Commentary - 1 Samuel 16:14-23

Bird's-eye view

This passage details the immediate aftermath of God's Spirit departing from Saul and anointing David. It is a masterful display of God's meticulous providence, where the consequences of Saul's sin create the very circumstances for David's rise. The rejected king is tormented by an evil spirit sent from the Lord, and the only remedy is a musician. And who happens to be the best musician around? The newly anointed king, David. God orchestrates events so that Saul himself, in his misery, summons his own replacement into the heart of the royal court. David arrives not as a rival, but as a servant and a soothing presence. Saul's affliction becomes the stage for David's introduction to royal life, where he will learn the ways of the court and prove his character. This is a story of transitions, where the house of Saul begins its public, spiritual decay, and the house of David begins its quiet, providential ascent.

The central theological point is the absolute sovereignty of God. The Spirit's departure from Saul is a divine act. The evil spirit's arrival is a divine act; it is "from Yahweh." God is not a passive observer of Saul's downfall; He is the active agent of it. This is covenantal judgment. And in the midst of this judgment, God's saving purpose moves forward, seamlessly and ironically, as the tormented king comes to love the very man who will take his throne. The temporary relief David's music provides is a shadow of the ultimate relief that the Son of David, Jesus Christ, would bring to a world tormented by sin and evil.

Outline

Context In 1 Samuel

This passage is the hinge between the anointing of David and his public debut as Israel's champion. In the preceding verses (1 Sam 16:1-13), Samuel, at God's command, has secretly anointed David, the youngest son of Jesse, as the next king. The Spirit of Yahweh rushed upon David from that day forward. Our current text begins with the corollary of that event: as the Spirit comes upon David, the Spirit departs from Saul. This is the spiritual transfer of power made manifest. Saul's rejection by God, announced in chapter 15 for his disobedience, now begins to bear its bitter fruit. This episode serves as the providential mechanism to bring David from the sheep fields of Bethlehem into the royal court at Gibeah. It sets the stage for David's encounter with Goliath in the next chapter and explains how a lowly shepherd boy had access to the king's camp and was known to the king. It is the beginning of the long and fraught relationship between the declining king and the rising one.

Key Issues

God's Terrible Providence

Modern Christians can get squeamish when the Bible speaks plainly. The text says an evil spirit "from Yahweh" terrorized Saul. Our temptation is to soften this, to create theological distance between God and the evil spirit. We want to say that God merely "allowed" it, as though He were a bystander. But the text is blunt. God sent the spirit. This is not to say that God is the author of evil, but it is to say that God is the sovereign ruler over evil. He is the one who gives the orders. He can send a lying spirit into the mouths of false prophets (1 Kings 22:23) and He can send a tormenting spirit to execute His judgment upon a rebellious king.

This is a terrifying thought, but it is also a comforting one. If God is not sovereign over the demonic, then we are in a universe with two competing powers, a dualism where the outcome is uncertain. But the Bible presents a world where all authorities, including Satan and his minions, are on a leash. They can do nothing apart from the permission and decree of God. Here, the evil spirit is an instrument of divine justice, a rod of chastisement. Saul has rejected God's word, so God hands him over to a spiritual torment that reflects the turmoil of his own rebellious heart. This is God's terrible providence, where He uses even the instruments of darkness to accomplish His good and righteous purposes.

Verse by Verse Commentary

14 Now the Spirit of Yahweh departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from Yahweh terrorized him.

This verse describes a great spiritual exchange. The same Spirit that rushed upon David in verse 13 now departs from Saul. This was the Spirit of God that had empowered Saul for his office as king. With the Spirit's departure goes Saul's anointing, his authority, and his spiritual stability. Nature abhors a vacuum, and so does the spiritual world. The house, now empty, swept, and put in order, is immediately occupied. An evil spirit comes to fill the void, and the text is explicit about its origin: it is from Yahweh. God is judging Saul by handing him over to this torment. The king who was supposed to bring peace and order to Israel is now a man of internal chaos and terror.

15-16 Saul’s servants then said to him, “Behold now, an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. Let our lord now speak to your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful musician on the harp; and it shall be that when the evil spirit from God is on you, he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well.”

