Verse 21, "David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David become one of his armor-bearers."
How quickly life can change. In one moment Samuel is mourning the demise of Saul. In the next moment he is being moved into the role of anointing the next leader of Israel. David is standing in the meadow watching over his father's sheep and then he is ushered into the presence of God's prophet and has oil poured over his head and his anointed the new king. Then he turns around and is invited to be a servant to Saul in order to ease his pain. You can't make this stuff up!
What allows all of this to happen is character. Poor character on Saul's part and godly character on David's. God tells Samuel it is the heart that matters not the looks. David is immediately put to the test with this invitation to be in the service of Saul. David knows what has happened to him and he knows it is from God. Yet, David goes to Saul and serves him well. How many of us today would be willing to do that?
I must remember that no matter what the assignment from God I must do it with the greatest amount of integrity as possible. There is nothing I should be doing poorly. I certainly shouldn't be doing everything, but what I do I must do with excellence. Saul was pleased with David. People aren't pleased with lazy, sloppy, late work. When I serve, I not only am serving the person before me, I am serving God.
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil [b] spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
Though God is not the source of wickedness, He often uses the wicked to perform His own purpose. Psalm 76:10 states, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." Here we learn that God will take man's wrath toward Him and turn it into praise. That wrath which is not to be turned into God's praise will be restrained
So, what about the sending of evil spirits by the Lord? This may be more common in scripture than you think. In Psalm 78:49, God judged Israel "by sending evil angels among them." In Judges 9:23, "God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem." In 1 Kings 22:22, God sent a "lying spirit" in the mouth of the false prophets to send Ahab to his death. In the passage in question (1 Samuel 16:14-15), God removed His Spirit from the disobedient Saul. This opened the door for an evil spirit to come and torment Saul. Though in this passage, it is only the servants of Saul that said the evil spirit was from the Lord, in other passages (1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Samuel 19:9), the text states that the evil spirit came from the Lord.
What we see in these passages follows a pattern. When God removes His protective hand, he often turns the person over to Satan for destruction or to an evil spirit for torment. The devil and the evil spirits do the work, but God has allowed them to do what come natural to them for His own purpose. I know that some will have trouble with this concept, but it is thoroughly established in scripture. God does not commit wickedness, but He uses the wicked for His purpose. In the end, God will have His glory. How much better it is for us to submit to Him and obey Him willingly.
To sum it up... God allows satan to attack us knowing that it will strengthen our strength and knowledge and bring Glory to God. When they played the harp, they were refocusing on God, just like when we sing hymns, or read proverbs or psalms. We need to focus off the evil and onto God.
Next time satan knocks you to your knees, remember first, Pray and put on the armour of God. Praise God no matter what the circumstance, God is in control !!! Then sing out praises to GOD and refocus on HIM !!! When you do that you give the problem to God and your load becomes lighter, and easier to bear because Christ can do all things !!!
Charter Oak Church is a family of Jesus followers who want to reach out to those who are searching and equip believers to become fully devoted followers of Jesus.
Verse 21, "David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David become one of his armor-bearers."
ReplyDeleteHow quickly life can change. In one moment Samuel is mourning the demise of Saul. In the next moment he is being moved into the role of anointing the next leader of Israel. David is standing in the meadow watching over his father's sheep and then he is ushered into the presence of God's prophet and has oil poured over his head and his anointed the new king. Then he turns around and is invited to be a servant to Saul in order to ease his pain. You can't make this stuff up!
What allows all of this to happen is character. Poor character on Saul's part and godly character on David's. God tells Samuel it is the heart that matters not the looks. David is immediately put to the test with this invitation to be in the service of Saul. David knows what has happened to him and he knows it is from God. Yet, David goes to Saul and serves him well. How many of us today would be willing to do that?
I must remember that no matter what the assignment from God I must do it with the greatest amount of integrity as possible. There is nothing I should be doing poorly. I certainly shouldn't be doing everything, but what I do I must do with excellence. Saul was pleased with David. People aren't pleased with lazy, sloppy, late work. When I serve, I not only am serving the person before me, I am serving God.
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil [b] spirit from the LORD tormented him.
ReplyDelete15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."
Though God is not the source of wickedness, He often uses the wicked to perform His own purpose. Psalm 76:10 states, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." Here we learn that God will take man's wrath toward Him and turn it into praise. That wrath which is not to be turned into God's praise will be restrained
So, what about the sending of evil spirits by the Lord? This may be more common in scripture than you think. In Psalm 78:49, God judged Israel "by sending evil angels among them." In Judges 9:23, "God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem." In 1 Kings 22:22, God sent a "lying spirit" in the mouth of the false prophets to send Ahab to his death. In the passage in question (1 Samuel 16:14-15), God removed His Spirit from the disobedient Saul. This opened the door for an evil spirit to come and torment Saul. Though in this passage, it is only the servants of Saul that said the evil spirit was from the Lord, in other passages (1 Samuel 18:10; 1 Samuel 19:9), the text states that the evil spirit came from the Lord.
What we see in these passages follows a pattern. When God removes His protective hand, he often turns the person over to Satan for destruction or to an evil spirit for torment. The devil and the evil spirits do the work, but God has allowed them to do what come natural to them for His own purpose. I know that some will have trouble with this concept, but it is thoroughly established in scripture. God does not commit wickedness, but He uses the wicked for His purpose. In the end, God will have His glory. How much better it is for us to submit to Him and obey Him willingly.
To sum it up... God allows satan to attack us knowing that it will strengthen our strength and knowledge and bring Glory to God. When they played the harp, they were refocusing on God, just like when we sing hymns, or read proverbs or psalms. We need to focus off the evil and onto God.
Next time satan knocks you to your knees, remember first, Pray and put on the armour of God. Praise God no matter what the circumstance, God is in control !!! Then sing out praises to GOD and refocus on HIM !!! When you do that you give the problem to God and your load becomes lighter, and easier to bear because Christ can do all things !!!