About a year and a half into my ministry in Quartzsite, AZ, I remember having an argument with my wife. I don’t remember about what, but I believe it was before one of our Friday night youth events. The reason I remember we had an argument, is because one of our youth leaders walked in and later told me it was like walking into a cloud. The tension was so thick that he could feel it. He knew something was wrong the moment he came into the room.
I’ve felt similar situations. Like when I walked onto the campus of Scholar’s Academy, Quartzsite’s old charter school, for the first time. It felt like walking into a darkness. There are those times and places where you can tangibly feel the uneasiness of a situation, and it feels like the turbulence of a plane taking off; it just rattles you.
It’s this idea of un-peaceful situations that brings us back to series in the book of First Samuel, where we’ll be picking it back up in chapter 16, verse 14. As we open up to First Samuel 16:14, lets refresh our minds with where we are in the passage.
We’re in the third section of the book of Samuel, with the first section focusing on how we are all called to abide in the holy will of God. Hannah and Samuel sought the will of God and were blessed because of it. However, Eli’s sons, and the nation of Israel as a whole ,did not seek God’s will and were judged because of it.
Section two then introduced us to the man whom God chose at the request of Israel for a human king. Saul had everything going for him, but his weaknesses were not dealt with, and because of that, he became unfaithful to God’s will in his life. This led to God taking his dynasty away from him. This showed us that God calls us to freely accept his will, and not rebel against him, because there are consequences for being outside the will of God.
It was then last week, where we began the third section of First Samuel, and looked at the calling and anointing of David. David is the one, that, if we have been reading through the biblical story, was introduced to us way back in the book of Ruth. He was the hope that came from Ruth’s obedience. From David’s anointing we saw two things: First, God calls us to look pass the outward appearance of people, and second, to eagerly follow God no matter where we find ourselves in our walk with him. We saw that eagerness in the experienced Samuel, and we saw that eagerness in the bright-eyed, just getting stared, David.
Now with the book of First Samuel fresh in our minds, let’s jump into First Samuel 16:14-23.
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the Lord is with him.”
19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 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. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor 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.
v.14 Our passage is a short one, and that’s because it’s the end of a bigger thought. We talked about how last week, David’s anointing and Saul’s madness were one larger thought that we separated so that we could focus on comparing David’s calling to be king against that of Saul’s.
However, last week’s passage and this week’s passage are connected by “the Spirit of the Lord” language that is used in verse 13, and then again in verse 14. The way in which the writer links these two moments of the Spirit’s movement is intended to be seen a simultaneous event. The Spirit rushes upon David, because it has left Saul.
However, as the Spirit of the Lord leaves Saul, another one takes its place. Now this is one of those passages that we tend to not like in our modern world, because it says that, “… a harmful spirit from the Lord ….” We tend to not like that because it seems in conflict with the idea of a loving God. We might hear responses like, “Well if God is loving, why would he send harm on anyone?”
The reality is, we have to have a solid understanding of the character of God, that there are free will agents in this world, and God’s sovereignty to work. First, the character of God is that he is holy, which means he is perfect and without sin. First John 3:9 states, “No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.” God’s seed means his holiness which does not engage in sin. So when we see that the Lord sent a spirit to harm Saul, this isn’t a sinful act, but has intention behind it; which will see.
Secondly, free will agents are all those that God has created to exert free will to either follow or rebel against him. Psalm 58:2 states, “No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.” It is because of this free will that a person can sin, because they chose to engage in it. This is separate from the holiness of God, who does not commit sin. So the sin is going to be on our part, and not God’s. This is important for the reason for the spirit of harm.
Finally, God is sovereign in his work, meaning he can allow things to happen or hold them back. In the situation in the Gospel of John chapter 9, verse 3, where the disciples questioned Jesus about a man’s blindness, whether it was due to his sin or his parent’s sin, Jesus responds with, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” God is working with a larger picture of purpose that only he sees. So what God does is in accordance with a greater view of not only the current situation, but the consequences of that situation throughout rest of time.
Through all three, God works out his plans and brings about salvation for humanity.
Due to God’s holiness, free will, and his sovereignty, God uses harmful spirits, to bring about two things: judgment and to strength his people. Judgement we can see in places like First Corinthians 5:1-7, where a man sleeping with his father’s wife was turned over to Satan for judgment. A similar turning over situation is also seen in First Timothy 1:18-20.
