Troubled By God

Because of our limited understanding and ignorance we can tend towards oversimplifying biblical truth.  There are many clear-cut doctrines in scripture which are objective and plain.  But like the apostle Peter who was filled with the Holy Spirit, we can admit there are teachings in scripture which are hard to understand.  He wrote in 2 Peter 3:15-16, "...and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation--as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures."  To understand, rightly divide, and apply the scriptures requires being born again by the Holy Spirit and discernment only God provides.

One challenge all followers of Jesus face is the personal application of God's Word, how we put things into practice by faith.  There are all sorts of beliefs and practices in the lives of people which are traditional but not scriptural.  Traditions are not bad in themselves and can serve many good functions like discipline, remembrance, and can glorify God.  But doing things merely out of tradition or copying others because it seemed to work for them can lead us by degrees away from active faith in Christ and obedience to Him.  We can assume what we heard was true and repeat it before we even check to see if the Bible actually says it.  I am grateful that the God who does not change has given us His Word which is true and will never pass away.  Truth and wisdom from God needs no revision.

What I have been reading in the Bible lately plays right into what I've been thinking, how God is intimately involved in the physical and spiritual aspects of our lives.  Like magicians who are masters of misdirection and sleight of hand, Satan utilises these tactics to turn our eyes from Jesus.  Concerning the spiritual realm he aims to move us to extremes:  to be obsessed over demonology or dismiss the whole thing as a sham; to tout our authority as children of God in pride or to imagine Satan as absolutely powerless to even tempt us.  The devil is pleased when we give him credit for our troubles (as a consequence of our sin) and be helplessly resigned to believing lies.  The devil would have us imagine fighting spiritual battles depends largely upon what we do or don't do or the precise words we say rather than what Jesus has accomplished and our identity in Him.  I imagine Satan loves it when we try to take the fight to him ourselves rather than walking in the victory Jesus Christ has already won.

I have been reading in 1 Samuel how the Spirit of God departed from King Saul and how an evil spirit was sent by God to trouble him.  This is put bluntly in 1 Samuel 16:14-15:  "But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. ¹⁵ And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee."  It was no secret to Saul or his servants God sent an evil spirit to trouble Saul.  How much good, do you suppose, would rebuking the evil spirit have done for Saul--when the spirit was fulfilling God's purpose at His direction?  Saul's problem was not the demon but his broken relationship with God!  He had been lifted up with pride, was disobedient, stubborn, sought his own glory rather than God's, and when confronted with sin made excuses.  God rejected Saul from being king because Saul rejected God.  But God loved Saul and desired He would repent and be restored.  He gave Saul opportunity and motivation to repent because of his distress caused by this unclean, malevolent being.  This satanic oppression was a divine rebuke for Saul's pride.

Saul was anointed king by the almighty God who rules in the heavens, the One before whom Satan and the demons tremble.  Saul did not need a exorcist:  he needed to repent and be restored to God who is a Saviour.  There was not a particular prayer to utter, holy water to sprinkle, or for a prophet to lay hands on him for deliverance.  See how this relates to what is written in James 4:6-10:  "But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." ⁷ Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."  The distress and trouble Saul faced was more to do with his relationship with God than the evil spirit.  If Saul would have drawn near to God, God would have drawn near to Him like Jesus did the demon possessed man in Gadara.  Saul was not possessed but certainly distressed, and only repentance and restoration to God who sent the evil spirit could change that.

And this is a key point:  Saul and his men sought a godly musician to play the harp to soothe his distress.  The music played by David for a time seemed to do Saul good.  But rather than changing circumstances by simply removing the demonic influence, God desired Saul change:  to humble himself in repentance, seek the LORD with all his heart, and submit under God's rule.  No one could make Saul do this, and God wouldn't force him.  Instead of being afraid of demons or their influence, we do well to draw near to God who rules over all, the Saviour before whom the demons shudder.  Saul rebuking the unclean spirit would have accomplished nothing because he was sent on God's holy errand.  The Bible has many more examples of God rebuking men and the need for men to rebuke one another than rebuking evil spirits.  It is best for the LORD to do the rebuking of the devil (Zec. 3:2, Mal. 3:11, Jude 1:9), and should He employ angels or men to do so He is to be praised and glorified forever by His humble servants.