I Samuel 16
Notes by Ivan Ho 25 July 2016
We need to know who is the one God has chosen.
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
I Samuel 16:7-13 NKJV
26 July 2016
1 Samuel 16
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
1 Samuel 16:13-15 KJV
In these few verses we see the decline of Saul and the rise of David, even though David did not officially become king of Israel until many years later. David was anointed by Samuel when he was about 17 and became king when he turned 30. Many people only focus on a person after he became a king but neglect all the years of God‘s calling and training before on that man. They only concentrate on the title but ignore all of God‘s dealings in forming the man. However, God‘s hand was upon David ever since his conception. David wasn‘t an after thought, nor God‘s back up plan triggered by the fall of Saul. The lineage of Jesus was to come from the house of David. God‘s plan has always been to look for someone after his own heart.
When Samuel identified David and anointed him with oil, the Spirit of God came upon him. This is likened to baptism of the Holy Spirit upon a person. The filling of the Holy Spirit isn‘t just an experience for David, but the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Something supernatural took place that day when the Spirit of God came upon him that fast tracked God‘s purpose for his life. The infilling of the Holy Spirit was for a kingdom purpose, not just to make a person feel good.
By contrast, when the Spirit of God came upon Saul, it was for temporary jobs needed at the time. In 1 Samuel 11:6, Spirit of God came upon Saul and stirred him up to fight the enemy. In Samuel 10:6 the Spirit of God came upon Saul and empowered him to prophesy. However, there was no mention of Saul being filled with the Holy Spirit when Samuel anointed him as king of Israel. While Saul‘s reign as king of Israel did not last, the kingdom under the rulership of David speaks prophetically of an everlasting kingdom to be established by Jesus the King of kings.
While the Spirit of God came upon David when he was anointed by Samuel to be king, God‘s Spirit departed from Saul at the same time. Saul had been given the great opportunity to govern a nation but he blew it big time due to his disobedience, rebellion and stubbornness. As a result of his ungodly ways, the kingdom of Israel was taken from his hands and given to David. Having said that, Saul continued as king for many more years to come even though God‘s Spirit and guidance was no longer with him. There are some pastors and political leaders who have once been anointed by God but their leadership has expired and they would continue to hold on to the position and title.
Not only did the Spirit of God depart from Saul, an evil spirit from God came to trouble him. There are various views on this. Some say the evil spirit was directly sent by God, others say the evil spirit was allowed by God to haunt Saul. Whatever the case may be, the Bible says that “rebellion is like withcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” so that evil spirit was really self inflicted by Saul‘s evil attitudes and disobedience to God. God could not be blamed for causing the evil spirit to distress Saul. When the Spirit of God departs from a person, it is inevitable that evil spirits will come in.
When someone is rebellious and stubborn in his ways, it opens the door for evil spirits to bring about all sorts of evil and circumstances towards that person who has departed from God‘s protection and covering. When a person disobeys God, he will be forgiven when he repents and changes his ungodly ways. But if the same person persists in his rebellious behaviours, he becomes stubborn and unrepentant, and in danger of God removing His grace upon him. Sadly, grace teachers and pastors teach people otherwise, erroneously saying that God‘s grace will “always” be with them regardless of how they conduct their life. The grace of God is not a license to sin. However, God‘s grace will never run out for those who would truly repent!
When the evil spirit came upon Saul, not only did he distress Saul as a way of God‘s judgement upon him, it also provided an opportunity for David to approach the palace. It gave David a once in a lifetime opportunity to minister to king Saul. So it makes sense that God would send an evil spirit to trouble Saul after all. God is not the author of evil, and “all things work for the good to them who love Him, to them who are called according to His purpose“. (Romans 8:28)
Notes 8 Aug 2013
People tend to think that if they have strong personality, if they can speak, if they are good looking and so forth, they qualify as leaders. From the world’s point of view, that might be the case.
Saul used to have the above attributes and he was anointed king by the prophet Samuel. But he disqualified himself by taking matters into his own hands and disobeyed God, because of the fact that he had a strong personality. He lost his position and carried on as king for many more years until he was killed, and David took over.
There are strong leaders who are running on their own steam and in their own strength and continue to assume leadership positions when God has already removed his hands from them, like He did with Saul.
God is looking for men and women after His own heart. These are the new breed of leaders rising up whom God will use.
Notes 27 July 2020
Saul’s moments of distress attracted the attention and manifestations of demons. The bible says God allowed spirits of depression to trouble Saul after the spirit of God has departed from him. Depression is, more often than not, a spiritual condition, attacking a person when he or she is most vulnerable. That’s why God tells us to guard our soul, especially against demonic attacks.
David ministered to Saul in his times of distress, but it was only temporary fix, because Saul’s internal configuration was never changed by Spirit presence. When the music stopped, Saul was the same person as before.
The Spirit of God can touch a person during ministry times but that alone won’t guarantee change. We need to be changed by the Word and the Spirit working together.
Notes 30 July 2020
On the day the Spirit of God came upon David, the Spirit of God departed from Saul. Saul maintained the position as the king of Israel whereas David was still a shepherd boy. Physically nothing seemed to have changed but spiritually there was a major shift.
We need to be aware of what God is doing in the here and now and stay in sync with His present moves. That doesn’t mean we just keep up to date with current affairs but to be always in step with what the Spirit of God is saying today.