Touched Hearts

1 Samuel 10:26
Saul also went to his home in Gibeah, accompanied by valiant men whose hearts God had touched.

The heart has been important in Samuel, and this is the third time it has come up in Saul's story.
After Samuel made the announcement to all of Israel about their new king, presenting Saul, he dismissed them all to go home. Saul went home as well, but now he has a posse, a group of backers. They are valiant men. I like that. While others were spiteful troublemakers, their hearts touched by envy or hatred, these men let God touch their hearts and bring them into the heart of history.
Though Saul went down later, it started out well. He was surrounded by God's men.
God, let me be one whose heart is touched to do right, to defend your people, or to stand by those you've entrusted to me. Let me be valiant in my world.
Touch my heart, my secret thought, my innermost core.

Changed Heart

1 Samuel 10:9
As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul's heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day.

This is such a sharp, graphic moment. It comes only a few verses after yesterday's heart, where Samuel promised to tell Saul all that was in his heart.
Now Samuel has anointed him, and given him the promised heart reading. The prophesy went on to say that Saul would prophesy among the prophets before the day was over.
Also, after the coming of the Spirit of the Lord, he would be 'changed into a different person.'
But the change started sooner than that, in the moment Saul turned from Samuel. Was there a flash of faith, a burst of grace that gave Saul a vision of himself, no longer an errand boy after wayward donkeys, but the king of his nation? King of God's chosen people?
God, give me that Spirit, that moment of faith that changes my heart. Make me what you want. Give me a purpose, lead me to the seer, give me a higher goal than the dusty tracks of donkeys.

Heart Reading

1 Samuel 9:19
"I am the seer," Samuel replied. "Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is in your heart.

This is where Samuel steps into the history of Israel in a big way. He is talking to Saul, who, at his servant's suggestion, has come to 'the seer' merely to find out whether or not to keep looking for his father's lost donkeys.
He was the first king of Israel: seeking donkeys gone astray. I've read that that was a deliberate picture of the nation he would rule. David, the next and forever king, was a shepherd, like Moses, like Jesus.
But when Samuel said this, David was in the future. Samuel had been told ahead of time that Saul would come, and he was prepared with an invitation to dinner.
He also offers to tell Saul all that is in his innermost thoughts. I looked ahead to see what that was. What I found in chapter 10 is a detailed foretelling of what would happen to Saul on his journey home. It was so particular that Saul could not fail to realize Samuel truly was a seer. He spoke of two men at Rachel's tomb, of three men near the great tree of Tabor, of three goats and three loaves of bread. It is beautifully mythic.
Was it all in his heart? Does my heart show what will happen to me tomorrow to one who knows how to look?
God, change my heart, change my tomorrows, make them what You want.

Pure Heart

1 Samuel 7:3
And Samuel said to the whole house of Israel, "If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines."

First the ark went to Beth Shemesh, but in a Raiders of the Lost Ark sort of scene, at least 70 died when they looked into it. They begged Kiriath Jearim to take it, which they did, and it stayed there 20 years.
In the very same sentence, it says that all the people mourned and sought after the Lord. What a great phrase. I suppose it was brought on by their defeats. I wish all of America would mourn and seek after the Lord. Some do, some always do, but never all or anywhere near all.
Then comes our verse. Samuel wanted to help them find God. Turning to God with all my heart means no more foreign gods. Money, jobs, relationships, self--all must go.
And then I will have God-given victory, no sooner.

Hard Hearts

1 Samuel 6:6
Why do you harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh did? When he [ That is, God ] treated them harshly, did they not send the Israelites out so they could go on their way?

The amazing story of the ark continues. It lived with the Philistines for seven months of destruction and death. First it assaulted the idol they brilliantly housed it with, and then it took a tour of towns, killer plagues accompanying it. God's hand was very heavy on them.
They realized at last that this holy box was the source of God's wrath, and that they must get rid of it. But how? The knowledgeable suggested including a gift for God in the form of gold rats and tumors. I wonder about those gold tumors. A gold rat one can imagine, but the tumors? Maybe just a blob of gold?
I wonder when they asked what guilt offering they should send if there was a bit of rebellion, which the advisors tried to quell with the reference to Egypt and the Pharoahs whose hard hearts were evidently legendary? God had already begun treating the Philistines harshly, and the wise thought best to cut their losses.
When the going gets tough, do not harden your heart. It can get tougher yet.

Fear-filled Heart

1 Samuel 4:13
When he arrived, there was Eli sitting on his chair by the side of the road, watching, because his heart feared for the ark of God. When the man entered the town and told what had happened, the whole town sent up a cry.

He was wise to fear for the ark. He must have known it was highly inapropriate to carry the ark into battle like a good luck charm or a pagan idol, yet he didn't stop the elders who thought it was a great idea after the stunning defeat they'd just experienced.
In the Bible study on the Tabernacle, Beth Moore suggested that the ark represented the heavenly throne of God. Verse 4 says as much. The glory of God literally appeared on the ark, between the gold cherubim, as God is surrounded by living cherubim in Heaven. It was kept in the Most Holy Place, not even to be seen by human eyes more than once a year, and then under the most careful of circumstances.
Yet the panicky Israelites thought it a good plan to haul it out into the army camp. It did cause a stir there, which unfortunately only rallied the Philistines to fight the harder and deal them a truly devastating loss.
Back home, Eli sat waiting, all his secret thoughts full of guilty knowledge that they had misused a holy object.
Why didn't he stop them?

God's Heart

1 Samuel 2:35
I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do according to what is in my heart and mind. I will firmly establish his house, and he will minister before my anointed one always.

