Articles
Saul's Evil Spirit
Saul's Evil Spirit from the LORD
(1 Sam. 16:14–23).
Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. 1 Samuel 16:14
This passage often causes bible students to stop and wonder. I started to write an article about my thoughts on this when I reread my study notes and liked this quote by Wilbur Fields in his Old Testament History.
"How could the one great and good God send an “evil spirit”? The adjective evil in the Scriptures often refers to physical evils rather than to moral evils. A plague is evil (1 Sam. 6:9); a storm is evil (Jonah 1:8); poisonous herbs are evil (2 Kgs. 4:14); boils are evil (Job 2:7). Saul’s depression of mind (or whatever it might be called) certainly was an evil. God does not tempt people to do moral evils (James 1:13), but God does send physical evils of all types upon those who disobey His commands." [Hence the ESV: "Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him." Joyce Baldwin noted in his commentary: ‘evil’ should be read in the sense of ‘injurious’ here (so niv mg.). Hugh]
"God specifically warned in the law of Moses that if the people disobeyed His commandments, He would send upon them “confusion of mind” (Deut. 28:28). God specifically mentioned that their king could be punished (Deut. 28:36). King Saul received the punishment that God had forewarned would come."
Another writer penned: " The word “evil” in this context should not be understood in moral terms but rather as an indication of the misery, distress, and harm this spirit or mood will cause Saul. The “evil” (in this sense) that this condition brought to Saul came from God. In a different context Job recognized the hand of God behind the harm that came his way: “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” (Job 2:10). Unlike Job, however, Saul’s suffering was a consequence of his being rejected by God." (Preaching the Word, John Woodhouse)
While other writers take this as a 'demonic spirit', and their understanding of 'from the LORD' is taken to mean His permissive will, I prefer the above thoughts to guide me in thinking about this passage.
