GOD'S SPIRIT IS ABOVE ANY OTHER SPIRIT – PART 2
Sakkie Parsons
Translated from the Afrikaans Version: God se Gees bokant elke ander gees – Deel 2
Translator: Lynda Botha
I concluded my previous letter in this short series with two thoughts from the Bible regarding the statement that someone made in a letter to me stating the following:
“The Spirit of the Lord left Saul, and a tormenting spirit from the Lord filled him.” What does this mean? Surely the Lord doesn’t make use of spirits under the power of satan?
Here is how I understand it from the Word of God:
Our Lord is sovereign, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, the Creator of everything in the universe. He can do anything He wishes to do and is allowed to do so accordingly.
I will show you that our Lord used satan’s spirits in Saul's case. There are some other cases as well, except that of Saul, where our Lord also used satan's forces and I share with you the following:
1 COR 5:5 “Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.”
Another example which happened in the life of my great hero Paul is the following:
2 COR 12:7-9
7 “..So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”
8 “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.”
9 “Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
Back to Saul and the spirit which tormented him.
We do not always know why our Lord let satan's spirits do what they do, but I think in Saul's case we can see His reason.
I see it like this:
Our Lord did not want Saul to be a king over his people anymore because he was disobedient.
Our Lord chose a shepherd, far away on the plains of Israel looking after his sheep, to be his people's king
1 SAM 16:12 “So Jesse sent for him (David). He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”
1 SAM 16:13 “So as David stood there among his brother, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.”
What to do now?
There is the shepherd who must become the new king of Israel far in the field on the plains of Israel with his sheep.
How to get him into the palace where he can be seen by the people?
Well, for our almighty omniscient God it is of course not a problem.
His spirit left Saul, and as with everyone else where the Spirit of our Lord had left, there are now in Saul's heart a void. Satan's demons jostle one another to have the opportunity to take possession of it. Just like in Job’s history from Job 1:8 and further on we see that satan can only do what he is permitted to do by our Lord.
Our Lord let a spirit fill the void in disobedient Saul’s heart that will torment him in order for the following events to happen:
1 SAM 16: 15-19
15 “Some of Saul’s servants said to him, “A tormenting spirit from God is troubling you.”
16 “Let us find a good musician to play the harp whenever the tormenting spirit troubles you. He will play soothing music, and you will soon be well again.”
17 “All right,” Saul said. “Find me someone who plays well and bring him here.”
18 “One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that – he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgement. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”
19 “So Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, the shepherd.”
And as they say:
“The rest is history.”
With my human mind I will not even contemplate to understand why our Lord allows certain things to happen. As someone who adopted Jesus Christ as Saviour there are three principles a child of God must understand from this particular side of our religion as our Lord inspired us, His children, to write in His Word:
Firstly, is that obedience to our Lord should be one of the highest priorities in my life:
1 SAM 15:22 “But Samuel replied, (He speaks with the disobedient King Saul) “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”
1 SAM 15:23 “Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the Lord, he has rejected you (Saul) as king.”
Secondly, is that our Lord is God almighty and I am His creation and we should not question His doings:
ROM 9:20-22
20 “No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 “When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?”
22 “In the same way, even though God has the right to show His anger and His power, He is very patient with those on whom His anger falls, who are destined for destruction.”
Then thirdly, is the last principle as far as this matter goes, which our Lord laid out beautifully for us so that we don’t follow the same path as Saul:
EPH 6:11 “Put on all of God’s armour so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil”
Then Paul mentions in verse 12 a few types of evil spirits ready to attack us or take possession of us:
EPH 6:12 “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”
Then, from verse 13 and further on Paul uses metaphors where he mentions the requirements and principles to get our lives in shape if we want to remain standing and overcome satan's demons:
EPH 6: 13-18
13 “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armour so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.”
14 “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armour of God’s righteousness.”
15 “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”
16 “In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil”
17 “Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”
18 “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Greetings,
Sakkie