1 Samuel 19:8-10 – Staying in God’s faithful plan

The last we note, Jonathan was able to broker a peace deal for David with his father, Saul. David was brought before his father and they had cordial relationships for a duration. Then the war with the Philistines ensued again. David went out and fought, defeated and slaughtered a great number of them. The Philistines were said to flee before him. Here David was at what he knew best, defeating, destroying and trouncing the Philistines.

We are not told how long before Saul acted up again. Hence, it did not come as a surprise that David’s victory over the Philistines would trigger his anger again. Saul had never been able to accept David’s popularity among his populace. He had since been jealous and angry about how the people honored David. Verse 9 tells us that Saul’s old problem emerged. The evil spirit that was said to afflict him twice before manifested itself again. This would be the third occasion that this had happened. It occurred while “…he was sitting in his house with his spear in his hand, and David was playing the harp with his hand.” Seized by the evil spirit, and with the spear in his hand, Saul hurled it at David, but it missed him. So the young hero took flight that night.    

The evil spirit that afflicted Saul was said to have come from the Lord. This upset our theology a bit. We always thought that God had no evil spirit to dispense to his people. Then why are we told that the evil spirit that came upon Saul came from the Lord?  We can look at the situation this way. The invasion of the evil spirit upon Saul was a result of his own stubborn resistance to the will of God. He had willfully refused to yield to the desire of God, thus breaking the protective hedge that he had enjoyed. In so doing he had opened himself for the consequence that would follow. Paul in Roman 1:28-29 put it this way for those who refused to acknowledge God and His will. These two verses said, “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice….” This was what the rejected king had become due to his stubborn refusal to acknowledge God’s will. It is a harmful thing to resist the will of God. Perhaps that’s why Paul said in Ephesians 5:15-17, “…be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

It’s important that we recognize the season of God in our life. Saul became the person he was because of his refusal to acknowledge God’s season for his life. He resisted it, thus opening himself to negative and harmful thoughts and attitude. He became so jealous and angry that he connived and planned, not realizing that he was sabotaging God’s will. This must not happen to us. We must learn to yield to God. He will never short-change us. When one season of life is over, a better one is emerging, if we are walking right with Him. He can be trusted. Yes, He is trustworthy. Praise his name!