The king suffers from a terrible malady; and David seems to provide a temporary cure;

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1 Introduction Chapter 16 introduces us to David. We are given a brief introduction and his home town; Bethlehem (vv.1-5); we are told a little about David s family (vv.-10); and David s occupationshepherd (v.11). We are given a glimpse into what he may have looked like (v.12a; 17:42). We are told of his anointing by Samuel the prophet (vv.12a-13). Now we are given a glimpse into David s preparation (vv.14-23) for the future God has for him. The Bible is filled with titles for David. He is called The man after God s heart (13:). David moves from shepherd (16:1-13); to musician (vv.14-23). In his life David will serve as a soldier, and a statesman, a scribe and sage. David is remembered as the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Samuel 23:1). David s journey to the throne will be filled with great difficulties, wild adventures; David will be hunted and hated, humbled and despised, pained and persecuted; like his future famous Son. King Saul is impatient and can t wait; David must wait; no matter how strange or difficult the circumstance; David must find his sufficiency in the Lord God of Israel. People have downloaded over 5 billion songs and the number continues to grow. I can t even imagine how many songs have been illegally downloaded. Growing up my pile of records was converted to a pile of eight tracks, to a pile of cassettes to a piles of disks to the invisible downloads on my i-pod. We discover David is not only a faithful shepherd, a courageous soldier, but he is also a skilled musician. It is that skill that will bring him face to face with a troubled king. The king suffers from a terrible malady; and David seems to provide a temporary cure; For many music is like medicine and praise like prozac in its ability to transform mood. The founder of the Salvation Army William Booth used to say; Music is for the soul what wind is for the ship, blowing her onwards in the direction in which she is steered. Music has power--the power to persuade. The Curious Case Of Saul s Demonic Disorder 1 Samuel 16:14 (NKJV) But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul. What does it mean the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul? 1

2 Clearly it means that the Holy Spirit was not there to lead and guide, to preserve, protect or provide for Saul. The Holy Spirit was unavailable to empower Saul to serve as king. Saul would never again experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. He would also hear no word of comfort from the Prophet Samuel. Into the void comes a distressing spirit. What does it mean a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him? Different Bible teachers have come to different conclusions; some have suggested the text means that Saul was possessed by an evil spirit; this was a result of judgment; because of Saul s disobedience. Saul was oppressed and vexed by an evil spirit; some demonic attack or influence that God allowed because of Saul s disobedience; some evil messenger sent to oppress Saul; some have suggested this was a deep sense of guilt, depression and fear; brought on and sustained by emotional and psychological problems; perhaps some form of mental illness. However you diagnosis the problem; Saul s problem was directly linked to Saul s disobedience; Saul had disobeyed God and now Saul was reaping what he had sown. The hand of judgment was upon Saul and the distressing spirit punished Saul, feeding Saul s guilt, Saul s depression, Saul s fear. The Holy Spirit no longer held Saul in check; and now Saul was free to live the life Saul chose for himself; free to be sinful, free to be wicked, free to be disobedient, but make no mistake about it; this was the life Saul had chosen for himself. Romans 1:24 (NKJV) Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, The Lord gave Saul up to live just as Saul wanted, and as a result an evil spirit troubled and tormented Saul. 1 Samuel 16:15 (NKJV) And Saul s servants said to him, Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. The Clever Cure With David s Special Skill 1 Samuel 16:16 (NKJV) Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well. The word translated skillful means to know something fully or completely. 2

