Job - Why Things Go Wrong
Job - Why Things Go Wrong
1 - Introduction
5 - The Enemy Attack (this page)
The enemy have two means of obvious attack: Temptation and Testing/Trials. When we succumb to temptation we give the enemy power over us to do us harm. These harmful incidents are known as Testing or Trials.
However, between these two events is Accusation, where the enemy leader comes before God in heaven to accuse us of wrong-doing, and gain permission to attack us via Testing. This was covered in Part 4 - The Accuser Enters.
When things go wrong most people think that the events are random, coincidences, or just plain bad luck. Job, and other incidents in Scripture show otherwise. If we are willing to learn we can steer quite clear of incidents of depression, oppression, sickness, pain, loss, destruction and even premature death.
Select a topic from the Table of Contents below, or scroll through to begin reading
The enemy attack on Job began long before chapter 1 verse 13.
The first part of that attack is not described in any detail at all but it mirrors what happened in Genesis 3, where Adam and Eve somehow found themselves in one particular part of the Garden that was best avoided. How did they find themselves next to the tree that was forbidden to eat from?
A subtle suggestion was placed into their minds, into their logical thought processes, to question what God had told them. (Yes, they had both heard, since the woman part later removed from that first person to create Eve was still in what the Hebrew writer calls 'the adam', the first human that God created, when God spoke the prohibition designed to build their character. Not sure? Check out the Introduction to The Equality of Men and Women.)
TEMPT/TEMPTATION: a thought with evil intent that is applied to our mind/thoughts from an external source in such a way as to make it seem like a logical, natural thought that originated in our own consciousness or wisdom.
God is not the source, the enemy are, where the word 'enemy' applies to the devil and the fallen angels with him, described in Ephesians 6 as "the spirit forces of wickedness in the Heavenly realm." See also James 1:13-14. Ephesians 6:14 also points out that 'the enemy' are not human in any way.
Temptation can be very subtle: a distraction, a seeming emergency or something that we suddenly remember that needs to be done, but could actually be better done at a different time.
Temptation can be something we do habitually without even thinking about it: an extra snack we don't need, but our body seems to crave; an extra few minutes watching something online when we should be getting ready for bed; going to bed later and later until we sleep in the daytime and are awake at night.
As we resist the force of gravity by exercising - running, walking, jumping, cycling, climbing - our physical muscles become stronger and we become healthier, more capable, more likely to resist sickness and even injury (providing our exercise is safe).
As we resist the pull of temptation our emotional and spiritual 'muscles' become stronger. Actually resisting, let's say, the temptation to skip a training session will make us physically stronger as well. For a man, not admiring or spending any time even glancing at an attractive female body reduces the chance that he will go a step further and find her emotionally or lustfully attractive in his thoughts. Even that thought, according to Jesus, is the same as committing adultery - there might be no obvious penalty now but there will, most definitely, be one on Judgment Day.
"And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." Mark 9:47-48. (ESV)
As pointed out in Part 4, Job's Five Mistakes, Job tried to be God for his children. What started out with good intentions (the desire to keep or secure his children in a good relationship with God) ended up with bad results (the loss of everything, including his children). How could things turn out so badly?
In the beginning it was just a simple oversight.
He didn't get around to teaching his children about the things of God. Maybe he was pre-occupied with building his wealth, his holdings. Maybe he had no idea how to go about it. Those thoughts, "I'm too busy," or "I'll do it another day," were not a logical or rational feeling, but a subtle input from the father of lies, who had a good idea what the outcome could be.
When he first thought that his kids might be playing up, he guessed it was probably too late to try to bring them around. That thought, and the following one that maybe he could intervene like God, or maybe as one of his priests that, too, was planted within him by the enemy. He had no evidence, no proof that they were misbehaving, it says so in Job 1:5.
"It might be that they have..."
Those first seeds of doubt were placed there by the enemy. Job watered and fed those seeds of doubt until they knocked a mighty big hole in the hedge of protection that surrounded his all, including his children.
But in all this there was one important thing Job forgot:
God is all the time working with everyone on Earth to bring them into a right relationship with Them. We can help the process along by sharing God's goodness with others, but we cannot be God to them.
It's worth keeping in mind at all times that the enemy are not fighting God, but us.
ACCUSE/ACCUSATION: The enemy leader comes before God in Heaven in order to extract permission to apply a temporal penalty (one that applies in this time space, on Earth), based on the accusation that we have done something wrong.
The penalty can be anything that the enemy demands:
disharmony, depression, delusion, paranoia, oppression, sickness, pain, injury, accident, loss, joblessness, poverty, destruction and death, and anything else unpleasant in between these major problems.
God sets limits on what penalty can be applied, and the extent to which it can be applied.
