1 Samuel 10:9
When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.
The nation of Israel had just asked for a king. Samuel, the prophet of the day, had warned them by so doing they were, in essence, rejecting God. Yet, God was willing to give them a king and allow them to experience "what the other nations" enjoyed. God chose Saul to be that king and the "he" in the above verse is referring to Saul. There is much confusion, to many, when we look at the Old Testament in regard to how God works, as compared to the New Testament Church. In the N.T. the concept of having God change someone by the ministry of the Holy Spirit is well taught and well believed. But, note that in the above passage that God is coming upon Saul to give him "another heart" and that heart will be a total act of God. There are passages in the O.T. that seem to indicate that God's Spirit came on people for service and then left them when their service was either completed or their obedience was in doubt. Saul would be one of those latter cases. But, in the above passage we can see that the only reason that Saul would be able to lead the people of Israel, as a King, is because God did a work in his heart. That is the truth we must look upon in this text. God is the one who changes hearts and no other. There are no psychological methods that can change a heart. The modern day psychologist can only make minor adjustments to thinking and thus behavior. There are no spiritual methods, outside of Christ, that can change the heart. The modern day spiritual and religious leader can only make aspirations and inspirations of the heart. Only God, through Christ, can change the heart. We ought not think we can change the heart. We are to make sure we submit to His changing us. Only He knows HOW to change us and only He knows WHAT that change should look like. In the case of Saul, God is making a very timid young man into a leader. He will, in time, become an arrogant and egotistical and paranoid king. God will eventually replace him with King David. Yet, God is the one who sets up one and takes down another. God is the one who changes hearts.
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