When we reject God

Three times in these chapters, we see the phrase, “an evil spirit from God came upon Saul.” (1 Samuel 16:14, 23; 18:10; 19:9).

Let’s be honest. Those are hard words. God sends an evil spirit to torment people? How can a good and loving God do that?

The best answer I can give is that this was God’s righteous judgment on Saul for his rejection of God.

There are hints, however, that this is a last step to try to bring people to repentance.

In a similar story in 1 Kings 22, God sends a lying spirit to lead King Ahab to destruction. But as he does so, he sends a prophet to tell him exactly what is happening, giving Ahab one last chance to repent.

Sadly, unlike in an earlier story (1 Kings 21:27-29), Ahab refuses to do so. (1 Kings 22:17-28)

We also see this in the New Testament. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, he says concerning an unrepentant sinner,

hand that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 5:5)

In Revelation 9, it talks about plagues God sends, some of which seem to imply demonly origins. Many people die, but many more survive, giving them a final chance to repent. But the people refuse to do so (Revelation 9:20-21)

And then there are Paul’s words in 2 Thessalonians 2.

God releases Antichrist into the world that they might be deceived and perish. Why? In Paul’s words, the reason for God doing this is made crystal clear:

They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.

For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, so that all will be condemned—those who did not believe the truth but delighted in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12)

In short, the Antichrist and his deception is part of the judgment on this earth for their refusing to love the truth. It is essentially the same judgment that both Saul and Ahab received.

How about you? Do you love God? Do you love truth? Do you delight in righteousness? How will you respond to God?