According to the laws of the universe announced by God at Creation, "The soul that sins, it shall die." Ezekiel 18:4
Or as God told that first human (later to become Adam and Eve), "...in the day you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:17b
The enemy know this, and level accusation in Heaven when someone does the wrong thing. Jesus acts as our defense advocate before the Father, who ultimately sets limits on what form and extent the testing/trial can take place.
Physical death comes to everyone at some stage (although it is safe to assume that Elijah, and possibly Enoch, did not experience physical death). According to 1 Corinthians 15:26 "the last enemy to be overcome is death." Since death is an enemy it must come from the enemy, and not from God.
Physical death does not separate us from God - it tends to bring us closer into God's presence, since we are no longer restricted, for our own safety, from the actual presence of God in our physical bodies, as Moses found out in Exodus 33:20 when he wanted to see God's glory from the point of view of a human body.
God's response? "No man can see my face and live." Exodus 33:20
Was God afraid of being recognised? Of course not, but just as Adam and Eve were sent from the Garden for their own protection ("lest they eat of the tree of life and live forever..." in their fallen state, and miss out on redemption) there is something that is so magnificent about God's glory that would have destroyed the incomplete physical life of Moses.
TEST/TRIAL: the manipulation of negative circumstances around us and affecting us in such a way that they seem out of or beyond our control. To be fair, they are generally a result of things we have done that we should not have done, or things done to us to which we can respond differently to the way we have responded so far.
Tests and trials can also refer to negative circumstances which affected us as children (even in the womb) or while we were not in a position to adequately or effectively protect ourselves against them. These circumstances can include things like sickness, pain, accidents, loss, destruction (and are often seen as or in trauma) and death, often occurring to us, but sometimes to someone else. These circumstances are not as random as they might seem, nor are they sent by God.
Temporal death is the ultimate aim of the enemy at any time, since if we are dead, we can no longer achieve more or all of the "good works" that will help to accrue treasure for us on Judgment Day.
And so we are more concerned at the moment with premature death, which is also executed by "the thief" who "comes to kill, steal and destroy." John 10:10b. This is probably the most extreme form of testing, but not necessarily the most painful or destructive
In each case the death is related to doing the wrong thing(s). The enemy manipulated the people through temptations, and once they gave in, the enemy were then able to manipulate the circumstances that brought their death.
i) Hophni and Phineas, sons of Eli the priest at Shiloh. Served at the tent of meeting, but took the best portions of the sacrifices for themselves, and slept with the young women who served there. Their father warned them that what they were doing was wrong, but they took no notice. A prophet also warned that, because of their offences, and because Eli was not bringing them under control, Hophni and Phinehas "in one day they both shall die." and "all the increase of your house shall die in their best years." The two sons were killed when they took the ark of the covenant into battle without consulting God first. On that same day the wife of Phinehas gave birth to a boy but then she died, also. 1 Samuel 2 to 4
ii) Samson broke his Naziritic vow before his ministry began, by taking honey from the body of a dead lion, yet God still used him to bring judgment upon Israel's enemies. The tempter found it easy to manipulate him, through lack of ethics and the desires of his eyes. He chose his wife from among the enemy, and later a prostitute and then a girlfriend as well. The book of Judges shows that he had no innate strength but relied on Holy Spirit to come upon him to perform his great feats. He betrayed God's support of him when he told Delilah that his strength lay in his hair. Even though that wasn't true that was enough for Holy Spirit to not come upon him at that time. After imprisonment and blinding he woke up, and asked for Holy Spirit to come upon him once more, at a party to honour his defeat by the Philistines. In death he killed more Philistines than he had ever before. See Judges 13 to 16.
iii) Jonathan was the son of Saul, Israel's first king. He showed he had a strong reliance on the presence and promise of God. 1 Samuel 14. In verse 29 he recognised that his own father could get things wrong and wasn't afraid to say so to the people around him, but when it came to his friendship with David, who was seen as a threat to his father's leadership and prestige, Jonathan kept that a secret. Or so he thought to. Even though he protected David's life from his father's unreasonable anger and hatred, Jonathan still died suddenly in battle, shortly before his father. His mistake? Still siding with his errant father long after he knew that God had chosen David as king to succeed him. Loyalty to God's call takes precedence over any relationship that is actively working against the obvious will of God. But it was in Saul's foolish curse, "though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die," many years earlier, that the enemy had a tool to bring Jonathan's premature death to pass. 1 Samuel 13 to 31.
Beginning in 1 Samuel 9 we see a very elaborate ritual for Saul's selection and then accession to the throne as Israel's first king. Rather than repeat what is there we will highlight aspects which show Saul's character and how he was manipulated by the enemy.
