Two Sides to Every Coin 1 Sam. 16:7 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
The Lord said to Samuel in 1 Sam 16:7, “Look not on his countenance…” We have a tendency to make judgments about people based upon what we see and hear. The Lord said he doesn’t look on the outward appearance. The Lord looketh on the heart. In the heart the Lord can really see what the man is.
The reason that you don’t want to look on a person’s countenance in order to determine his character is that you can’t tell from his countenance all that you need to know. As the old adage goes, “There are two sides to every coin.” In other words, he may be showing you one side of his character and his other side may be the exact opposite.
Here’s what you will notice about the character of men:
He may look bad and be bad – Dan 8:23-25; 11:21 – the antichrist will be of fierce countenance and he will be very bad, indeed – nevertheless, he will flatter the people and thus obtain the kingdom – but all his talk of peace will only deceive the people to look beyond his fierce countenance and consider him to be good – yet they will learn that what they see is what they get.
He may look bad and be good – Is 53:2-3; 52:14 – Jesus Christ had no form or comeliness and no beauty that we should desire him and yet he was and still is the best man that ever lived or ever will – of course, his countenance will be much different the next time anyone sees him [Rev 1:16].
He may look good and be bad – 2 Sam 14:25 – Absalom was praised for his beauty but he was a terrible man – the devil was perfect in beauty [Ezek 28:12, 17] but you know how bad he really is – deceivers often trick you with a fair countenance and good words – beware!!
He may look good and be good – 1 Sam 16:12 – and yet even he committed adultery and murdered the husband of the woman with whom he slept – 1 Sam 25:3 – Abigail had a beautiful countenance but she was also of good understanding – Dan 1:15 – Daniel was a good man and his countenance was good.
Conclusion: you are going to have to know a lot more about a person than how he presents himself before you will know whether he is good or bad.