The Torment of God: 1 Samuel 19:8-10

God cannot give us free will without also giving us the opportunity to experience the consequences of our choices.  To have free will implies we must deal with our mistakes.  This does not mean God desires us to make mistakes, but He does let our mistakes impact our life.

It’s time to address this harmful spirit coming upon Saul.  The Bible, depending on the translation, includes a statement that the spirit was from the Lord.  This description requires conversation.

The most direct interpretation is the spirit came at God’s direction.  This is the most precarious interpretation of this phrase, although just because it is precarious doesn’t mean it is incorrect.  Taking this position brings us to the precipice of understanding God as someone who intentionally sends evil into the lives of people.

Take a deep breath and digest the previous sentence.  It is easy to hear this idea and dismiss it out of hand.  God does not intend evil for any of us, right?  God is the author of hope and love and forgiveness, how could He send a spirit of torment to Saul?

Let’s change perspective for a second.  God sent David out to kill Philistines.  The Philistines who were slain probably considered their death a reasonably bad circumstance in their life.  Yet, God sent David out to slay them.  When God sends someone out to kill Philistines, isn’t God bringing a bad circumstance into their life?

Naturally, we talk about the rebellion of the Philistines.  They worshipped their own gods, and in doing so reject God.  They followed gods of their own making rather than living according to God’s calling.  If they rejected God, then why shouldn’t they be subject to God’s wrath and His judgment?

We return to Saul.  Saul also rejected God.  When Saul chose to keep the best of the Amalekites, Saul chose the things of this world over and above the calling of God.  God wanted them destroyed; Saul chose to keep it.  Saul rejected God.

If Saul rejected God, is he really any different than the Philistines?  Isn’t Saul following a god of his own making and an ethical code created by his current emotional state?  If Saul is living in a state of rejecting God, why shouldn’t he be subject to God’s judgment?

In judgment, God removed His Spirit from Saul.  Doing so left a vacancy for other spirits to inhabit.  God is aware of the vulnerability of Saul when Saul abandoned Him and He took His Spirit away.  Saul is vulnerable by his own choosing.

God allows Saul to reap the consequences of abandoning Him.  God did not force a tormenting spirit upon Saul, but God is fully aware of how Saul’s choices affect him.  God is willing to let Saul lie in the bed of his own making.  This is the downside of free will.  God cannot give us free will without also giving us the opportunity to experience the consequences of our choices.