THE VERY RELATABLE LIFE OF KING DAVID
Providence Leads the Way
1 Samuel 16:14-23
#kingdavid
INTRODUCTION
As we begin today, I would like to start by reading the passage we will be digging into in ‘The Very Relatable Life of King David.’ We are at the beginning of David’s life presented in the Scriptures and we are getting to know him. There is an issue, though, in this passage that we have to address before we get too far along because it can be distracting. We will be reading in 1 Samuel 16 and verses 14-15 present to us a phrase that makes us uncomfortable and might even make us doubt God.
There are verses in the Bible that make us uncomfortable. This is one of those passages. There are some verses in the Bible that are mysterious and hard to understand. This is one of those passages. I want us to read the passage, but do not get distracted in the first couple of verses because we will talk about them right away.
READ 1 SAMUEL 16:14-23 (ESV)
14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 17 So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.” 18 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.” 19 Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, “Send me David your son, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey laden with bread and a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them by David his son to Saul. 21 And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And whenever the harmful 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 harmful spirit departed from him.
‘THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM’
Let’s start with the ‘elephant in the room.’ To be honest, this is not the only passage like this in the Bible (see Judges 9:23). We have in verses 14-15 a phrase that says, “a harmful spirit from the Lord” was on Saul. That is a phrase that makes us uncomfortable and is a bit of a mystery. You have heard me say in the past that God is only good. He is only holy. God is righteous and perfect in all He does. If that is true, how can God send harmful or evil spirits? That makes God not good. That makes God not holy or righteous or perfect. Perhaps I am lying or somehow unaware of this passage in 1 Samuel 16 and the others like it? In addition, we have passages like James 1:13-15 which clearly states God does not tempt or send evil on people.
READ JAMES 1:13-15 (ESV)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and He himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Are we talking about two different gods here? Did God somehow change from the Old Testament to the New Testament? Did James not read 1 Samuel at all? What is going on with this “harmful spirit from the Lord?”
1 Samuel 16, and chapters 18 and 19, present King Saul as being afflicted by this evil spirit. We understand that the evil spirit was “from” the Lord in that it was allowed by God to harass Saul. God is sovereign over all things in this universe and nothing happens without His knowledge. Yes, God did allow it. So, in that sense, it is from Him… because He allowed it. We see the same truth presented in Job 1-2. The Truth is that God is completely and utterly in charge, but He also allows free will for all created beings which invites evil into His creation.
This tormenting spirit is part of God’s judgment on King Saul for his sinful and willful disobedience. We began our study of David’s life last week and I chose not to dig too much into Saul who was king before him (1 Samuel 1-15). King Saul disobeyed God in 1 Samuel 13 and again in chapter 15 in significant ways and God judged him. God is allowed to do that. God is The Judge. God took His Spirit from Saul and as a result, allowed a troubling spirit to harass him. Before this time, the Spirit of God had protected Saul, but now the Holy Spirit was taken away. In the Holy Spirit’s absence, God allowed a harmful spirit to torment Saul. The hedge of protection was gone.
So, we have at the beginning of this passage a phrase that we are uncomfortable with because it flies in the face of a simple and elementary understanding of God. Yes! God is good. Yes! God is righteous. Yes! God is also beyond us and He is also completely sovereign and The Judge of all things. We do not have a contradiction here or two different gods presented or God changing between the Testaments or a pastor forgetting something, but a deeper understanding of God’s sovereignty and what He allows in His creation.
TRANSITION
I apologize to you if you weren’t confused by those verses and now you are or you were confused by those verses and you are still confused. Issues like this are not solved in a sermon setting and are more for Bible Study discussions. I’d love to chat with you this next week to talk more on this subject. I also added a few verses in the sermon notes to read over if you like.
[For further personal study: Ezekiel 18:23-32, Judges 9:23, Luke 22:31, Romans 2:5-11, Hebrews 12:10]
What we have in 1 Samuel 16 is a Sovereign God in charge of all things weaving His will in the life of King David. We will see in this passage that God is working all things “for good for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). David is called to His purpose. There is a church-y word for this which we will hit later: providence. Let’s dig deeper into Saul a little bit, David a little bit, and then see how God was leading the way the whole time through His providence.
SAUL’S SUFFERING (VERSES 14-17)
We find in this passage that King Saul was suffering because of his disobedience to the Lord. That suffering took the form of an evil spirit that was tormenting him. The Hebrew word in verse 15 means “to terrify” or “to overwhelm” or “to be greatly troubled.” I imagine Saul was having nightmares, feeling depressed, and feeling anxiety about ruling God’s people. His anger was also overwhelming him. I imagine he felt fear in new and unsettling ways.
The people around Saul saw what was happening and decided that they needed to help the king. They decided that music would soothe his soul. His emotions were being attacked and they sought relief in music.
Why music?
ILLUSTRATION… sermonillustrations.com/a-z/m/music.htm
Johann Sabastian Bach said, "All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul's refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub."
ILLUSTRATION… sermonillustrations.com/a-z/m/music.htm
Martin Luther said, "The devil takes flight at the sound of music, just as he does at the words of theology, and for this reason, the prophets always combined theology and music, the teaching of truth and the chanting of Psalms and hymns. After theology, I give the highest place and greatest honor to music.”
