And it came to pass the next day that an evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house, but David played with his hand, as on other days; and the spear was in Saul's hand.
The day after the women's victory song, Saul's jealousy breaks out. This verse raises two hard questions. How can a man speak as a prophet while an evil spirit drives him? And why does the music that once calmed him stop working?
The verse traces the harmful spirit back to God. The account earlier sets Saul's loss beside David's gain.
When David was anointed, the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. The servants knew who sent the evil spirit, and looked for a skilful harp player to drive the demon out. God overruled what they did, and brought His anointed to the king.
The ESV says Saul "raved." Other translations say he "prophesied." Commentators argue for the second, and say inspiration can come from a source other than God.
The demon possesses him again, because he gave way to his temper. He nourished his hatred against David. When the evil spirit came on him, he prophesied. This has been hard for some to understand. Several translators have rendered it "raved"; but that cannot be done. The word "prophesy" is the same word used in chapter 5:5. Prophesying means to speak by inspiration. It does not always mean predicting future events. Besides divine inspiration, there is also a satanic inspiration. Certain groups that claim particular gifts have been restored also claim inspiration, and many have traced that to the influence of demons. Saul spoke words that came from the evil spirit living in him.
Later, Saul prophesies again — that time by the Spirit of God. Set the two scenes side by side and a warning appears: being a mouthpiece proves nothing about the state of the heart.
Even Saul is here forced to prophesy by the Spirit of God, and this is not the first time in his life. In 1 Samuel 18:10 he had done so by the evil spirit which had come on him. God is able to speak through the mouth of a Saul who at other times is the mouthpiece of Satan. He can do the same through the mouth of a Balaam or of a Caiaphas. This only proves that God uses someone as an instrument if it suits Him. But we must distinguish between the life-giving work of the Holy Spirit and His various operations in power. Power may give great knowledge of the Word, and maybe also the energy to use that knowledge for others. But it never leads us to judge ourselves. It never leads us to take Christ as the One who answers our need. It gives neither repentance nor faith.
David plays "as he did day by day" — the same hand and the same harp that once brought relief. This time it does no good. The reason lies in Saul, not in the music.
But notice: the old remedy that soothed the king, music, had now lost its effect. When the evil spirit first came upon him, it yielded to the sweet sounds of David's harp and hand. It was no longer so. The progress of evil in the presence of the good it hates is apt to be rapid and deep.
Another writer draws the same lesson about hearing God's Word.
To quiet this, David again played the harp for Saul. But this time it had no calming effect. It is the same with the ministry of the Word of God. It stops producing good effects when people have heard it for a long time and treated it with indifference.
Saul knew who had killed the giant. He also knew who had given David the kingdom.
David's skill does not remove jealousy and bitter hatred from Saul's heart. The young man had killed the giant who terrified the king and his army. In their victory song the women credited David with ten thousands and Saul with only thousands. This stirred up hidden depths of evil in the king's heart, and he sought to kill David. He knew that God had given the kingdom to David, and he hated him all the more. It was rebellion against God as well as hatred of David. It was the enmity of man's king against God's anointed.
David keeps playing while the spear stays in Saul's hand. Commentators read that pattern as one every follower of Christ should expect.
Follow Christ fully. What will be the result? Javelins. If Christ is made much of, Satan must oppose. So we read that three times Saul threw a javelin at David.
- Source — Saul speaks by inspiration, but not from God. The word used is the ordinary word for "prophesy." That is why commentators speak of a satanic inspiration as well as a divine one.
- Proof — Speaking by a spirit proves nothing about a person. Power can hand out knowledge and energy. It never produces repentance or faith.
- Hardening — The harp once refreshed Saul. Now it leaves him untouched, because evil moves fast and deep near the good it hates.
- Warning — God's Word works the same way. Hear it long enough, treat it with indifference, and it stops doing good.
- Target — Saul's spear was meant for David, but his quarrel was with God, who gave David the kingdom. Anyone who makes much of God's Anointed should expect javelins too.
