So Saul said to his servants, “Provide for me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
Saul, the king God had set aside, is tormented, and his servants can see where the trouble comes from. He does not ask why. He sends for a musician — and the man they bring is the one God has already anointed to take his throne.
Treating the Symptom
Saul asks for music. His servants had already worked out where his trouble came from.
Leslie M. GrantHis servants realised that God had allowed this evil spirit to trouble Saul. Their solution is not to go to the root of the matter, but to treat its symptoms. This is characteristic of men's governments everywhere. A skilled harp player could play in a way that calmed the troubled king's spirit.
One writer puts the blame closer to home.
The Bible TreasuryThe desire of Saul, the rejected king, was not a godly one. He should have looked at his own conduct for the cause of his trouble.
God's Hand Behind the Request
Saul thinks he is hiring a musician. In fact his own order opens the palace door to the man God has chosen to replace him.
J. N. DarbyThe Spirit of Jehovah came upon David and left Saul. At the same time, an evil spirit troubles Saul. The providence of God brings in David by means of one of Saul's servants who knew him, and presents him to Saul. Saul loves him and keeps him close. David becomes his armour-bearer, and plays the harp when the evil spirit troubles Saul. David, in God's sight, is the anointed king, but he must suffer before he reigns, however great his energy may be.
David had shown nothing in public yet, and he had not asked for any of this.
William KellyGod had set David apart from among his brothers. David had not yet shown one sign of it before people. Still, he is put forward for a remarkable service... David did not seek this change himself... Had he tried to become a courtier, he could hardly have managed it. But without one thought on his part, the Lord brings him into the king's presence in a simple and fitting way.
The Man Who Was Found
Saul asked for one qualification: someone who could play well. The servant's answer lists six, and saves the most important for last.
Leslie M. GrantHis credentials were of a high order. First, he was a skillful musician. Second, a brave man. Third, a man of war. Fourth, skilled in speech. Fifth, of pleasing appearance. And last, but most important, the Lord was with him. How clearly he is a picture of Christ.
The man who gave that description had been watching David long before Saul needed a musician.
An Outline of Sound WordsOne of Saul's young men knew the very man who met these requirements. His testimony to David is remarkable. It shows that he had watched David closely and knew his outstanding features well. His description was accurate. It made clear that the future king of Israel had shown early the traits that fitted the high office God was preparing him for.
How the Harp Worked
Saul's relief was real, and it had a purpose.
Numerical Bible NotesThe work of the evil spirit with Saul carried out a penalty. Had it led him to judge himself, it would have proved to be mercy as well. The relief was granted, and its source was known. It was that goodness of God which leads to repentance... David's harp does not act directly upon Satan, but upon Saul. The harp has a strange power to soften and subdue the savage temper of the rejected king, though only for a time. By doing so it drives back the power that assails him and shuts it off. For a time he is set free.
A Small Service, Greatly Done
The first assignment God gave His anointed king was to sit and play for the man he would replace.
The Bible TreasuryWhen the Spirit came upon David, he had little idea what his first work as God's man would be. It was to calm the violence — the spiritual violence — of the head of the kingdom... What an apparently humble service for God's anointed king, one might be ready to say! But what moral greatness!
That harp points far past Saul's palace.
The Bible TreasuryThe true David, even Christ, has played on His harp to the refreshing of many a troubled soul. He has played to many a sinner on the harp of His great salvation, and refreshed him with His grace... Here David makes the evil spirit leave Saul, and only for a season. That is a picture of Christ, before Whom demons flee.
Summary
- Cause ignored. Saul asks for a cure for his symptoms, when he should have looked at his own conduct for the cause of his trouble.
- Relief sent anyway. God eased his torment to lead him to repentance — mercy inside a judgment.
- The man provided. Saul wanted skill; God sent skill, courage, wisdom, bearing, and above all a man the Lord was with.
- Providence at work. A servant's passing remark carries God's anointed king straight into the court of the king he will replace.
- Result. Saul is refreshed for a season only. The harp that soothed a doomed king points on to Christ, before Whom demons flee.