1 Samuel 16:14-23 But the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and instead, the Lord had sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear. Some of Saul’s aides suggested a cure.
“We’ll find a good harpist to play for you whenever the tormenting spirit is bothering you,” they said. “The harp music will quiet you and you’ll soon be well again.”
“All right,” Saul said. “Find me a harpist.”
One of them said he knew a young fellow in Bethlehem, the son of a man named Jesse, who was not only a talented harp player, but was handsome, brave, and strong, and had good, solid judgment. “What’s more,” he added, “the Lord is with him.”
So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, asking that he send his son David the shepherd. 20 Jesse responded by sending not only David but a young goat and a donkey carrying a load of food and wine. From the instant he saw David, Saul admired and loved him; and David became his bodyguard.
Then Saul wrote to Jesse, “Please let David join my staff, for I am very fond of him.”
And whenever the tormenting spirit from God troubled Saul, David would play the harp and Saul would feel better, and the evil spirit would go away.
Saul had it all, and he blew it! God chose Saul to be the first king over Israel and even put His Holy Spirit on Saul so that Saul prophesied at one point. Had Saul faithfully followed all God’s orders, God would have established Saul’s family as the ruling dynasty for Israel. But Saul never truly believed; instead, Saul tried to use God, and that never works. The Sovereign Lord of the Universe is not a fetish to be used and manipulated. After Saul’s final act of disobedience in refusing to follow God’s specific instructions on wiping out the Amalekites, God finally rejected Saul. Had Saul truly repented, God might have relented in his judgment; however, repentance never entered Saul’s mind. Nature abhors a vacuum, including a spiritual one. Once the Holy Spirit left Saul, demons entered. Only praise music played by a true believer could drive away the demons, so David became Saul’s harp player and his bodyguard. But now David was working for a man who had rejected God’s guidance.
1 Samuel 18:4-6 King Saul now kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home anymore. He was Saul’s special assistant, and he always carried out his assignments successfully. So Saul made him commander of his troops, an appointment that was applauded by the army and general public alike. But something had happened when the victorious Israeli army was returning home after David had killed Goliath. Women came out from all the towns along the way to celebrate and to cheer for King Saul, and were singing and dancing for joy with tambourines and cymbals.
So far, so good. David has defeated Goliath and Saul has promoted him to commander of the Israelite troops. But now there’s a new problem: David is becoming more popular than Saul. To make things worse, the prophet Samuel has already informed Saul that God has rejected him as king and is choosing someone else to succeed him. Saul is furious and resentful, on the watch for any upstart. And more trouble is on the way.
7-16 However, this was their song: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands!”
Of course, Saul was very angry. “What’s this?” he said to himself. “They credit David with ten thousands and me with only thousands. Next they’ll be making him their king!”
So from that time on King Saul kept a jealous watch on David. The very next day, in fact, a tormenting spirit from God overwhelmed Saul, and he began to rave like a madman. David began to soothe him by playing the harp, as he did whenever this happened. But Saul, who was fiddling with his spear, suddenly hurled it at David, intending to pin him to the wall. But David jumped aside and escaped. This happened another time, too, for Saul was afraid of him and jealous because the Lord had left him and was now with David. Finally, Saul banned him from his presence and demoted him to the rank of captain. But the controversy put David more than ever in the public eye.
David continued to succeed in everything he undertook, for the Lord was with him. When King Saul saw this, he became even more afraid of him; but all Israel and Judah loved him, for he was as one of them.
Saul is angry, anxious, and suspicious. While Saul has rejected God and His ways, David continues to serve God and God is with him. Saul is becoming increasingly paranoid, with demons crowding into his heart and mind. Eventually, Saul makes two different attempts to pin David to the wall with his spear, hoping to kill him. But each time Saul attempts something, David escapes. Saul even demotes David to the rank of captain in hopes of removing him from the public eye, but David becomes increasingly popular anyway. And the stories about Saul trying to spear David are circulating throughout Israel while its citizens wonder why Saul is trying to kill the hero who has delivered them from Goliath and the Philistines.
Paranoid schizophrenia and demon possession share many traits in common. I served my rotation in Psychiatry at a VA hospital shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. We had many young veterans who had gotten into drugs, particularly LSD, while they were in Nam, only to develop paranoid schizophrenia. At the time, I knew nothing about spiritual warfare or the demonic; however, looking back, I wonder how many of these poor souls had opened themselves to demons under the influence of drugs. Please do not misunderstand! I am not trying to over-simplify a highly complicated diagnosis, nor am I suggesting that if someone prays for you, you should throw away your drugs. But spiritual conditions are inevitably tied to physical and emotional ones; we cannot separate people’s natures into neat little boxes. And demons will take advantage of any weakness available.
David’s dilemma is also complicated. David has joined Saul’s staff at Saul’s written request and has become extremely popular. Now the very man who invited David to come in the first place has tried to kill him twice. What should David do? God has obviously opened this opportunity, but should David return to herding sheep? Lions and bears might be safer to deal with than a demon-possessed ruler. Where is God’s comfort in all of this?
One or two generations ago in America, a worker might join a company and work there his or her entire career, moving steadily up the ranks. These days, most companies have no loyalty to their workers, and the workers reflect that attitude. But what if you are a worker who has been specifically recruited for a position, only to have the boss who recruited you suddenly change? This is David’s dilemma.
In such a situation, there are two questions you must ask yourself:
- Has God brought you to this place?
- If God has brought you to this place, has He changed your assignment or should you remain?
If you firmly believe that God has brought you and that He has not changed your assignment, HOLD ON! God wants to do something wonderful and Satan is trying to oppose Him. You are simply caught in the middle.
Later, when David is fleeing from Saul, he expresses his fears and hopes in Psalm 34:1-9 I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace. I will boast of all his kindness to me. Let all who are discouraged take heart. Let us praise the Lord together and exalt his name. For I cried to him and he answered me! He freed me from all my fears. Others too were radiant at what he did for them. Theirs was no downcast look of rejection! This poor man cried to the Lord—and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him.
Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him. If you belong to the Lord, reverence him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs.
Ultimately, God delivers David, making him king instead of Saul. But God is the One who does that; David refuses to kill Saul, even when he might. You too can take comfort in the knowledge that “The Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him.”
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to trust in You, even when things appear bleak. You are the One who calls us, who saves us, and who leads us into the bright future You have for us. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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