"When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, There is the man of whom I told you. He shall have authority over my people." 1 Samuel 9:17
He was a man of humility. "Am I not of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? And is not my family the least of all the families of the clans of Benjamin?" 1 Samuel 10:21
Samuel anointed him with oil - verse 1. The anointing is separate to the gift God gives for ministry.
Samuel told Saul, "The Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily and you will show yourself a prophet with them" (a company of prophets Samson would meet); and you will be turned into another man." 1 Samuel 10:6
Saul was transformed by God for the job ahead. "And when Saul turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart." 1 Samuel 10:9
He also received a powerful prophetic gift that would allow him to know God's will - 1 Samuel 10:10 - soon after. "And when they came to the hill, behold, a band of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came mightily upon him, and he prophesied among them." (Note that here AMP actually says he "spoke under divine inspiration," when that would generally be translated as "he prophesied." He most probably was speaking about the goodness of God in much the way that many psalms do.)
When it came time to be presented as king to the people, Saul went into hiding. The enemy had sowed a seed of doubt that he wasn't worthy of the honour. "And when they looked for him he could not be found. Therefore they inquired of the Lord...And the Lord answered, Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage." 1 Samuel 10:21c, 22.
He was not meant to handle his new role alone - God provided like-minded men to accompany him. "There went with him a band of valiant men, whose hearts God had touched." 1 Samuel 10:26
At this stage Saul was not threatened by people who disagreed with him, or his selection as king. ""But some worthless fellows said, How can this man save us? And they despised him and brought him no gift. But he held his peace as if deaf." 1 Samuel 10:27
When the Ammonites threatened Israel, and the people wept in fear, "The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon Saul," and under his plan Israel prevailed over the Ammonites.
Saul won additional support and honour through this victory, and some of the people wanted to kill those who had previously questioned his kingship. Once again he showed a remarkable presence of God when he said, "There shall not a man be put to death this day; for today the Lord has brought deliverance to Israel." 1 Samuel 11:13
"All the people went to Gilgal and there they made Saul king before the Lord." 1 Samuel 11:15
After routing the significantly larger Philistine army at Michmash (1 Samuel 14) Saul's men, who had been under oath not to eat until the battle was won, "flew upon the spoil. They took sheep, oxen, and calves, slew them on the ground, and ate them with the blood." ( Verse 32.) Knowing that this was against the Law of Moses, Saul had them roll a large stone to where he was so that the animals could be killed correctly and eaten without the blood. "And Saul built an altar to the Lord. It was the first altar he built to the Lord." (Verse 35)
That wasn't the end of Saul's good work as king, though.
"When Saul took over the kingdom of Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side...Wherever he turned he made it worse for them. He did valiantly,... and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them." 1 Samuel 14:47-48
"There was severe war against the Philistines all the days of Saul, and whenever Saul saw any mighty or courageous man, he attached him to himself." 1 Samuel 14:52
Saul didn't follow God's orders completely when he went out against the Amalekites, at which point Samuel came to rebuke him. Samuel told Saul that because he had rejected the word of the Lord, God had rejected him from being king. That must have been a shock so early in his reign, but Saul's response was instant and exemplary:
"And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now, I pray you, pardon my sin and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord." 1 Samuel 15:24-25.
Samuel refused to return with Saul and worship the Lord, and repeated his assertion that God had rejected Saul as king because Saul had rejected God's word.
"And as Samuel turned to go away, Saul seized the skirt of Samuel's mantle, and it tore." 1 Samuel 15:27.
That wasn't a violent reaction - Saul just did not want to lose his connection with God. Samuel, however, used this opportunity to repeat his attack on Saul, but this time he made it very personal as well.
"And Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you." Verse 28.
To his credit Saul did not react to these attacks on him at this time. Once again he said to Samuel, "I have sinned, yet honor me now, I pray you, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God. So Samuel turned back after Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord." 1 Samuel 15:30-31
We all make mistakes; some we can undo, some we can't.
Saul went into battle against the Philistines near Gilgal. They drew up a massive army which outnumbered his. Some of his people started to leave out of fear. Samuel the prophet was due to come and offer burnt offerings but he had not arrived by the appointed time so, operating out of fear, Saul presented the burnt and peace offerings himself. Not so good, since he was usurping Samuel's role. 1 Samuel 13:1-9
At the same time, Israel's high priest, Ahiah, was with Saul and his men. (See 1 Samuel 14:3). Saul could have legally called on him to present the offerings to God, without penalty.
It can be hard to wait for God's appointed time, especially when things don't look so good, so the tempter subtly slides in a suggestion or two. "What if..." followed by "Maybe I can...?" God generally doesn't need our help (that's a figure of speech called 'Litotes', which is understatement for effect!) and so we end up in a mess.
Two hundred years earlier Gideon, from the tribe of Manasseh, had twice offered sacrifices to the Lord, on God's command, so it was not a problem for Saul of not being a Levite. (See Judges 6:17-27.)
