The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 1 Samuel 16:14,
"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil [or, "harmful"] spirit from the Lord tormented him."
Saul had earned the Lord's ire by rejecting him in the decisions he made as king of Israel. In the various accounts of Saul, we find him responding to events, not by faith in the Lord, but by the fear a lack of faith in the Lord generated within him.
Can the Lord - would the Lord - send anyone a harmful spirit? In King Saul's experience he did. It was bad enough that Saul and his attendants sought relief for Saul by hiring a musician to play for the king whenever this harmful spirit plagued him: David.
At the end of the chapter we read, "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." Verse 23. This spirit plagued Saul for quite some time.
I suspect many of us might assume the Lord would never do such a thing, but that is not true. The Lord has his own agenda and chooses to do things his way. I believe we have here an example of something many might find new and disquieting - as it challenges an understanding we may have of the Lord, an understanding brought about, not so much by reading God's revelation of himself, but by simple assumption in the ways and acts of the Lord.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil [or, "harmful"] spirit from the Lord tormented him."
Saul had earned the Lord's ire by rejecting him in the decisions he made as king of Israel. In the various accounts of Saul, we find him responding to events, not by faith in the Lord, but by the fear a lack of faith in the Lord generated within him.
Can the Lord - would the Lord - send anyone a harmful spirit? In King Saul's experience he did. It was bad enough that Saul and his attendants sought relief for Saul by hiring a musician to play for the king whenever this harmful spirit plagued him: David.
At the end of the chapter we read, "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." Verse 23. This spirit plagued Saul for quite some time.
I suspect many of us might assume the Lord would never do such a thing, but that is not true. The Lord has his own agenda and chooses to do things his way. I believe we have here an example of something many might find new and disquieting - as it challenges an understanding we may have of the Lord, an understanding brought about, not so much by reading God's revelation of himself, but by simple assumption in the ways and acts of the Lord.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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