August 9, 2023

Knowing God makes you a new creation through the filling of the Holy Spirit.

1 Samuel 10

Victoria Becker
Wednesday's Devo

August 9, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

August 9, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

August 9, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

August 9, 2023

Big Idea

Outward appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart.

Key Verse | 1 Samuel 10:6-7

Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

1 Samuel 10

Saul Anointed King

1 Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you to be prince 1 10:1 Or leader over his people Israel? And you shall reign over the people of the LORD and you will save them from the hand of their surrounding enemies. And this shall be the sign to you that the LORD has anointed you to be prince 2 10:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks over his people Israel? And you shall to be prince over his heritage. 2 When you depart from me today, you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah, and they will say to you, ‘The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has ceased to care about the donkeys and is anxious about you, saying, “What shall I do about my son?”’ 3 Then you shall go on from there farther and come to the oak of Tabor. Three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine. 4 And they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from their hand. 5 After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, 3 10:5 Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God where there is a garrison of the Philistines. And there, as soon as you come to the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre before them, prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the LORD will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. 7 Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 8 Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

9 When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day. 10 When they came to Gibeah, 4 10:10 Gibeah means the hill behold, a group of prophets met him, and the Spirit of God rushed upon him, and he prophesied among them. 11 And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” 12 And a man of the place answered, “And who is their father?” Therefore it became a proverb, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” 13 When he had finished prophesying, he came to the high place.

14 Saul's uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And he said, “To seek the donkeys. And when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel.” 15 And Saul's uncle said, “Please tell me what Samuel said to you.” 16 And Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” But about the matter of the kingdom, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

Saul Proclaimed King

17 Now Samuel called the people together to the LORD at Mizpah. 18 And he said to the people of Israel, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your thousands.”

20 Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot. 21 He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its clans, and the clan of the Matrites was taken by lot; 5 10:21 Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found. 22 So they inquired again of the LORD, “Is there a man still to come?” and the LORD said, “Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.” 23 Then they ran and took him from there. And when he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the people from his shoulders upward. 24 And Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? There is none like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”

25 Then Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship, and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the LORD. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each one to his home. 26 Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went men of valor whose hearts God had touched. 27 But some worthless fellows said, “How can this man save us?” And they despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.

Footnotes

[1] 10:1 Or leader
[2] 10:1 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks over his people Israel? And you shall. . . . to be prince
[3] 10:5 Gibeath-elohim means the hill of God
[4] 10:10 Gibeah means the hill
[5] 10:21 Septuagint adds finally he brought the family of the Matrites near, man by man

1 Samuel 10:6 - "Turned into another man?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | 1 Samuel 10

1 Samuel 10 reminds us of two life-changing truths: the sovereignty of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to change hearts.

First, this chapter reminds me that God is sovereign over all situations. God used Saul's search for missing donkeys (1 Samuel 9:3-10) to lead him to Samuel. I bet that when Saul first set out to find the donkeys, he didn't expect it would lead him to royalty and a relationship with God. In our own lives, God's ways often don't match our expectations, but there is purpose in every step of the journey. 

God is not only sovereign over situations—He's also sovereign over hearts. We see this in 1 Samuel 10:9-10 when the Holy Spirit rushes upon Saul, and God gives him a new heart. What Samuel prophesied in 1 Samuel 10:6-7 comes true. God changes the heart of Saul, who was formerly not a religious man, to a "new man" who gladly hung out with prophets, worshiping the Lord. The filling of the Holy Spirit in a human heart is a greater change than becoming king!

Praise God for the heart change that has filled you and me with the Holy Spirit and made us new creations! But if I'm honest, there are unbelievers in my life whose hearts I doubt can change as Saul's did. In my sinful nature, I assume that some people are too far gone to become Christians. Or, in my pride, I assume that I know exactly how someone needs to hear about Jesus to accept Him. I make their salvation about me when it is only God who can change hearts. When I doubt God's sovereignty and try to control situations and hearts, I miss out on the peace that comes from trusting God's plan.

When Saul set out to find his lost donkeys, I doubt he thought it would lead to an encounter with God and a new position as king. But that is how our God works. He can change hearts at any moment, through any situation.

This month's memory verse

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.

– Mark 10:45

Discussion Questions

1. Think back on a time when an unexpected situation led to an encounter with God. How are you different because of that encounter?

2. Think back on the first time you felt the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. How did it make you feel? How has the Holy Spirit continuously changed you over time?

