1 Samuel 16:14-23 | Food for Thought
1 Samuel 16:14-23
Food for Thought:
The Opposition of God. This passage begins as a foil to where our last one ended. Where the Holy Spirit rushed upon a young, newly-anointed David, the Holy Spirit departed from King Saul. In its place, a spirit from the Lord (not of the Lord) begin tormenting Saul. Based on its affects on Saul later in 1 Samuel, it seems to come and go with the effect of paranoia, anger, and fear. While these may have been present in Saul in much more subdued ways (you can point to his past behavior for some evidence), these things have become so pronounced that his servants’ explanation is that it’s spiritual in nature.
How does it make you feel / what does it make you think that the Lord could send a spirit to torment someone? Does this make God evil? What’s your gut reaction to things like this, and how do you process in more depth?
Consider Saul. How could his relationship with the Lord (and his people!) help make sense of this? Who opposed who first: God or Saul? In fact, is there any sense in which this kind of spiritual attack on Saul was warranted?
Consider the bigger picture. What’s God trying to make happen with Saul and David? How might this play a part in bringing down King Saul, so that King David might rise? Is this a good thing in the end?
To come back to this one part of the story, what do we learn about our need to be shown our own opposition to the Lord at time? Why are we blind to it? From this text, what are some ways we can be ready to receive it?
Why is it actually a good thing for us to see where God is opposing us - or, to put it another way, where we’re opposing God?
The Provision of God. Despite his clear opposition to Saul, God still provides him servants that help him find relief - and he provides him with the relief itself! David, empower by the Spirit, has what Saul needs to get the harmful spirit to go away and find refreshment. On top of that, Saul brings his many other talents and characteristics, as well as gifts from his father.
Have you ever asked the Lord for help, and received something more - or different! - than you asked? Tell us about it!
How is what Saul received different from what Saul was looking for? Was it better or worse? How is this a picture of God’s grace and provision?
How is God using the harmful spirit he sent to bring his Holy Spirit-filled future king into the throne room? In what way is this whole situation working for the good of his people?
Saul loves David and ends up wanting to keep him in his court. However, we know that later, Saul ends up hating David to the point of trying to kill him. What does this tell us about Saul’s “love” for the help that God provided? How is it a sober warning to those of us who “love” what God has done for us?
What assurance do we find in the gospel that might tame our fears or questions stoked by this particular passage? (The satisfaction of the atonement for all sin, past, present, and future; the guarantee of the Holy Spirit indwelling us; the future end of all evil, sin, suffering; etc.)