David and Saul: “When evil spirits come”

“But an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul...” 1 Samuel 19:9

Saul told his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan told David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Find a hiding place and stay in seclusion. When I find out what the problem is, I will let you know.” So Jonathan spoke to his father he said, “The king should not sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you.” Saul accepted Jonathan’s advice and took an oath, “As surely as the Lord lives, he will not be put to death.” 

Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul... 

Saul sent messengers to David’s house to guard it and to kill him in the morning. Michal, David’s We, was Saul’s daughter and learned of the plot. She warned David and helped him escape. When Saul’s messengers arrived to arrest David, his wife said, “He’s sick.” Saul said “Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him.” When the messengers found only an idol on the bed. Saul asked his daughter “Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away?” Michal replied, “He said to me, ‘Help me get away or else I will kill you!”

She covered one deception with another. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

David had gone to Samuel and told him everything that Saul had done to him. This was reported to Saul so He sent messengers to capture David. When they saw a group of prophets prophesying with Samuel, the spirit of God came upon Saul’s messengers, and they also prophesied. This happened three times, to each cohort Saul sent. So Saul went Himself. The Spirit of God came upon him as well, and he prophesied before Samuel.

Verse nine of this chapter was the third occasion when “an evil spirit from God” fell upon Saul (16:15, 18:10). But, this time was different. The first two times it was Elohim, the God of creation, who sent the evil spirit. This time it was Yahweh, the God of Israel. This was personal.

The world can be an ugly place and it’s easy for people to explain bad experiences by saying “that’s just the way things are...” we can even be pious and attribute them to the God who created all things...even as we wonder why any God would do such a thing. We find a similar act of God in the New Testament when we are told “God gave them over to a reprobate (unprincipled) mind” (Romans 1:28). It explains why so many people refuse to follow God: they can’t accept a “good God who does bad things. Yet, in this account, Saul was inhabited by an evil spirit from the very God of Israel...the God of the covenant. How do we explain this? Of course, we know they are the same God but...the point is... in His role as a personal God he sent evil upon Saul.

We should understand from this incident with Saul that we aren’t talking about “bad things happening to good people” we are talking about “good people doing bad things”. God has limited patience with people intent on pursuing wickedness. God goes to great lengths to intervene, guide and direct but...when the time arrives where He determines all His loving discipline will not have any affect...God may decide to leave that person to follow their own inclinations. But it’s not just natural cosmic consequences...it’s “our God” stepping back. We should not construe this to mean God is damning such a person eternally. Rather, He has determined to stand back and watch their lives go off the rails. 

We believers are not immune to this danger. I have met many believers so intent on following their own desires that God has let them. Results are predictable. It is, however, true that we live in a wicked world and trouble sometimes finds us through no fault of our own. The next time we see our lives spinning out of control we should probably ask 
ourselves whose in charge. Am I the victim? Or am I the perpetrator? We may need to invite God back and give him the keys to the car. He will gladly oblige.

Live boldly out there today...