"At that very moment the Spirit of God left Saul and its place, a black mood sent by God settled on him. He was terrified." ~1Samuel 16:14 (MSG)
I'm having trouble with this passage. In one version, the black mood is called a "distressing spirit from the Lord," and in other versions, an "evil spirit from the Lord." The NLT version calls it a "tormenting spirit from God."
Whatever the malady was, it is clear that it was intentionally sent by God. I asked why?
I didn't have to read much further to get the answer.
In that same chapter, we read that God created within Saul a need for David. David was an accomplished musician. Saul's people hired David to "tend to" Saul, and Saul was very pleased with him. Whenever David played, the tormenting spirit would go away. God needed David to be close to Saul to accomplish His purpose.
So, this brings me to my next question. Does God still operate in this manner? I do recognize that He allows bad things/evil things to happen, and that He can create good from it for those who ask Him.
My question is God more intentional than that? Would God purposefully send a "tormenting spirit" to a person to establish a pathway for His divine purpose? Does that contradict His nature?
This is something I do not have the answer for. More study is needed.