3 The word translated harp is more properly described as a lyre; there were many types of lyres with a number of different string configurations. The strings were made from the small intestines of sheep; and were stretched across a sounding board. Ancient peoples believed music could sooth passions, and elicit emotional responses; and heal mental disorders and even quell riots. 1 Samuel 16:17 (NKJV) So Saul said to his servants, Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me. 1 Samuel 16:18 (NKJV) Then one of the servants answered and said, Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him. We are not told which servant suggested the son of Jesse. What gives David the right to stand before the king? He is a skillful musician; brave, courageous, a soldier, wise in speech, attractive in appearance and the Lord is with him! Do you want to know the key to Biblical success? Having the Lord with you. The same was said of Joseph (Gen. 39:2-3); Joshua (Josh. 6:27) and Samuel (1 Sam.3:19). These people embraced their calling, knew their gift; and embraced the word of God and the power of God. As long as David followed the Lord; the Lord blessed him. David is from the tribe of Judah; the name means praise. David makes melody to the Lord when he sings in the open fields; or in the palace. David writes music in secret and sings songs heard only by the Lord; but now David will provide the oil of gladness to sooth the troubled heart. David will make the harp of God s heart his own instrument; he will meet the power of evil with the sweet sounds of grace. Saul s affliction wasn t simply to afflict Saul; but it was also designed to bring David close to the kings court. One man s affliction may be another man s promotion! David will learn what it means to be a king. David will learn what to do and what not to do; David will learn what it means to be a leader, what the physical and financial circumstances of the nation entail; who and what are the enemies of the nation; he will learn about the economy, the military establishment, the justice system; the moral character of the people and the servants assigned to minister to people. God is sovereign. He rules over the earth. Two things should be noted about David s arrival in Saul s court. David doesn t orchestrate his own promotion. David is not some ambitious man; 3

4 desperately trying to climb the ladder of ministry success. God--not David was responsible for David s promotion. David will begin his life of public service. David will serve in his apprenticeship for the next fourteen years. David will learn what it means to wrestle with evil spirits in spiritual warfare through the power of praise. David will serve in the place where God calls David to rule. We see the principle over and over in the Scripture. Joshua was Moses servant before he became Moses successor. Timothy serves Paul in the ministry. Are you trying to push yourself to a place of prominent ministry without first proving yourself faithful in the small things? 1 Samuel 16:19 (NKJV) Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, Send me your son David, who is with the sheep. 1 Samuel 16:20 (NKJV) And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. Jesse sends an offering of bread, wine and young goat. 1 Samuel 16:21 (NKJV) So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. David comes to court and immediately experiences the favor of God. Saul does not know that God has chosen David to be king. Had he know that he would have had David killed. When Saul discovers God s plan for David, he immediately persecutes the young man and attempts to have him killed. The Scriptures speak of four members of Saul s household who have a special relationship with David; and each are said to have loved David. Saul who loved David for what he could get from David; but later hates David and seeks to kill David. Saul will be replaced by David. Next is Jonathan. Jonathan strips himself for David; Jonathan is Saul s heir; but Jonathan will step aside in order for David to be king. Michal, the daughter of Saul; will risk her life for David; but later despise David and be ashamed of David; Michal has her mind set on great things for herself; but David has his mind set on the great things of God. And then there is Mephibosheth; the crippled son of Jonathan; who surrenders all for David; and is all to him. 4

5 David becomes the armor bearer to the king. 1 Samuel 16:22 (NKJV) Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight. The Ministry Of Music (v.23) 1 Samuel 16:23 (NKJV) And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him. How did David know when the spirit was upon the king? The king would erupt in madness or sadness. Let me draw your attention to the phrase Saul would be refreshed.... The Hebrew term means to be wide or to expand or spacious--the idea being to expand in order to bring relief. Now look at the phrase and well --the term means to be good; the sense is the music from David s instrument flowed through him, and his temporary madness or insanity ceased. When Jesse s son shows up there is a respite, a grace, a mercy. The Spirit of God left Saul. But the Spirit returns in David s music with David. In Saul we see the failure of the flesh and in David we have the divine remedy. Music can provide relief and satisfaction; but music can also pull us down and encourage carnality and disobedience. The evil spirit is hard pressed to remain in an environment of praise and worship. Saul s servants may have dealt with the symptoms, but they were unable to deal with the cause. Saul may have felt a sense of peace and comfort for a season; but it was false peace, a temporary peace. Saul needed to get right with God. Saul needed to surrender his sin and enter into a life of obedience. Conclusion 5

6 The chapter closes with the rejected king; receiving some measure of comfort from the coming king. David does not remain in the court. In the next chapter we find; But David went back and forth from Saul to feed his father s sheep. He would visit the court as needed; but David did not neglect his responsibilities at home. Once again we are given a glimpse of David s humility; he is gifted; he is chosen; he is anointed; but he still cares for his father s sheep; he remains a servant. Wiersbe puts it well; No wonder God was able to use David! 6