Saul’s Slippery Slope (Part 9)
The downfall of King Saul is marked by pride, presumption, and foolish hastiness. Rather than trusting the will of God, he became reliant on himself and on others. He also treated the commands of God with flippancy and irreverence. Because of this, Saul was tormented with nightmares and faced an onslaught of depression. It is stated in 1 Samuel 16:14, “Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him” (ESV). This has been a point of much contention because some wonder how God could do this. The Bible reveals that God is not the author of temptation (James 1:13), nor is there any darkness in Him (1 John 1:5). So how do we make sense of such a statement?
We must realize that the departure of God's favor and presence meant Saul would undoubtedly experience anxiety and fear. Due to the hardness of his own heart, God's hand of peace was off his life. In defense of the question why evil exists—if there is a loving and all-powerful God—it was once stated: “Evil is simply the absence of God... God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat, or the darkness that comes when there is no light.” A man with a reprobate mind will inevitably experience maladies of the heart because he has walked away from the refuge of God's loving presence.
Also, it is worth noting that such a spirit was not simply “sent” but divinely permitted to torment Saul. The apostle Paul realized and rejoiced in the fact that even though Satan tried to viciously harass him, God was using such a struggle to stamp out self-pride and embolden trust in the grace of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 12). Perhaps such an evil spirit was permitted to attack Saul so that he would turn back to God and seek forgiveness. This was not the case. Saul kept hardening his heart, and upon the suggestion of his servants, he obtained a skilled musician to play for him when he was met with mental anguish. That musician's name was David (1 Samuel 16:14-23). Unbeknownst to Saul, David was chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. The young man who settled his mind with soothing music would one day sit on the throne of Israel with strength and wisdom.
One key takeaway from Saul’s example is that hardships should lead us to a path of reflection and surrender, not rebellion and stubbornness. Sadly, instead of cultivating a heart of personal repentance or steadfast reliance on the Almighty, we often allow the storms of life to carry us away from the wonderful presence of Christ. When you come to the crossroads of defiance or devotion, which path will you choose?
