1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
It the above text when God sends Samuel to anoint David the son of Jesse he reveals to him that he does not look at the outward appearance of man but at the heart.
But when it comes to the selection of the Priesthood it seems the choice is more based on the outward appearance of man rather than the heart
Leviticus 21:16-20 NIV
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Say to Aaron: ‘For the generations to come none of your descendants who has a defect may come near to offer the food of his God. 18 No man who has any defect may come near: no man who is blind or lame, disfigured or deformed; 19 no man with a crippled foot or hand, 20 or who is a hunchback or a dwarf, or who has any eye defect, or who has festering or running sores or damaged testicles.
It seems the prohibition for the Priesthood is based on physical appearance as most of the defects mentioned in the above text are related to the physical.
So how can we understand that God does not look at the outward appearance?