An evil spirit from the Lord

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 16:14–23, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him. Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep. And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul. And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”

As soon as Saul disobeyed the Lord and the Lord rejected him as king, he was no longer empowered by the Lord’s Spirit to be king. Once the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul he was possessed by an evil spirit and was deeply troubled by depression. It is a well known fact these days the good music and calm a person and allow them to relax. It is also true that off beat music can have the opposite effect. Saul’s servants realised that he needed a clever musician to play for him so that the could relax and be relieved of his tormenting depression. They made a search among all the tribes of Israel to find the best musician in the Land. As Saul was the king, exactly as Samuel had predicted, he was able to conscript whoever he wanted to serve him. They discovered that David, Jesse’s son, was the sweetest psalmist in Israel. (compare 2 Sam 23:1, “Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel,”) Saul sent some of his servants to conscript David to be his musician. He hadn’t met David before and didn’t know who he was at that stage. When Jesse received the summons, he sent David with some gifts for the king. Saul was probably in one of his deep moods when David first played and the music was so sweet that he soon relaxed and his depression lifted. Saul was very impressed by David and appointed him as his armour bearer. This meant that David would constantly be with Saul but it didn’t mean that Saul would necessarily know him by sight as he would always be in the background but would play music for Saul when Saul was in a depressive mood.

Arise, anoint him

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 16:6–13, “And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him. But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this. Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, Neither hath the LORD chosen this.  Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.”

Jesse had eight sons and two daughters (see 1 Chron 2:16–17, “Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three. And Abigail bare Amasa: and the father of Amasa was Jether the Ishmeelite.”) Samuel told Jesse to bring all his sons out to the sacrifice. Each of the sons came to see Samuel. They were all big, powerful men who would certainly qualify as kings in the neighbouring nations, however as each of the seven sons came to Samuel the Lord told him that this man was not the chosen king. After the seven young men had gone past and the Lord still hadn’t told Samuel which son was the future king, Samuel asked Jesse if there were any other sons. Jesse said there was the youngest son who was really just a child, whose job was to shepherd the sheep out in the countryside. Samuel told Jesse to bring this son and when he came Samuel saw a young, red headed, good looking boy. The Lord told Samuel to anoint this child, David, as the king of Israel and Samuel did as the Lord commanded. The Lord’s Spirit took control of David and Samuel went to his home.

I have provided me a king

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 16:1–5, “And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? if Saul hear it, he will kill me. And the LORD said, Take an heifer with thee, and say, I am come to sacrifice to the LORD. And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will shew thee what thou shalt do: and thou shalt anoint unto me him whom I name unto thee. And Samuel did that which the LORD spake, and came to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice unto the LORD: sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice. And he sanctified Jesse and his sons, and called them to the sacrifice.”

Samuel had invested a large amount of emotional capital in Saul as king. At first he resented the fact that Israel had rejected him as their leader. Later he came to understand that Israel had rejected the Lord rather than himself in their desired to be like the neighbouring nations. When the Lord rejected Saul because Saul refused to obey the Lord, choosing to define the Lord’s will for himself, Samuel grieved over the fact that Saul was rejected. The Lord told Samuel to get over Saul and get on with life. Even though Samuel had been wounded in the Lord’s service, he still had a role to play in Israel’s future. Samuel to take everything that was required to anoint another king for Israel. He had played a part in establishing Israel’s choice as king but now he was to go forward and anoint the Lord’s choice as king. The Lord had already selected His own choice for king and Samuel needed to go and prepare this new king to replace Saul when the time was right. Samuel was afraid of Saul because Saul had torn his coat before when he was trying to persuade Samuel to change the Lord’s will so he didn’t want Saul to find out that he was anointing a new king. The Lord told Samuel to take an animal for a sacrifice, go the Bethlehem and invite Jesse to come to a sacrifice. When Samuel anointed Saul as king he offered a sacrifice as well. Samuel had been the Judge for many years and the leaders in Bethlehem were afraid that something was wrong when the retired Judge arrived in their town. He told them that he had come to offer a sacrifice and Jesse was required to attend. This was all completely true.

