Samuel and Saul

1 Samuel 16:1-5;14-23 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.” Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” He said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me.” One of the young men answered, “I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him.” So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David who is with the sheep.” Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul. And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

This is an important chapter, worthy of looking at in its entirety over a couple of days.  Here is the transition from Saul to David, with Samuel as the lynchpin.  Each man is worthy at looking at in this chapter.

First, Samuel.  This will be his last major act as God's servant: anointing David as king.  He probably thought he was done with that.  He'd made Saul king and had lived to see if become the disaster he predicted it would.  Now he's had to anoint another king in his place and is understandably a bit worried for his life.

Then Saul.  This chapter, as well as the previous one, have always been tough for me.  God has abandoned Saul because Saul did not obey, yet in this case, his disobedience to my eyes always seemed like mercy.  He did not kill the enemy king, Agag as God had commanded.  And now, as a result, an "evil spirit" from God is tormenting him.

I'm going to admit I've always had a hard time with that.  I've have rather come to the conclusion that that's OK.  It's OK to have a hard time sometimes with scripture.  And maybe what I've learned is that sometimes it takes a while for it to make at least a modicum of sense.  That's why the Bible is worth returning to over and over.  Some of it makes a bit more sense to me now - at least as to the why God is angry.

The modicum of sense I've made from it can be found in a line from chapter 15.  Saul has not killed the king as ordered, or any of the best of the livestock.  He had been ordered to lay waste to everything.  Instead, Saul killed "all that was despised and worthless" yet saved the king as well as the best of the animals for himself.  He kept what was of value and killed what wasn't.

And God had a problem with that.

It doesn't take much of a stretch to see that as a society, that still happens.  And I'm guessing God's still not happy with that.

As for the evil spirit, well, I don't have a pat scriptural answer for that other than to say that whether you call it an evil spirit or not, we still face the hauntings of our mind and heart and conscience when we have strayed from what we know God desires for us and of us.  

Lord have mercy on me, a sinner who strays and forgets.  Prick my heart and mind when I need it to remind me ever of your presence in my life and of the life you have called me to.  Amen.