An Evil Spirit from God

1 Samuel 16:14, 23; Judges 9:23


Last week, I preached on the story of Jonathan, one of the most admirable characters in all of ancient literature. After church, someone asked what about that verse which said that Saul was tormented by an evil spirit from God? What’s that about?

There are several classic explanations of the texts that speak about an evil spirit from God

According to some commentators, Saul was a rebellious man. He fully deserved whatever torment he received. God did not cause the spirit to be evil, but given the existence of the evil spirit, God was free to use it for his own purposes, quite independent of its own intentions.

Others explain that the Hebrew Scriptures often use the “active voice” when clearly something less direct is intended. So Hebrews would say God “did” something when we say God “allowed” it. The evil spirit was “from God” only in the sense that God no longer protected Saul from the demonic.

Another point scholars mention is that the Hebrew word translated here as “evil” does not necessarily refer to something with wicked personal intention. So it might be translated better “an injurious spirit” or a “damaging spirit”. In this case the spirit in question might actually have been an angel of God sent to torment or punish Saul. (This assumes that Saul deserved such punishment and that God metes out such punishment.)

Still others insist this text is just wrong. People back in that culture thought God actively exercised retribution. We, however, have outgrown such barbaric notions. We “know” about natural cause and effect, about randomness, about mental illness and the etiology of disease. Much of the Old Testament is too primitive to offer us much in the way of spiritual enlightenment.

I think some of the ideas above are useful. No matter how you understand it, the world of the author is profoundly alien to us. Still I have found some rich spiritual help in reflecting on the story. Here’s the way I read it.

The Way I Read It

I link the “evil spirit from God” with other instances in this story of God’s direct involvement.

Samuel, the prophet from God
God called Samuel to leadership. Samuel was a good man. He makes God’s choice look smart. However, his two sons grow into corrupt leaders. Their corruption is so bad the elders demand Samuel fix the problem by giving them a king.

Saul, the king from God
God reluctantly goes along with the people and chooses Saul to be king. Saul is a jerk and makes God’s choice look dumb. But Saul’s son Jonathan is remarkably noble and heroic. Had he taken the throne, God’s choice of Saul would have looked really smart. But before that can happen, God decides to bypass Jonathan.

David, the king from God
God chooses David to be king. At first, at first this looks like a good choice. David is a great man (if you overlook his constant practice of raiding villages, slaughtering every resident then lying to his Philistine allies about it). Later, of course, David jumps into an affair, has the woman’s husband killed and tries to cover it up.

The Evil Spirit from God
After reading about all these divine initiatives, the “evil spirit from God” is just another example of the author’s notion that God is involved in everything.

Most people I know reject the idea that everything, good and bad, comes from God, because it says to them that God is hopelessly enmeshed with evil, pain and catastrophe. If God is in all this stuff, then “bad stuff” becomes evidence of a “dark side” in God. We rightly reject this. “God is light. In him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).

However, for the very devout there is another way to understand this concept of everything coming from God. If a person has utter confidence in God, God’s involvement, even in the darkest people and events, means there is some beneficent purpose in everything.

This does not assume the “evil spirits” have any good intentions. Only, that no matter what the actual intention of the evil spirit or person, above, beneath, beyond, through—somewhere in connection with the life and action of this evil spirit—God is working to accomplish his own beneficent purpose.

One way I practice this is to spend some part of my morning meditation time consciously, deliberately asking God to help me receive the difficult people in my life as “evil spirits from God.” Rather than seeing them as random hindrances to life, I ask for grace to regard them as unwitting agents of God.

In this time of meditation and prayer, instead of whining, I invite God to help me receive the good he intends through this miserable company.

Again, let me be clear: I do not assume the “evil spirit” has any conscious good intention (though few humans are ever purely evil). I only assume that somewhere, somehow in connection with this person’s life and actions is a beneficent divine intention.

(Please note: Just because we believe God is involved when someone else is acting like “evil spirit” does not mean we ought to be passive. While Saul was actuated by an “evil spirit from God,” that did not mean David was supposed to sit there and let Saul pin him to the wall. Sometimes, what God teaches us through the activity of the “evil spirit from God” is how to dodge and run. If you are in danger, take action. Do your meditation on where God is in the situation after you have moved to safety!)


Obviously, I am not doing exegesis in the usual sense. Instead of asking, “What does this text mean?” I’m asking, “What spiritual help can I receive?” I am deliberately putting on my “God is love” glasses to look for a meaning that helps me cultivate peace and hope.

When I take this approach, I can find great spiritual help even in the most primitive parts of the Bible. I no longer insist on learning only from those whose prejudices and assumptions mirror my own.

Jesus said, “If your eyes are light, then your whole body is full of light. If your eyes are dark then your whole world is full of darkness.” It is your eyes and not the environment. It is our reading, not the text.