Interviews

In my years in management throughout both my secular positions and yes, even with the ministry positions in the local churches in which we served, I had countless opportunities to interview many individuals in order to meet different needs and fill various vacancies. 

And whether I was looking for skilled positions in the fabrication areas that I supervised at both Hewlett Packard and Agilent Technologies or for a volunteer children’s or youth worker at church, there were always specific character traits and interpersonal skills that I was looking for… along with the experience, education, ability to learn new skills and techniques and… very importantly… their ability to fit in with the other members of the team.

I came across a couple of incidents in the Bible where the Prophet in Israel had similar opportunities to interview individuals for the new-to-the country’s position of King.  For the first time around, the Prophet Samuel was led to the tribe of Benjamin and a man named Kish.  As it turned out, Kish “had a son, Saul, a most handsome young man. There was none finer—he literally stood head and shoulders above the crowd!”*

And through a series of incidents, the Lord brought Samuel and Saul together and the Prophet anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel.  Saul did pretty good for a while but then had some character flaws that began to come out that impeded his judgement and his ability to hear the directions that God was giving him for the good of the people in which he was anointed to rule.

So, after a while, Samuel had to go out and repeat the interview process once again, in order to find a suitable replacement for Saul.  And just when you would think that the Prophet had learned his lesson… God had to step in and teach Samuel a thing or two…

Samuel was led to the house of Jesse and began to interview Jesse’s sons, and when the tall, strong and handsome oldest son came in, “Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, "Here he is! GOD's anointed!"** 

But God quickly stepped in and told Samuel, “Looks aren't everything. Don't be impressed with his looks and stature. I've already eliminated him. GOD judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; GOD looks into the heart." 

Samuel took the rebuke and had Jesse bring in his next six sons, one by one, so that he could interview them… but still couldn’t seem to find the right one.  So then,

“Samuel was blunt with Jesse, ‘GOD hasn't chosen any of these.’  Then he asked Jesse, ‘Is this it? Are there no more sons?’ ‘Well, yes, THERE’S THE RUNT. But he's out tending the sheep.’ Samuel ordered Jesse, ‘Go get him. We're not moving from this spot until he's here.’  Jesse sent for him. He was brought in, the very picture of health—bright-eyed, good-looking. GOD said, ‘Up on your feet!  Anoint him!  THIS is the one.’”** 

And so… Samuel finally interviewed and found the right candidate for the job!  As Christians we also have specific character traits and interpersonal skills that readily help us as we intermingle and are “interviewed” by the various people that we interact with throughout each and every day. 

If you recall, I Corinthains 1:9 tells us that “we were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ.”***  With being “called” defined as “to call to a participation in the privileges of Gospel.”****  And how do we do that in such a way as to demonstrate the glorious privileges of the Gospel message… in a manner that is not only inviting but also comfortable to those around us?

Well… It’s by walking in the fruit of the Spirit as Paul outlined in Galatians 5:22-23… But I’m going to refrain from plunging into that part of this exciting message today! 

I would suggest though, that you take a few moments to study the verses in today’s post in order to get the crux of the information shared… and then look ahead to the next post by reading Galatians 5:22-23 in order to get a running start for next time! (and… if you can, especially look up Galatians 5:22-23 in The Passion Translation.  This version gives a slightly different spin on the scriptures which makes a lot of sense to me!)

And in the meantime,

Continue having a terrific weekend, and as you do… Keep EXPECTING God’s best both in and through your life!

 

 

*I Samuel 9:1-10:1- The Message

**I Samuel 16:6, 10-12 – The Message

***King James Version

****Mounce Concise Greek-English Dictionary