Recognizing What’s Evil
April 30
Daily Reading – 1 Samuel 18-20 / Luke 20:1-26
GOD SAID:
1 Samuel 19:9 And the evil spirit from the LORD was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
GETTING INTO GOD’S WORD:
I have, in years past, gone to the county fair and went through what’s often marketed as a “Haunted House.” While walking or riding through this attraction, things jump out at you and try to scare you. The ones that will catch you off guard however are the ones that start out as one thing, such as a guide or an announcer, and then suddenly change into something scary. Things jumping out at you, well, you know they are supposed to scare you. However the ones that look just like everyone else, and then change, those are the ones you have to watch for.
That changing character is somewhat how we see Saul in these passages today. Back in 1 Samuel 16:14 it said; “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.” This phrase; “Evil Spirit from the Lord, or God” appears a few times in 1 Samuel concerning Saul. Scholars have debated for centuries what that means. Some believe since the Spirit of God was taken from Saul, God then allowed an evil demon then to torment Saul. Others have said the word evil in its original context simply meant Saul was in a depressed or distressing mental state. Still some say that God directed a specific fallen demonic angel to torment Saul. What we do know for sure is that in all of this, God was in control of the situation, however He accomplished it. By chapter 20, David had recognized the evil in Saul and departed.
GETTING GOD’S WORD INTO ME:
2 Cor. 11:14 say; “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” The sinfulness of the world, the Devil, and evil are all around us. Sometimes it is obvious. More often than not, it’s deceptive.
Are you watching for evil?
It’s looking for you.
Living In His Word Ministries
“Getting people into the Word of God…
… and the Word of God into people.”
Dr. Franklin J. Senters Th.D.
Founder and Executive Director
Hebrews 2:12