1 Samuel 16:14

THE REMARKABLE PROLEPSIS OF EVENTS TO COME

"Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him, And Saul's servants said to him, "Behold now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our lord command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well." So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me a man who can play well, and bring him to me." One of the young men answered, "Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him." Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me David your son, who is with the sheep." And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a skin of wine and a kid, and sent them by David his son to Saul And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, Saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.." And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him."

"This paragraph is not intended as a detailed sequel to 1 Samuel 16:1-13. It is a panoramic picture of events to be detailed in the next few chapters."[11] Bible students should not be confused by this. This type of historical writing is found frequently in the Bible, especially in the Book of Revelation. Once this is understood by believers, the shouts of critics about `contradictions' `duplicate accounts,' etc. appear in their true character as absolutely unfounded. Philbeck's allegation that we have, "Two accounts of David's introduction to Saul,"[12] is due solely to a failure to appreciate the prolepsis.

"An evil spirit from the Lord tormented him" (1 Samuel 16:14). In no sense whatever is God the author of evil; but this verse reflects the prevailing Oriental viewpoint that `everything which happens is in harmony with God's permissive will.' In a sense, of course, this is true. One often hears the expression, "The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord"! Whatever happened to Saul, it was the will of God. It is also possible to view this verse as relating a punishment which Saul deserved and which God visited upon him.

The subject of demon possession is a vast one; and we have written many comments upon it in our N.T. series; and there are far too many unknown factors evident in human behavior today to support any intelligent denial that demon possession may still exist. One thing, however, is certain. Demonic forces may not afflict men without God's permission.

"And David came to Saul and entered his service" (1 Samuel 16:21). "This is a summary of developments that, "undoubtedly covered several weeks or months."[13] It is impossible to view this paragraph as a chronological arrangement of events in an orderly sequence. It was written to give a quick glance at what would take place in David's future. "O.T. authors not infrequently pursue a theme to its ultimate consequences, and then return to fill in the details";[14] and there is a lot of that in Samuel.