“The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand”
– 1 Samuel 18:10
Hi James and Ellen,
Have you ever gotten bigheaded because you knew that you can do something better than another kid? Have you ever gotten green-eyed because you knew that another kid is liked by other kids more than they like you? Have you ever gotten so up in arms at another kid that you threw something at him or her? Do you always unreservedly accept, affirm and approve another kid even when you know that he or she is able do things better than you? Do you always completely accept, affirm and approve another kid even when you know that the kid is liked by other kids more than they like you? Do you always unconditionally accept, affirm and approve another kid even when the kid does everything that he or she can do to discredit, malign and hurt you? If you have ever gotten egotistical, envious or enraged, you have pulled being a Saul. If you are always enduring, encouraging and engaging, you are pulling being a David. Samuel – in 1 Samuel 18, recounts the relationship that unfolded over time between an anointed positioned king – who was Saul, and of an anointed, yet to be positioned king – who was David. Saul had David live in his palace after David salvaged Saul’s world as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals by using his sling to hurl a smooth stone squarely into the forehead of a towering, tormenting Philistine giant ending Goliath’s fighting career. One of Saul’s kids – Jonathan, made David feel welcome in his dad’s residence by befriending David. Jonathan gave David his robe, tunic and belt as well as his sword and bow. Because David did so well what Saul asked him to do when they fought together against the Philistine people group army, Saul gave David a ranking position in his army. David became a people favorite and a favorite among Saul’s military leaders. The rapport that David had with Saul deteriorated rapidly when a song was scribed and sung by dancing gals that praised David for having killed tens of thousands of enemy Philistine people group army guys while Saul was given credit for only having killed thousands of enemy Philistine people group army guys. It galled Saul that David was singled out in a chant that honored David and not him.
Do you trust other kids? Do other kids trust you? What leads to trust? What breaks trust? How do you relate to another kid if you have lost trust in him or her? How does another kid relate to you if you are the one who broke the trust relationship that you had with him or her. David did nothing to cause a break in the trust relationship that he had with Saul. A jealous spirit was able to break the trust affinity that Saul had towards David. The day after the jealous spirit took over Saul’s heart to foment bad feelings towards David, the jealous spirit got God’s help to do what verse 10 says, “The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand” This verse has troubled your grandpaa. Does this verse kind of scare you – that God would send an evil spirit forcefully on you if . . . who will cause you to do something that you would not do otherwise? Your grandpaa knows that Saul had been on a slippery slope towards self-destruction because of making unwise choices but . . . your grandpaa cannot help but wonder why God did not – through His sovereignty, divinely lead Saul instead to make wise choices. At the same time, your grandpaa knows that God’s choreographed planet Earth drama will never ever stop unfolding as every minute component are bit players in a bigger scene which is a bit scene in still a bigger scene which is a . . . in another words, your grandpaa can intellectually acquiesce to God doing what He did with Saul – when He sent an evil spirit to . . ., as Saul’s self-focused decisions are life lessons to be learned from, his perceived failures led to his God-driven demise and his insane jealousy led to David ending up being ultimately known as a man of God.
Instead of running away after Saul twice tried to pin him to a wall with his spear, David kept right on fighting for Saul. Instead of respecting David for hanging in there with him, Saul feared David even more because of how much the Israelite people group guys and gals liked David – thinking that David might force a coup that would have David replacing him as king over the Israelite people group guys and gals. Saul came up with a plan using marrying one of his gals as a way to get David to the front lines where . . . Saul had already given his oldest gal – Merab, to another guy to marry instead of to David – which he had promised that he would do for the guy who killed Goliath. When David and another one of Saul’s gals – Michal, fell in love, Saul decided to use their developing relationship to set up Philistine guys to kill David. When Saul’s plan backfired when David and his guys doubly fulfilled Saul’s marriage requirements for David to marry Michal, Saul feared David even more. Do you know a kid who the fear spirit is controlling? When your grandpaa was in Haiti for a couple of weeks this past March, your grandpaa sensed a real heaviness in the place. Voodoo worship – which is akin to spirit worship, has been a worship norm in Haiti for centuries. Self-absorbed guys have continually been replacing each other as Haiti’s kingpins. Haiti has had to have in recent years United Nation personnel in their country to keep guys from killing each other. When a God placed evil spirit begins to cause mayhem . . . the country of Haiti is an example of what happens when God is not revered.
1 Samuel 18 (1075)