Why music? Music is creatively powerful. Music connects mind and spirit. Music can connect us to the spiritual world. This Truth about music is why we have music every Sunday in worship. Music is part of connecting our spirit with God’s Spirit. Music is not a side thing or an option in church services, but central in how we connect spiritually to God in Christianity. This Truth is why those that lead us in worship are doing a very spiritual thing and should be thanked and honored regularly.
In the Bible, we are introduced to instruments in Genesis 4:22 and throughout the Bible in Judges and 1 and 2 Samuel and Nehemiah music is associated with worshipping God and praising Him. The Book of Psalms is 150 different worship songs. Isaiah (38:20) ties music to celebrating salvation. Habakkuk 3 is a powerful song meant to be played by a rock band (yes, it is).
The Bible presents music as important. The servants of Saul knew this and sought out a skilled musician to help Saul fight back the torments that came upon him. Verse 23 tells is that this was a successful plan. Saul would be afflicted and the penetrating spiritual music would drive away the torment for a while.
APPLICATION
May I suggest, by way of a side note or a side application, that it matters what kind of music you listen to. It matters what lyrics are carried by the notes down into your soul. It mattered for Saul. It matters for me. It matters for you. It matters on a terrible no good very bad day what music you turn on and what truth is spoken to your heart. It matters.
TRANSITION
This passage not only presents Saul’s suffering but also David’s skills as a musician.
DAVID’S SKILLS (VERSES 18-23)
Saul likes the idea of his servants in verses 15-16 about finding a musician because he wants some relief from his torment. He understands the healing and spiritual power of music. In verse 17, he commands them to find a good musician who would be on hand.
Verse 18, we are reminded of David. The same David who in the first part of the passage was an ‘insignificant runt’ and a dumb shepherd and wasn’t even named until the end of the passage. Yes, David was a shepherd, but he also is a harpist. He would know all the harpy terms… like ‘glissando’ ‘midrib’ ‘wolf tone’ and known some ‘luthiers’ or perhaps was one himself.
David arrives in Saul’s court from his father’s house. Things went well. David played well. Saul felt better. The passage tells is that Saul liked David, sent a message for David to remain with him in the royal court, and even gave him other jobs for the king other than being a musician. David entered Saul’s service.
It occurred to me that we wonder how David found the time to write the majority of the 150 Psalms we find in the Bible. How did he? Certainly, Psalm 119 would have taken untold hours to get just right. The Psalms are beautiful and inspired and poetic and emotional. We notice in this passage that is was literally one of David’s dedicated jobs to play music and make music to soothe the soul of King Saul. I can imagine unhinged Saul wanted new and good music to listen to on a regular basis. The Scriptures don’t tell us this, but in my imagination, I see David spending time writing songs to play. They are worthy words to hear.
READ PSALM 1:1 (ESV)
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
READ PSALM 4:1 (ESV)
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
PSALM 5:1-3 (ESV)
Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning. Give attention to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You do I pray. O LORD, in the morning You hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for You and watch.
David entered King Saul’s service and was charged with writing songs to soothe Saul’s soul. I am convinced we have some of those songs in the Psalms. David wrote songs all throughout his life. The words are comforting words and he was quite skilled at it.
APPLICATION
May I suggest, by way of a side note or a side application, that when life is overwhelming or your emotions are getting the better of you, that it is to the Psalms that you can turn. Go there first! The Book of Psalms in the Bible are the inspired Word of God that will guide your heart to God and give a voice to the troubles you are going through. It is the purpose of many of the Psalms.
You will find comfort in the Psalms.
You will find strength in the Psalms.
You will find blessings for your heart in these songs written by David.
TRANSITION
This passage not only present’s Saul’s suffering and David’s skills as a musician, but it also presents how God used the entire situation to get David where and when he needed to be. We see in this whole passage the providence of God at work. Seeing the providence of God at work should be encouraging to us as we move through life and process what happens to us.
PROVIDENCE LEADS THE WAY (VERSES 14-23)
The purpose of this passage is to show us how David the ‘insignificant dumb shepherd musician’ arrives at the court of King Saul and will eventually become the next anointed king of Israel. This is part of David’s journey from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. We see the providence of God at work in this passage. In case you are not familiar with the word ‘providence,’ other than being the capitol of the state of Rhode Island, ‘providence’ is the Sovereign God of the universe in charge of all things weaving His will to work all things “for good for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28) and for His will.
Providence is God’s universal governing of His creation.
Providence is God’s foresight of the natural and supernatural world.
Providence is God’s allowance of free will and still accomplishing His own will.
God’s providence is evident in that God uses Saul’s disobedience in order to place David in the palace. The passage has David out among the sheep of his father in and around Bethlehem. I’m not sure how, but after Samuel anointed him as the next king, it seems like perhaps his life went back to normal. God guides the steps of those who believe in Him from beginning to end. He knows the beginning of journeys and the end of journeys and arranges details to work for their good. We see that Truth clearly with David in that it was not yet time for David to be king, but God wanted him in the royal court.
