Today we will speak of how David meets Saul. The Spirit of the LORD left King Saul. In its place came an evil spirit which tormented him. The scriptures say this evil spirit was from The LORD. Read it for yourself in 1 Samuel 16:14-15.
Could we be reading those lines right?
Also, why do we see that the spirit goes away after David meets Saul and plays the harp? Why would music make an evil spirit go away?
WOULD GOD SEND AN EVIL SPIRIT?
This is difficult to understand, but we must try. I had to ponder why God would let such a thing happen. What did these first comments from 1 Samuel, Chapter 16 really mean?
It seems that the Spirit of Saul, which was sent by God when Samuel anointed him as King, left him and went to dwell in David. This happened when Samuel quietly anointed David.
There could only be one who was anointed as King of Israel.
SAUL LOSES THE SPIRIT OF GOD
When God’s Spirit left Saul, Saul’s soul was emptied. Because The Holy Spirit no longer dwelled inside Saul, he was no longer protected by God. Until that time, Saul had enjoyed the privilege of being the anointed one. Now, he could no longer feel that comfortable feeling of knowing that all was “safe and good.”
This peaceful feeling of safety, peace and harmony inside one’s soul can only belong to those who know the blessing of being inhabited by God’s Holy Spirit. Saul had taken that aspect of his life for granted. Now it was gone. God’s holiness will not continue to dwell within deliberate disobedience.
This emptiness which was left inside Saul’s soul was his own fault because of disobedience. He allowed the ability for an evil spirt to descend into the empty spaces of his soul. The evil spirit was most likely a demon which tormented Saul. God allows this to happen when we are continuously and deliberately disobedient. It is not that God invites Satan to trouble us, it is just that God removes His protection until we repent. He protects us until He feels there is no hope of us ever changing. Then He allows Satan to have his way with us.
There is always hope for us if we are humble, repent and turn.
Saul did not.
THE NATURE OF THE BEAST
Think of the fact that God created both man and beast on the same day of creation. This was the sixth day. This concept will help us to understand what happened with the nature of Saul. The following link refers to a study that is critical to gaining this understanding: https://graceintorah.net/2020/05/11/the-mark-of-the-beast-part-i/. The study was certainly eye-opening for me. It definitely helped me to understand these scriptures and explain why things were as they were concerning Saul.
From creation God set man to rule over the beast. He was to be in control of the beast. If we allow our spirit to control our soul and to be in charge of the nature of the beast within us, we can overcome and defeat sin.
However, if man does not control the nature of his soul through the power of God’s Spirit working within him, and he allows this “nature of the beast” to run wild, he has fallen into the trap of the beast system which will bring forth his appetite for sin.
WE ALL HAVE A CHOICE
We can tame the beast and go the way of God, or we can allow the beast to rule over our minds, hearts and emotions. Saul choose wrong.
The beast only thinks of himself. He pays no attention to God’s desires. This was Saul’s sin. He had not obeyed God and God’s Holy Spirit left him. The days of Saul were before the days of salvation through Christ. In those days, The Spirit of God came and went as it pleased. Jesus had not yet provided that gift of God’s Holy Spirit to his followers. The Day of Pentecost had not yet been spiritually fulfilled.
Music, same as the beast factor of our souls, can be used for both good and evil. It depends upon what our spirit, working with our soul, decides to do with it. Again, God gives each of us choices. Our destiny is always in our own hands. It is our own choices that determine whether our actions will be that of a “man” or a “beast.”
Saul could have chosen the path of the “man” and defeated the attitude of the “beast” at any point. He did not.
GOOD CHOICES MAKE GOOD MUSIC
David had made good choices. He was always very obedient to God. Everything in David’s spirit and soul worshiped God. David’s choices were those of a “man.” He had control over the nature of the beast that wanted to live within his soul.
David’s good choices were vocalized spiritually whenever he played the harp or sang. So, we can note that when David played the harp – for good – its melodious tones invited The Spirit of God and the Angels to attend.
If David was playing in Saul’s presence, Saul could sense that old familiar feeling of what he now missed since God’s Spirit had left his spirit. He could sense that The Holy Spirit had come back into the room. Whenever David played the harp Saul sensed God’s presence again, even if temporary.
When David quit playing, or left, there was no longer any reason for God’s Holy Spirit or the angels who attend God’s throne to stay. After a while the demons that now tormented Saul would return. A demon cannot operate under the voices of God’s people giving God praise. When David sang and played his instrument, the demons had to flee.
GOD INHABITS THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE
We know that God’s Holy Spirit inhabits the praises of His people. This article from I believe goes into more detail regarding this subject: https://www.ibelieve.com/christian-living/how-does-god-inhabit-the-praise-of-his-people.html. So, whenever David played the harp, Saul’s troubled soul was always relieved for a few hours.
I’m not going to go into great detail about this because the article I’m linking here does an excellent job of explaining why this could happen. Please also consult it for further study : https://wearefaith.org/blog/dealing-with-difficult-verses-case-study-on-1-samuel-1614/ .
SAUL SENDS FOR DAVID
At any rate, Saul’s spirit was now tormented. His servants suggested Saul send for someone who could play the lyre. They seemed to think this would bring him relief. So, Saul asked his servants to find such a person. David came to mind with some of them. Saul’s servants advised him that David was a brave man and a warrior, not to mention that he was handsome and well-spoken.
Saul then determined that he should meet David. He loaded a donkey with gifts and had a servant take them to David’s father, Jesse. Saul’s servant then faithfully delivered the message from Saul to Jesse. That message was: “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 visit King Saul.
DAVID MEETS SAUL
Saul liked David instantly. He sent a message back to Jesse asking him to allow David to stay in his service. Eventually, Saul even made David his armor-bearer.
The words of 1 Samuel 16:23 sum up the wonderful connection of the friendship that God allowed to form between King Saul and David. It says, “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.”
Thus, David began a whole new life in the palace of the King. His days as a shepherd boy from Israel were over. How will this new life in Saul’s palace play out for him? Will David ever reveal to Saul that Samuel anointed him as King?
DAVID’S LIFE IS SUDDENLY CHANGED
Have you ever had something come completely out-of-the-blue which suddenly changed your whole life? Like happened with David, it could be that the hand of God is upon you. There is a possibility that God is placing you strategically into the place for which you have been anointed.
David had no idea that he was fulfilling God’s plan for Israel. All David wanted to do was to worship and pray. This made him happy. Here is an article about many of the actions that came later when David worshiped and prayed: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/how-god-wants-us-to-remember-his-laws/.
It is amazing when we think of all the things that God did with David. In the meantime though, He was simply serving the man he knew had once been anointed by Samuel as King. David would be happy and content in any circumstances as long as he knew God had placed him there.
As it is with each of us, time will eventually tell the whole story. And so it was for David and Saul.