Saul's servants are surprisingly astute in their diagnosis. They recognize the supernatural source of the problem, correctly identifying it as an "evil spirit from God." But their proposed solution is purely therapeutic. They don't suggest a prophet be called. They don't suggest repentance, fasting, or prayer. They suggest music. They want to treat the symptom of Saul's torment, not the root cause of his sin. They are looking for a way to manage God's judgment rather than submit to it. This is the essence of a worldly mindset. It sees a spiritual problem and proposes a secular, or at best, a quasi-spiritual solution that stops short of the repentance God requires.

17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.”

Saul, in his desperation, agrees. He is not seeking God; he is seeking relief. His command is for a man who can "play well." He is looking for technical skill, for a competent therapist. He has no idea that in seeking a skilled musician, he is actually asking for God's anointed king to be brought into his presence. God's providence is at work, using Saul's own selfish desire for comfort to advance His redemptive plan.

18 Then one of the young men answered and said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one who is understanding in speech, and man of fine form; and Yahweh is with him.”

One of the servants just happens to know the perfect candidate. And what a resume he provides. This is a description of an ideal king, a true Renaissance man of the ancient world. He is not just a musician. He is a man of courage (mighty man of valor), a proven fighter (a warrior), articulate and wise (understanding in speech), and has a commanding presence (man of fine form). But the last qualification is the one that undergirds all the others: and Yahweh is with him. This is the stark contrast to Saul, from whom Yahweh has departed. The servant may not have understood the full import of his words, but he was speaking prophetically. God had prepared David in every way for the task ahead.

19-20 So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me your son David who is with the flock.” And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a wineskin of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son.

The summons is sent. The king who will one day hunt David through the wilderness is the very one who calls him out of it. David is still "with the flock," faithful in his humble duties. Jesse complies with the royal command, sending along a customary gift of honor. The shepherd is on his way to the palace, not by his own ambition, but by the call of the king, which is itself being orchestrated by the King of kings.

21 Then David came to Saul and stood before him; and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

The meeting is a success. Saul is immediately taken with David. The text says he "loved him greatly." This is a staggering piece of dramatic irony. The man Saul will come to hate with a murderous passion, he now loves. This initial affection is part of God's plan, giving David a place of trust and honor right at the king's side. The position of armor bearer was one of great intimacy and responsibility. The armor bearer was a trusted bodyguard and aide. God places David in the perfect position to learn the ways of the military and the court.

22 So Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David now stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.”

The temporary arrangement is made permanent. Saul formally requests that David leave his father's service and enter his. The reason given is that David has "found favor" in Saul's sight. But the deeper truth is that David has found favor in God's sight, and Saul is simply the unwitting instrument of God's favor toward David.

23 Thus it happened that whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take the harp and play it with his hand; and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

The therapy works. The beautiful, Spirit-anointed music of David brings a measure of peace to Saul's tormented soul. When David plays, Saul is "refreshed and well," and the evil spirit would "depart." This demonstrates the power of God-given beauty to push back the darkness. However, this is a temporary solution. The music soothes the savage breast, but it cannot heal the rebellious heart. The spirit departs, but it is not cast out for good. It will return, and Saul's jealousy and hatred will eventually overpower the soothing effects of David's harp. This is a picture of common grace, a temporary mercy that does not change the final trajectory of a man committed to his sin.

Application

First, we must have a robust and biblical doctrine of God's sovereignty. Our God is not a nervous deity, wringing his hands over the state of the world. He is the one who sets up kings and brings them down. He is the one who sends His Spirit, and He is the one who sends tormenting spirits as instruments of His justice. We must not flinch from this. Our comfort is not in a God who is limited, but in a God who is so powerful and wise that He can weave the rebellious actions of men and the malicious intent of demons into the beautiful tapestry of His sovereign plan.

Second, we see the pattern of God preparing His servants. David was not idle while waiting for the kingdom. He was learning to fight lions and bears, he was practicing his harp, and most of all, he was walking with God. The essential qualification for any service in God's kingdom is that last line of David's resume: "and Yahweh is with him." Faithfulness in the small, unseen things is God's training ground for faithfulness in the large, public things.

Finally, we must see David as a type of Christ. David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, brought temporary relief to Saul through his music. He could make the evil spirit depart for a season. But Jesus, the Son of David, does not bring temporary relief; He brings total deliverance. He does not merely cause the evil spirit to depart; He crushes the serpent's head. When Christ by His Spirit takes up residence in a person's heart, the evil one is not just sent away, he is defeated and dispossessed. The peace Christ gives is not the fragile, temporary refreshment that Saul experienced, but a deep, abiding peace that the world cannot give and cannot take away.