And Saul cast the spear, and thought, I will smite David and the wall. But David turned away from him twice.
Twice a spear flew across the king's hall, and twice the young man holding the harp stepped aside. Saul says out loud what he wants. The question is what turned a king's gratitude into hatred, and who kept the harp player alive.
Saul's anger did not begin with David himself. One writer shows what the crowd's opinion of David exposed in the king.
This is not yet anger against David. It is anger at people's opinion, which was lifting David up and putting the king down. And it happened at the very moment when Jonathan's faith was giving up everything for the one he loved. The reason is simple: the flesh can never bear being nothing in Christ's presence.
One writer names what Saul lacked.
It takes a very simple heart and a single eye to rejoice as honestly in the fruit of someone else's work as in the fruit of our own hands. If the glory of God and the good of His people had filled Saul's heart, he would not have given one thought to the numbers credited to him or to David. Sadly, he sought his own glory. This was the secret of his envy and jealousy.
David was doing the very thing that had once calmed Saul. It had stopped working, and one writer explains why.
But notice, the old remedy that soothed the king, music, had lost its effect now. When the evil spirit first came upon him, it yielded to the sweet sounds of David's harp and hand. It was no longer so. The growth of evil in the presence of the good it hates tends to be rapid and deep.
Verse 10 says Saul raved, or prophesied, inside his house. Then the spear left his hand. One writer sees here the moment when Saul's real state came to the surface.
From this day on Saul eyed David. The next day shows the depth of his heart: the evil spirit comes upon him. When he was among the prophets, he had been able to give the impression that he depended on the Spirit of God. Now he is handed over to Satan, and the fruits of his wicked heart show at once. This man who "prophesied in the midst of the house" throws his spear to pin David to the wall.
Saul had refused to fight Goliath himself. Now he throws a weapon at a harp player who is serving him.
He was afraid to fight against Goliath, yet he threw his javelin at David, meaning to kill him. And he did it while David was serving him in obedience, playing his harp. This cowardly act by itself proved that Saul was unfit for his place of royal dignity. At this time David was able to dodge the javelin, and also on a later occasion. We might wonder why David came back to play for Saul after that first try on his life. But it proves how real David's faithfulness was.
Jealousy alone does not explain a hatred this persistent. One writer looks behind the king to a greater enemy.
Saul only saw David. Satan saw in him the type of Christ who is the Son of David. If Satan could only destroy David, where would be the Son and all the promises bound up in Him? … Only Satan's hostility to Christ fully explains Saul's persistent and unnatural desire to kill his own daughter's husband. It began with jealousy. But David's conduct was submissive and never changed, and that would have been quite enough to remove such a feeling — a feeling with no grounds, and for that reason rooted all the deeper — if jealousy had been all.
David escaped twice. One writer sets the glory of the battle against Goliath beside the danger of Saul's house, and credits David's survival to the Lord's mercy.
David came from the brilliant glory of the valley of Elah into very different scenes in Saul's household. There, envious looks and heartless attempts on his life were the only return for the soothing notes of his harp and the brave deeds of his sling and his sword. Saul owed his continuance on the throne, under God, to David, yet the javelin was Saul's return. But the Lord in His mercy kept His dear servant amid all the difficulties of his extremely hard position.
- Song — the women's praise cost Saul nothing but first place. That was enough. Jealousy starts where self-glory loses ground, not where someone does wrong.
- Spear — what the song stirred, the hand finished. Saul raved like a prophet and threw like a murderer in the same room. A religious appearance hides nothing from God.
- Service — David kept playing, and came back to play again. Faithfulness shows itself when a servant returns to a man who has already tried to kill him.
- Shadow — Saul aimed the spear at David, but the hatred behind it was older than Saul. David's submissive conduct should have ended the grudge. That is why one writer looks past Saul to Satan's hostility to Christ.
- Shield — the spear missed. David had kept Saul on the throne that Saul was defending, and the Lord kept David through every throw.