1 Sam. 16:14-23
14 Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15And Saul’s servants said to him, ‘See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skilful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.’ 17So Saul said to his servants, ‘Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.’ 18One of the young men answered, ‘I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skilful in playing, a man of valour, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.’ 19So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, ‘Send me your son David who is with the sheep.’ 20Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armour-bearer. 22Saul sent to Jesse, saying, ‘Let David remain in my service, for he has found favour in my sight.’ 23And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.
BLOG DISCUSSION QUESTION: Interesting to think about "an evil spirit from the Lord". Has music ever been a antidote for the evil spirits that torment you?
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I would have to say YES! A few years ago I actually had some anxiety. I was on the road alot with my job at the time and would listen to the words in the songs on KNWC and saw God's amazing power working through them. One song in particular always seemed to play at the right time ~ Casting Crowns "I'll Praise You in This Storm". We do go through so many storms throughout our life and this particular song talks about giving praise to the Father even in our biggest trials knowing He will see us through and bring us out of the valley. Praise be to God!
The evil spirit from the Lord is as confusing to me as when God "hardened pharaoh's heart". Does it mean God actually did these things or did He allow them to happen? I don't know. I do know evil still abounds today, but I certainly don't believe God is the cause.
I do find it interesting how the David story begins in the middle of another story. The chaos of Saul. David's first job is to make music. His first job as king is to serve a "bad king".. and he serves.
There is no question that Saul was a bad king, however; Saul like David was anointed by God to be king. As we read the David stories dealing with Saul , I think it is valuable to see how David responds. Does he see Saul as a "bad king" or "God's anointed". Today, he plays music to calm the chaos.
I have loved the great discussions so far! rjq's question: Did David see Saul as a bad king or a king anointed by God....is an interesting question. Before long, doesn't King Saul throw darts at him while he is singing????
Let's keep the good discussion going! I'm sure we're all going to learn a lot and hopefully apply it to our own everyday lives.
What would an "evil spirit from the Lord" be?
Might it not be so much evil in its own, but rather what it inflicts feels "evil"? For example in these last months that Tiger Woods has spoken of where he stripped away his rationalizations and masks, and found himself looking into a mirror of someone he didn't like very much Or, when one looks at who one really is and realizes how small one is compared to the tasks ahead, and one gets overwhelmed and weary...might the clarity of vision be an "evil spirit from the Lord." I don't know, but it sounds to me that Saul was overwhelmed, worn out, and maybe even a bit dissatisfied with the person he had become.
I know that for myself, when I find myself "tormented" by such evil spirits, music is able to penetrate the darkness in a way that mere words cannot. This past Sunday, I played a song that has worked that way for me, "Only Grace" by Matthew West
Words of comfort, forgiveness, and hope can go a long way, but music has a way of taking those things deeper.
Interesting question you gave this morning as it goes along with what KNWC has been talking about today with their fundraiser!!
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