Does God control evil spirits and sends them to torment people? In the previous post which mentioned 1 Samuel 16 verse 14, we learned that “Saul had an evil spirit from the Lord that tormented him.” That’s not how I think about God! Does God send demons to do his bidding? That’s what Satan is supposed to do, not God. What is going on here?
Scholars have speculated about what this means. Perhaps it is an ancient way of describing paranoia, depression, bipolar disorder, or anxiety. Perhaps God is only allowing an evil spirit to torment Saul, rather than God himself directing the spirit to afflict Saul. In other words, maybe we should see God as lifting a measure of protection over Saul when the Holy Spirit left Saul. Or perhaps God is actually controlling an evil spirit and commanding it to afflict Saul. But if so, why? Maybe to speed Saul’s decline? This is a difficult passage, and I don’t think we’ll be able to conclude for certain about the cause of the spirit tormenting Saul.
What we do know is that Saul is struggling. There are no psychologists, no mental health medications, in his era. No cognitive behavioral therapy. Saul is absolutely not going to seek help from Samuel, though he should have because Samuel could intercede with God on Saul’s behalf. To go ask Samuel for help would be for Saul an admission of failure. Just as Samuel is done with Saul, it seems Saul is done with Samuel. Saul is not going to humble himself enough to seek spiritual help or help from the Lord, since Saul was rejected by God.
Who will help Saul?
We read this in verse 15, “Saul’s attendants said to him, ‘See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the lyre. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes on you, and you will feel better.’ So Saul said to his attendants, ‘Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.’”
There is just something about music, isn’t there? Music can change our mood! Music can make us happy, sad, nostaligic, reflective. Music is special. It affects us. You can play a song you haven’t heard for decades and instantly be transported to a different time and place when you heard that song. In contemporary psychology, music is affirmed as a legitimate therapy. So this plan to get musical therapy for Saul is a good one.
In verse 18, Saul’s attendants seek out a local musical therapist, “One of the servants answered, ‘I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him.’ Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, ‘Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.’ So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, ‘Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him.’ Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul, David would take up his lyre and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.”
We learn a lot about David here. He is not only the youngest of eight brothers, he is not only a shepherd. He is also a musician. A warrior. He speaks well. He is handsome. He plays the lyre (a hand-held harp with 7 or 8 strings) for Saul, and it soothes Saul’s condition. The NIV here says, “Saul liked him very much.” The Hebrewcould be translated, however, “Saul loved David greatly.” He makes David one of his armor bearers, which was a sign of how much Saul trusted David.
David becomes a regular fixture in Saul’s court, visiting him whenever the spirit tormented Saul. How about that? The newly anointed soon-to-be-king secretly serving the old unawares current-king. But that’s God for you. He is able to take a seemingly impossible situation and make something astounding out of it.
I’m not saying God will make every situation perfect. David is about to endure some intense pain in the coming years, no fault of his own, in his journey to become king. He could easily think, “I didn’t ask for this. I was doing just fine being a shepherd, writing songs. But now I am struggling with all kinds of drama.” When you give your heart to God, life will not necessarily be easier, but know that you will be obeying God, which is the best possible situation to be.
What matters is that God chose David because David had given his heart to God.
What about us? In the next post, we’ll consider how we can give proper attention to our hearts.
Photo by Jefferson Santos on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 