For the strengthening of his people, we can see this in the life of Job (1:1—2:6), Jesus life in his three temptations (Matt. 4:1-11), and Paul’s life in Second Corinthians (12:7-10).
In the case of Saul, God has a double purpose: the first purpose is to bring judgment on Saul. Saul had broken many commands of God which he was to know by heart. This has led the people of Israel astray, as they are following Saul and not God.
Secondly, it is to bring David into the circle of leadership within Israel. It is a divine work that brings the smallest of seven sons, who tends the family’s sheep, into the workings of the royal court. Much like it was the divine work of God to bring Jospeh to Pharaoh’s attention, or in the future to bring Daniel to Babylon’s king; it is again God’s work to bring David to Saul. We can see this purpose play out in that it one of Saul’s servants who mention a boy named David who plays beautiful music.
v.15-16: So God brings David in through his musical ability. As many of us know, music can illicit emotional responses. Whether positive or negative, music can soothe the savage beast, or can inspire people to action. David has this gift, which he utilizes to help Saul, and the Holy Spirit uses to write prophetic songs in the book of Psalms.
This also shows us that it isn’t David’s military ability that gets him into Saul’s court. That military ability is there, but just like David didn’t have the look of a king when Samuel first saw him, he did have a passion for the Lord. This passion comes out through his music. David doesn’t force himself into the king’s circle; he does’t win a battle to be noticed by the king, it all stems from his dedication to the Lord through the musical gifts he has been given. David’s desire is for the Lord and not for the throne.
v.19-23: David’s character shows through his servant attitude towards the king. David doesn’t go into Saul’s chamber with an entitlement for the crown. He goes into the king’s chamber to serve the king out of a madness that he is being tormented with. Which goes to show that even though Saul is under judgment, God is still showing grace to him. Its also reveals that when the people of God are doing the work of God, peace should follow. It’s no wonder that, in describing the Armor of God that every disciple is to put on daily, Paul says of the sandals that carry the armor bear, “and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. (Eph. 6:15)” Jesus’ disciples should be carrying peace with them wherever they go, because the Gospel by which they are saved, is rooted in God’s peace.
It is here that the passage closes with the harmful spirit departing Saul. Though he is no longer king, and though he no longer has the Spirit of the Lord resting on him, Saul is given reprieve from these spiritual attacks, because he has David with him. And that spiritual peace that comes from David’s passion for the Lord, extends outward as grace towards Saul.
And it is here that we can walk away with this truth for our own lives: God is calling us to be a people of peace. Peace in our spiritual lives, because we are connected to God, and bearers of his peace to the world around us.
Jesus states in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” That peace comes from the word of God and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. That means that if you are a disciple of Jesus, you have access to the peace of Jesus at all times, because you should be studying his word and practicing it, and you have been given the Holy Spirit as a downpayment to eternal life (Eph. 1:14).
Secondly, we are to be peace bearers to the world around us. Jesus spoke of being blessed as a peace maker in the Gospel of Matthew 5:9. Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 4, “… aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one (v. 11-12). The word quietly means to “hold peace” in one’s life.
Believer’s should be living peaceful lives, because though the world around us may be in chaos, we can trust in the Lord to bring about resolution because he is working out his plans to bring about the restoration of all things. In leaning on God’s peace, we also show that God is working in us to the people around us. Being a peace bearer is a practical testimony to God’s presence in our lives that calls others to his peace.
A couple of years or so after my wife and I moved here and took on the youth ministry position, we were invited by the town manager to come to a meeting at the fire department to talk with other people about youth in town. There, without our knowledge, the town manger introduced us to the group and told them, “We want to thank the Alliance Church’s teen group. Since the Alliance Church has had their group, the teen crime rate is almost non-existent.” That is not a compliment to me and Marika, that is a compliment to the work that this congregation does in the lives of the youth of our town. It is a compliment to the peace that happens when God’s people live among the outside world, and work to bring the Gospel to them. God calls his people to peace, which quells spirits and saves souls.
My challenge for you this week, is that as you leave, there will be sandals in a box on you way out. Grab a pair and either wear them or hang them, but either way remember that wherever you go, you are to go with God’s peace for yourself and for the people around you.
Let us be a peace carrying people, that the world would know Jesus, the Prince of Peace and turn to him. Amen.
