Day 1121: The Lord is with him - 1 Samuel 16 vs 14 - 23

14-16 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skilful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17-18 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilful in playing, a man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”

19-22 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armour bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favour in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. 1 Samuel 16:14-23 English Standard Version

The spiritual battle the apostle Paul speaks of is not a new thing. He wrote: “We don't wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) And so we see Saul being afflicted by an evil spirit after the Holy Spirit had left him. And the evil spirit was given permission by God to do so.

There's a similar event when King Ahab was looking for guidance whether to attack Syria or not. Micaiah, a faithful prophet said: “I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on His right hand and on His left; and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And He said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’” (1 Kings 22:19-22) Oh how fearful it is to disobey God's word. How we need to see that we are in a daily spiritual battle.

What does this chapter say about one way the battle can be fought?

In vs 23 we read: “And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him.” Whether it was just the soothing music, or that David sang one of the Psalms he became well known for, we're not told. But it does add something to the armour Paul told Christians to put on to withstand the Devil's flaming arrows. (Ephesians 6:10-20) Colossians 3:16 says: “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” If David's playing drove an evil spirit from Saul, I'm persuaded that singing God's praise will strengthen believers to stand firm too.

And so we read that David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armour bearer. The next chapter suggests that David may’ve moved between Saul's dwelling and his father's sheepfold. But for now we can note how it's possible for someone afflicted by an evil spirit, to yet love a person who God was with! To keep company with those who love God is no guarantee that all is well with our own soul, nor listening to Christian music. How we need to seek a close personal walk with Christ, and to make sure that we are truly on the Lord's side, and that He is with us.