GOODMORNING- DAVID( The great spirit exchange)

The Great Spirit Exchange
1 Samuel 16:14-23
This is indeed one of the more perplexing texts in 1 Samuel. It is not really surprising to read that the Spirit of God “turned away from Saul,” but it is puzzling to read that “an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him” (1 Samuel 16:14). If God is taking the kingdom away from Saul and giving it to David, we can understand why the Spirit would depart from Saul (verse 14) at the same time that it is given to David (verse 13). But why would God send “an evil spirit” to torment Saul?

Surely we must ask ourselves, “Why would God send an evil spirit to torment anyone?” We would expect Satan to be doing this, would we not? The answer is probably to be found in the first two chapters of the Book of Job. There we read that Satan had to ask God’s permission before he could bring about great suffering for this saint. While Satan is the immediate cause of Job’s suffering, Satan can do nothing without God’s permission. Job suffered at the hand of Satan, only because God allowed it. I assume that the same is true in our text and, thus, the author could speak of this as “an evil spirit from the Lord.” God is not the immediate cause of Saul’s troubles, but He is the One who is ultimately in control of all things. This may not be all that different from what we find in the New Testament:

The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, that he should betray Jesus (John 13:2).

And after Judas took the piece of bread Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are about to do, do quickly” (John 13:27).

Turn this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord (1 Corinthians 5:5)

The bottom line is that God is sovereign, and nothing takes place that is contrary to His divine purpose and plan. An evil spirit can torment a man only because God allows it, and in that sense, it could be said that it is “an evil spirit from the Lord.” I must also point out that by Saul’s jealousy and uncontrolled rage, he has opened himself up for satanic activity.

We should not fail to see the providential hand of God in all of this. Saul was now subject to fits of demonic tormenting. His servants recognized this was demonic in nature, and they seemed to know that music could sometimes soothe a tormented soul like Saul’s. So they recruited David, who was a skilled musician, to play his lyre and thus calm Saul’s troubled spirit. The end result of this – David was introduced to the protocol of royalty, on-the-job training for the days when he would become king.

One might assume that all of Saul’s sinful actions were the result of this “exchange of spirit,” but I don’t believe this is the case at all. Let us remember, Saul’s two great “kingdom-depriving” sins172 were committed before the arrival of the “evil spirit,” and were done before the Holy Spirit had been removed! Further, the “evil spirit” was not constantly tormenting Saul, but rather came and went. The evil spirit prompted Saul to thrust his spear at David (18:10-11; 19:9-10), but other acts of Saul seem to have come from Saul himself (20:30-33).

It is important for us to note that Saul’s jealousy and uncontrolled rage did not suddenly surface when Saul realized David was his replacement. Saul was demonized and subject to fits of rage, before he knew David was to replace him. David did not make Saul what he was; Saul was that way, even before the time the Spirit of God left him. Before David was anointed, both Samuel and the elders of Bethlehem greatly feared Saul (16:2, 4). I think one could make a case for the position that Saul’s sin opened the door to satanic involvement. Sometimes we are quick to blame Satan for our sins, when we are the source. In my opinion, the “evil spirit” merely enhanced Saul’s sin.173