The bitterness is past

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 15:32–35, “Then said Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the king of the Amalekites. And Agag came unto him delicately. And Agag said, Surely the bitterness of death is past. And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house to Gibeah of Saul. And Samuel came no more to see Saul until the day of his death: nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul: and the LORD repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.”

Even though Saul had sinned and save Agag the Amalekite king during the battle, Samuel knew what the Lord required and called Agag. By this time Agag, who couldn’t understand the conversation between Samuel and Saul, believed that he would be safe. Never the less,, Samuel executed Agag as the Lord had commanded. During his life Agag had been a warrior king and had attacked many other towns and nations. He was a blood thirsty man who worshipped a strange god so he deserved to executed. Even though he came from another country, he had heard enough about the Lord to bow down and worship the true God of creation but he refused. Samuel and Saul went their separate ways and didn’t see each other again. The Lord had allowed Israel to choose to have a king like the neighbouring nations and now they were suffering the consequences of having this kind of king. The Lord regretted that Israel had to go through this experience but it was essential for them to be brought to their knees before the Lord.

A torn coat

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 15:24–31, “And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD. And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD.”

At first Saul tried to blame everyone else but, finally, he accepted that he has sinned against the Lord. However, even though he admitted to sinning, he said that he only sinned because he was afraid of the people. It was his job as king of Israel to lead the people and not allow them to force him to do things so he was just admitting that he wasn’t really emotionally qualified to be the king. Saul begged Samuel to show the people that he still had the Lord’s support but Samuel refused because Samuel wanted to obey the Lord as he had done for the rest of his life. As Samuel turned to walk away Saul grabbed hold of coat and the coat tore. Samuel used this as an illustration to show Saul that the Lord had taken the kingdom away. Saul begged Samuel again and Samuel went with him to worship the Lord.

To obey is better than sacrifice

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 15:10–23, “Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. And when Samuel rose early to meet Saul in the morning, it was told Samuel, saying, Saul came to Carmel, and, behold, he set him up a place, and is gone about, and passed on, and gone down to Gilgal. And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said unto him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD. And Samuel said, What meaneth then this bleating of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, They have brought them from the Amalekites: for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed. Then Samuel said unto Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the LORD hath said to me this night. And he said unto him, Say on. And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over Israel? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the LORD, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the LORD? And Saul said unto Samuel, Yea, I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and have gone the way which the LORD sent me, and have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. But the people took of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the chief of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God in Gilgal. And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

Samuel had previously told Saul that he would not the father of a dynasty of kings in Israel. However, this time, the Lord told Samuel to go and speak to Saul again. The Lord gave Saul a specific command but Saul didn’t do what the Lord had said. He didn’t kill Agag the king and the people brought the spoil back from the battle even though the Lord had told them not to bring spoil. Samuel asked Saul what he was doing and Saul said that he had obeyed the Lord, except that he had saved the king of the Amalekites. Samuel asked Saul why he could hear the sounds of sheep and cattle. Saul tried to deflect the blame for his sin and blamed the people for bringing back the animals for sacrifice.Samuel told Saul that the Lord required obedience and didn’t expect that His people would pick and choose which of His commands they would obey. This was the time that Lord took His support for Saul, as king, away. Even though Saul remained king for some years, he was truly just like the kings of the neighbouring nations and ruled without the Lord’s support in any way. The same is true today. There are people who say that they love the Lord and obey His commandment but they want to tell the Lord what His commandments are rather than listening to Him. So many people say things like, “I know the Lord wants me to be happy.” then to specifically go and do things that He has said we shouldn’t do.

Agag

(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)

Sinking Sand

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1 Samuel 15:1–9, “Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword. But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.”

When Israel first came out of Egypt, the Amalekites attacked them ant the proved to be among Israel’s fiercest foes. The Lord wanted Saul, now that he was the established king of Israel, to punish them for this attack. After all, they were related to Israel as Amalek was Esau’s grandson. Saul chose to disobey the Lord and kept their king alive so he proved to be a disobedient king as well as an arrogant king. He was also greedy for the spoil and took some spoil rather than utterly destroy the entire nation and everything they owned. This was the sin that Achan committed at Jericho when he took spoil that the Lord had said they should not take. This was to prove to be a costly mistake because on of Agag’s descendants tried to destroy all the Israel’s when Esther was queen in Persia.