to give to each one according to his ways, according to the fruitage of his dealings." (Jeremiah 17:10) Yes, "Jehovah is the examiner of the hearts." (Proverbs 17:3) What, though, is the heart in a man that Jehovah examines? And what can we do to acquire a heart agreeable to him?

Next time: "The Secret Person Of The Heart"

Watchtower, 2001