This comes right after the last heart, and God is still talking. I find this verse very interesting. So much is packed into these two sentences. Let me look at the heart first, before I get side-tracked.
God's definition of a faithful priest is one who will do according to what is in His heart. God's heart. God's seat of the affections, passions, and emotions, as distinguished from the intellect and will; hence, God's tenderness, sympathy, affection; also, God's courage, spirit, energy; God's secret thoughts, innermost soul, conscience; God's personality as a vital or active force; as to love with one's whole heart; the vital, inner or chief part of anything; the center; core.
I would very much like to do according to God's heart. My only goal must be to do according to God's heart and mind as I know it, to be the faithful servant.
I also wanted to look at that intriguing second sentence. Maybe it isn't so mysterious. He must have been talking about Samuel. Was Saul or David God's anointed? Were they both? Samuel did minister before them. But I don't see that his house was established. His sons were so crooked they motivated Israel to demand a king. Samuel himself had a good run.
But he was an Ephraimite. I'm trying to figure out what happened to the Levite priests. David restored the Levites to temple service. That must have gotten lost in the dark days of the judges.
Well, the history is very interesting. What I want to remember, though, is living my life according to God's heart and mind.

Grieving Heart

1 Samuel 2:33
Every one of you that I do not cut off from my altar will be spared only to blind your eyes with tears and to grieve your heart, and all your descendants will die in the prime of life.

This sad prophecy was for Eli. After Samuel arrived on the scene, and unnamed man of God gave the old priest the bad news. He had so failed to train his sons that God could not allow them anywhere near the tabernacle. His failure wouldn't get a slap on the wrist, but would result in the loss of his family. And not just the two wicked sons but the whole family, forever.
Most would die, as Hophni and Phineas did. Any who lived would know only sadness, weeping, and grief.
Here the innermost self is grieved. This is deep, literally heart-felt sadness, resulting from tolerating sin past the point of turning back. Grief with no consolation.
God keep me from that sin, and that grief.

Rejoicing Heart

1 Samuel 2:1
Then Hannah prayed and said: "My heart rejoices in the LORD; in the LORD my horn is lifted high. My mouth boasts over my enemies, for I delight in your deliverance.

The story continues. The baby was weaned and given to the service of God under Eli, and then Hannah prayed, aloud this time.
"My heart rejoices in the LORD."
Her whole song is about the omnipotence and uniqueness of Yahweh. All is from Him, and nothing can stand against Him. Our job is to rejoice in Him in our innermost thoughts, the vital core of our being.

Praying Heart

1 Samuel 1:13
Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk

The story of Samuel begins. The epic that would include Saul and David and a thick slice of Israel's history started this way.
A woman with no babies refused to let the subject rest, and she took it to God continually. While at the tabernacle, she seized the opportunity to pour out her desire to God, promising that if she was given a baby, she wouldn't even keep him for her own, but give him to God.
Eli, the priest, observed her passionate prayer and drew the wrong conclusion. Hannah explained, yet without telling him her problem. He gave her a blessing, and she was conforted. "Her face was no longer downcast."
The happy ending was that Samuel came, and not only him, but five more babies she hadn't promised to God's service.
God, help me to pray in my heart, with my whole heart, that You will answer me with the abundance You answered Hannah with.

Searching of Heart

Judges 5:15
The princes of Issachar were with Deborah; yes, Issachar was with Barak, rushing after him into the valley. In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.
Judges 5:16
Why did you stay among the campfires [ Or saddlebags ] to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart.

These are the only other hearts in Judges, and they say the same thing. This is the song of Deborah, and she is naming some of the tribes, noting whether or not they came to fight. I don't know if Reuben went or not, but they searched their hearts.
This could be the innermost thoughts, the conscience, the courage and spirit.
Where is God leading? Pastor Allen preached on this Wednesday, from Genesis 24, where I first found a heart.
What is God asking of me? And can I find the strength to do it?
God, give me grace to do what you call me to.

Warrior Heart

Judges 5:9
My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people. Praise the LORD!

This first heart in Judges is from the song of Deborah, the female judge, a mother in Israel. She sang this song with Barak after they had victory. The best I can tell, she is speaking for herself here as verse 7 refers to "I, Deborah."
This verse echoes verse 2, the first lines of the song:
"When the princes in Israel take the lead,
when the people willingly offer themselves—
praise the LORD!"
I might choose this part of the definition here: courage, spirit, energy. Also her innermost soul or conscience. All were joined with the warrior princes and the soldiers alike to gain the victory.
God, let my heart be with the right side in the conflicts of my generation. Let me go to war in Your Name only.

Yielded Hearts

Joshua 24:23
"Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel."

Joshua assembled Israel for one last speech. He began by saying "This is what the Lord says..." which makes me wonder how the Lord said it. History is recounted briefly, beginning with Abraham beyond the River and going to the present. Did God say that to Joshua just before the speech, or was it written somewhere, a quick history of the nation? Did Moses give it to him?
God's words end at verse 13, and then Joshua continues with his first plea to throw away false gods in verse 14. The gods must have been statues, carvings, physical things like the gods Rachel took from her father. They were objects that could be discarded, so that they would no longer be worshipped.
Verse 15 has the famous line: But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. The people replied that they too would serve God, but Joshua is skeptical. They protest once more that they will, and then comes verse 23, above. Again, throw away foreign gods and yield your hearts to the Lord...
A third time the people declare they will serve God. Joshua writes it all down.
God, help me throw away foreign gods and yield my heart totally to you. Help me to yield constantly, always throwing away those foreign gods.