God’s providence is also evident in the giftedness of David for the situation. Was it an accident that David had mad music skills? Was it an accident that a servant of Saul in verse 18 just so happened to come across David at some point and just so happened to remember David and his musical skill? Was it an accident that David was available and willing to serve the king? None of that was an accident. All of those things were ‘on purpose’ in the providence of God!
You see, Christians do not believe in fate. We do not believe in karma. We do not believe in cosmic accidents or destiny or chance or flukes of nature. We believe in the God of the Universe Who is completely in charge of every blade of grass and every job interview and every cell in our bodies. We believe in the providence of God.
APPLICATION
Now this belief in God’s providence comes with challenges and also comfort. This is how ‘the Very Relatable Life of King David impacts us.’ We must accept both the challenges and comfort of God’s providence as believers.
The providence of God brings challenges because life is not smooth or without issues. We falsely believe that if God is indeed in charge and He is indeed only good that our lives when we serve Him should also only be good. Bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad people and it is confounding.
And yet, we believe that God is always at work in the midst of even challenges and tragedies. A great example of this is in the Book of Genesis in the life of Joseph. Joseph was wronged on many levels by his brothers and others. Joseph reflects properly in chapter 50 about the providence of God.
READ GENESIS 50:20 (ESV)
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
Another great example of this is from the Book of Esther. Esther was faced with the murder of all the Jews and she had the grave responsibility to uncover the dangerous plot and risk her life to expose it. It sounds like a movie, but no, it is history. She waffles at doing the right thing and her uncle encourages her and chastises her at the same time keeping God’s providence in view.
READ ESTHER 4:14 (ESV)
“For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
It is a challenge for our faith to understand that God is at work in our lives when things are falling apart or when our heart is in a thousand pieces. We believe in God the Father Who is always at work in between the lines and heals and repairs and restores and moves. It is a lie that God is absent when things are bad. God is present and His providence is at work in the worst of times.
Believe this.
Pray to believe this.
Be challenged in this Truth.
This belief in God’s providence comes with challenges and also comfort. This is how ‘the Very Relatable Life of King David impacts us.’ We must accept both the challenges and comfort of God’s providence as believers.
The providence of God brings comfort in that we are not alone. We are not aimless. We do not travel this life of ours without direction or purpose. We do not have to make decisions alone. Life is not some accident or some kind of random joke. We serve the Living God Who is always active and walks with us every step of the way through our lives. He has His timing that is not always our timing, but nevertheless, God is always aware of our lives and working His will to be completed.
READ PSALM 145:14-20 (ESV)
“The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open your hand; You satisfy the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works. The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
READ PROVERBS 16:9 (ESV)
The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
And I will remind you again of the passage I have already mentioned this morning which is a complete comfort and explanation of God’s providence in our lives.
READ ROMANS 8:28 (ESV)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
It is a comfort to our lives to understand that God is always at work for our good and that His will is always done on Earth as it is in Heaven. We want His will done. We want Him to always prevail. And He does. We believe in God the Father Who is always working for our good and guides our steps as we let Him. It is a lie that God is ‘hands-off’ when it comes to our lives. God is present and ordering our chaos.
Believe this.
Pray to believe this.
Be comforted in this Truth.
CONCLUDING ILLUSTRATION… preceptaustin.org/the_providence_of_god
I like the old story that the 1800s preacher Charles Spurgeon tells. It is a short little story about God's providence and our lives and perspective. He tells the story kike this: “I think it was Mrs. Hannah More who says that she went into a place where they were manufacturing a carpet for her. She looked at her carpet on the loom and said, “There is no beauty there.” The man showing her around said, “It is one of the most beautiful carpets you ever saw.” She looked at him like he was crazy and said, “Why, here is a piece hanging out, and it is all in disorder!” “Do you know why, ma’am?” he immediately asked her, “You are looking at the wrong side of the carpet!”
I tell you that story because 1 Samuel 16:14-23 shares with us an episode in the life of David and calls us to look at it from God’s perspective. If we look at the passage and get bogged down with ‘a harmful spirit from the Lord’ then we are looking at the wrong side of the carpet. If we miss how God is working out details in the life of David, we are looking at the wrong side of the carpet.
The right side of the carpet is seeing that music is powerful and it matters what music you let minister to your heart. The right side of the carpet is putting into practice going to the Psalms when your life is upside down crazy. The right side of the carpet is also believing in the providence of God and being challenged and comforted by it.
PRAY
INVITATION
For our invitation time this morning, I want to remind you what ‘providence’ is and relate it to an important Bible verse.
Providence is God’s universal governing of His creation.
Providence is God’s foresight of the natural and supernatural world.
Providence is God’s allowance of free will and still accomplishing His own will.
In God’s governance of His creation, both natural and supernatural, He provided Jesus Christ as the way to accomplish His will so that anyone who comes to Him might have eternal life. God wove His will through history in order that Jesus Christ might arrive at the perfect time. Jesus is the appointed way of salvation.
READ JOHN 14:6 (ESV)
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, it is no accident that you are here today. Choose Him!