3. In his commentary on 1 Samuel 10, David Guzik writes, "We can't receive a new heart from anyone except from God, and we can never make a new heart in anyone else." Is there anyone in your life whose heart YOU are trying to change? What would it look like for you to surrender their heart to the Lord?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Victoria. Thank you for a great devo and your focus on the heart. In recovery ministries we see right away how critical the heart is. And how hard heartedness is so tough to break. Just ask Pharaoh. Q1. 12/10/10 and 12/1/12 are the two dates. The former was a STOP sign, and the latter was the pivot point in my life. https://www.watermark.org/blog/real-peace Q2. My core struggle was one of basic faith in God. I didn’t know if there was one or what He was like. The proverbial referee with stripped shirt, penalty flag, and a whistle? This struggle brought on a lifetime fear and anxiety. From pre-teen to 55 years old. My encounter with the Holy Spirt is described in the link in Q1. The change was instant. And became more of a spiritual transformation as time has gone on. Anxiety and fear is not 100% gone. But now I can address it with prayer and journaling. Q3. Whose heart am I trying to change? Early on in Prodigal we are taught that our children are not ours, but God’s. Therefore, we must be willing to do what Abraham did in Genesis 22 and lay Isaac on the altar of God’s will and plan. Gradually, we can see if their heart has changed. For us, chaos is almost totally gone, and our relationships are healing.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

For me, a key verse in this passage is 1 Samuel 1-:11-12. “What has come over the son of Kish?” How do you know when someone's heart has changed? This is a very common question that we get in Prodigal. The short answer is, “You won't miss it. I promise.” For Abraham, he stopped lying about his wife being his sister…(OK it was more than that). The real test and testament was laying down Isaac on the alter in Genesis 22. Google “the Sacrifice of Isaac” in images and you’ll see in each painting that the angel grabbing Abraham’s hand is doing so just as he is about to bring the knife down onto Isaac. So, what drives heart change? I am sure there is lots of discussion on this. Two stories, (with names changed)- Danny’s story- Danny was in the 2nd re:gen group that I served as a co-leader. He was a lawyer. When he came in, he was pretty cocky. Regularly tossing out witty sarcasms and pithy comments. His facial expression usually reflected his attitude. He had a particular look about him that made me think he would not make it far. My training was to leave the big group session a bit early and get up to the meeting room so you could greet the participants. I would stand in the middle of the room and greet the men as they came in. Each week Danny had the same smirk on his face when he walked in and had sort of a “yeah, yeah, whatever” attitude when he walked in. Then came week four. That’s when I knew something had happened. When Danny walked in, I almost did not recognize him. He looked TOTALLY different. His entire facial expression was changed. How he sat in his chair was different. His body language was one of full engagement with the group. I was amazed. Several weeks later I sat with him and several other men as he confessed his “fearless and searching moral inventory.” It took him a long time because he had to stop over and over due to his intense weeping. At the end both he and we were totally exhausted. A new heart was born. In the ensuing weeks he was on a relentless drive to make amends. He kept calling me on one particular situation after another about what steps to take next. I was with Amy and friends eating in Uptown when I saw his call pop up on my cell. I jumped up and ran out onto the sidewalk. He was sobbing uncontrollably. After awhile he could talk. He explained that he had searched and searched for a former girlfriend who had aborted their baby. When he finally tracked down a friend of hers, he was told that she had died. He was devasted about her death and that he would not be able to make amends to her personally. More and more tears. We worked with him over the next few weeks to show him a different way. Heart change. Life change. That’s what a heart change looks like.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

Mike’s story- Mike and his wife had an extremely volatile relationship. Their CG had repeatedly directed them to re:gen and re -engage. Having given up, Mike came to Prodigal. After several 20 week sessions he had seem to take a huge amount of ground. Heart change was visible but not overwhelming. They began to reconcile. After a few months he came to me and said he was dropping out of Prodigal as he and his ex-wife were moving in together and were remarrying. Me and my co-leader vigorously counseled again the former and the latter without a thorough processing each with their old CG. He declined. Fast forward a few years. I got a text forwarded to me via a mutual friend that was from his wife. They had gotten into very serious conflict as he had gone back to his sex addiction and heavy use of prostitutes. No heart change. No life change.
MS

Michael Sisson

Re: 1Sam 10:1 1Sam 10:1 (NASB) Then Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on his head, kissed him and said, >>>“Has not the LORD anointed you a ruler over His inheritance?”<<< “Anointed one” = Heb. “mashiach” (messiah) Saul becomes a type of THE Messiah to come (i.e. the King of Kings). 1Sam 10:6 even says Saul would “become another man,” and 1Sam 10:9 states that G-d changed his heart. In his notes, Constable refers to King Saul as G-d’s “co-regent.” I think that title is far too generous and undermines a strong argument for the deity of Yeshua (Jesus; see Isa 42:8), Son of David. G-d’s “viceroy” or “vassal king” would seem more descriptive of Saul’s true position governing Israel. Re: 1Sam 10:2-6 Samuel details three “signs” (1Sam 10:7) confirming G-d’s choice of Saul as king. “Samuel then gave Saul three signs that would verify to the king elect that Samuel had anointed him in harmony with God's will. The first of these would have strengthened Saul's confidence in God's ability to control the people under his authority (v. 2). The second would have helped Saul realize that the people would accept him and make sacrifices for him (vv. 3-4). The third would have assured him that he did indeed possess supernatural enablement from God (vv. 5-6). “Warren Wiersbe believed that Saul should have learned the following lessons from these three signs: (1) God could solve his problems. (2) God could also supply his needs. (3) God could endow him with the power he needed for service.” — T. Constable https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/1samuel/1samuel.htm Re: 1Sam 10:2 Today, we do not know the exact location of Rachel’s tomb or Zelzah. However, both are believed to be in the same general vicinity as Bethlehem (see Gen 48:7, Mic 5:2), Migdal Eder (the “Tower of the Flock”; see Gen 35:21, Mic 4:8), and the Fields of Boaz (Ruth 2). In short, the area Scripture associates with the future birthplace of Messiah Yeshua (Christ Jesus). For a deeper dive into the location of Rachel’s tomb, see this article by renowned Temple Mount expert Dr. Leen Ritmeyer: https://www.ritmeyer.com/2010/11/09/where-is-rachels-tomb-the-biblical-perspective/ Re: 1Sam 10:3-4 As a type of the Despised Messiah to come (Num 24:17), Saul’s story picks up where 1Sam 9 left off and continues to repeat a pattern of four recurring elements: 1) goats, 2) a transaction, 3) a concealment, and 4) a revelation. In v3, we have >>>goats<<<…a type of the Despised Messiah. See also 1Sam 9:8; 9:27; 10:16, 20-24. Re: 1Sam 10:16, 20-23 1Sam 10:16 (NASB) So Saul said to his uncle, “He told us plainly that the donkeys had been found.” >>>But he did not tell him about the matter of the kingdom which Samuel had mentioned.<<< As a type of the Despised Messiah to come (Num 24:17), Saul’s unfolding story continues to repeat a pattern of four recurring elements: 1) goats, 2) a transaction, 3) a concealment, and 4) a revelation. In v16, Saul >>>conceals<<< his anointing as king from his own uncle. In v22, we even read of Saul’s effort to conceal himself among the baggage. See also 1Sam 9:8; 9:27; 10:3, 16, 24. Re: 1Sam 10:19 Samuel reiterates Israel’s rejection of G-d in 1Sam 8:7. Thus, Saul’s story is yet another instance in Israel’s serial rejection of G-d, His salvific plan to bring forth the Despised Messiah to come (Num 24:17; Isa 49:7), His progenitors, and the prophets who heralded His approach…including Saul. Re: 1Sam 10:24 The public declaration of Saul’s anointing to be king completes the pattern of four recurring elements associated with being a type of the Despised Messiah to come [Num 24:17; Isa 49:7]: 1) goats, 2) a transaction, 3) a concealment, and 4) a revelation. In v24, Saul is >>>revealed<<< as Israel’s new vassal king. See also 1Sam 9:8; 9:27; 10:3, 16, 20-23. Re: 1Sam 10:27 1Sam 10:27 (NASB) But certain worthless men said, >>>“How can this one deliver us?” And they despised him<<< and did not bring him any present. But he kept silent. As a type of the Despised Messiah (Jesus), King Saul himself is also despised and derided as a potential deliverer of Israel.
KH

Kathy Hempel Cox

Love the reminder that it is God who changes hearts... anywhere...at any time! And the conviction that my assessment of the condition of anyone's heart is not in my purview, but in God's merciful and gracious hands. Thank you
MS

Michael Scaman

God sent young Saul, who could barely take everything in, for seven days to wait and then go to a place where "there is a garrison of the Philistines. " . As soon as he comes he'll be greeted by a worshipping music ttoupe of prophets. A small scale version of blowing trumpets around their 'Jericho'? And Saul could not bring himself to tell his uncle, which goes with a measure of humility, surprise or maybe he didn't know if his uncle would believe him. Maybe all of the above? All this took a lot of time and what did his family think when Saul was gone? He was sent to find lost donkeys and was made king over lost sheep.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Victoria. I enjoyed two elements in today's reading that connect to today (because the word of God is evergreen and relevant!). One, the proverb that came out of this story: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” These days, as David Guzik points out, we hear, "He got religion??!!!" Two, the transformation that came over Saul when anointed as king, that he would be turned into another man. We see that in the New Testament in 2 Corinthians 5:17--"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!" I also appreciated Samuel's direction to Saul: "Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you." It reminds of the counsel I have heard to us as believers--ABIDE in Jesus and then just go about your day. You can rest in the assurance that the Lord will direct you.
TS

Tonni Shook

God can & does change hearts every day! I am living proof! I am praying He does that heart change (Ezekiel 11:19-20) for my daughter, Tara, every single day.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. God helps you to see the whole situation in anything and to get the best results. 2. The power of the Holy Spirit helps me feel good. Over time, the Holy Spirit helps me think of things that I possibly forget or don’t consider upon first glance of certain situations. 3. It is important to accept people for who they are. You cannot change them. You can learn the strengths of a person and bring out the best of them. It is up to each individual to surrender their heart to the Lord.