The prophet Samuel turned up just as Saul finished sacrificing and demanded to know what had gone on. Saul excused his behaviour by saying, "I forced myself to offer a burnt offering." That wasn't strictly true. It might have been better to say, "I felt obliged to make the offerings to the Lord."
Making a mistake (doing the wrong thing) is bad enough, but when we don't pursue honesty and take responsibility for it that makes it doubly bad. Through that we give the enemy more power over us to do us harm. It is their subtle suggestion to dissemble and not admit our mistakes that we always need to resist.
Remember Adam and Eve? We tend to think that after they ate the fruit the tempter left, but he stayed right there, pressing shame, regret and fear into their souls, encouraging them to pass the blame. By not taking responsibility for their actions they also passed rejection and a sense of rejection onto their oldest son, Cain.
Cain's problem was not a 'wrong' type of sacrifice, but unresolved problems in his innermost being. Even when God appeared to Cain and challenged him to deal with his rejection, jealousy, anger and hatred, he rejected that advice also and murdered his brother instead.
There is also a possibility that something very special Samuel said to Saul during the anointing process stayed with him. First Samuel told him about an elaborate meeting with a school of prophets:
"Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily and you will show yourself a prophet with them; and you will be turned into another man. When these signs meet you, do whatever you find to be done, for God is with you." 1 Samuel 10:6-7
Was God only going to be with him while he was in the presence of those prophets? Or was this a promise, an instruction, for the future after that time, as well?
While lined up against the Philistines at Michmash (near Gilgal, after Saul's inopportune burnt and peace offerings), each army on their own side of a massive ravine, Saul's son Jonathan and his armour-bearer climbed through to the Philistine side and started a rout of the incredibly larger (60:1) enemy army. Saul saw what was happening from a distance and sent his army through to follow up.
To urge his vastly outnumbered men into battle Saul invoked a curse of death upon them if anyone stopped to eat. After all, he had seen Samuel do something similar at his (Saul's) inauguration - surely the Man of God (Old Testament terminology, we are all men and women of God in the New Covenant) knew what he was doing?
To see this in God's context, click here. Read items h. to j.
At the same time, after Saul and his men had refreshed themselves, he was prepared to "...go down after the Philistines by night, and seize and plunder them until daylight, and let us not leave a man of them. They said, Do whatever seems good to you." 1 Samuel 14:36.
The priest in attendance wanted to seek God's viewpoint, and that's when they realised that a curse stood between them and a surpassing victory
When it was revealed that his son, Jonathan, who led them into battle to win, had stopped to refresh himself with a dip of honey, not knowing about the curse, Saul was prepared to kill him. However, the men who had been with Jonathan would not allow that to happen.
"But the people said to Saul, Shall Jonathan, who has wrought this great deliverance to Israel, die? God forbid!...So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die." 1 Samuel 14:45
Maybe this was all just too hard for Saul to take in. He had been under stress because the enemy had him focus on the size of his army against the vastly superior army of the Philistines. He (with the indispensible help of Jonathan) had won a decisive victory with the unmistakeable help of God - what could go wrong? Pursue, pursue, pursue...except that Saul had had enough. The next verse, 46, says:
"Then Saul ceased pursuing the Philistines."
Samuel told Saul that the God who had anointed him king over Israel wanted him to now attack and destroy the Amalekites. "Go and smite Amalek and utterly destroy all they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and donkey." 1 Samuel 15:3. Saul complied, but spared the king, while his army kept the best of the animals, supposedly, according to Saul, to sacrifice to the Lord.
When Samuel arrived to deal with this situation Saul said to him, "Blessed be you of the Lord. I have performed what the Lord ordered." 1 Samuel 15:13. Well, that wasn't true, and Saul knew it. So did Samuel.
"And Samuel said, What then means this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?" Verse 14
"Saul said...the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God..." Verse 15b
That seems like a manufactured reason,
Samuel said, "Why did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but swooped down upon the plunder...?" Verse 19
"Saul said, Yes, I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have gone the way which the Lord sent me...but the people took of the spoil...the chief of the things to be utterly destroyed...to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Verse 20
The text in bold type above triggers something in me every time I read it, perhaps because I have used a false narrative like that before, but probably because I have had people who have clearly done what was wrong insist in that same way that they were, in fact, doing the right thing.
From whence came the temptation to modify God's strict instructions?
We know that temptation comes from the enemy, but what triggered this successful attack on Saul?
It was most probably the same source as the reason he stopped pursuing the Philistines in chapter 14, after Jonathan was rescued from death at his father's hands: he let public opposition trigger a giving-up attitude. How could he stop all those people from doing the wrong thing, especially after he did the wrong thing himself in keeping king Agag alive?
Saul had not really thought it through to where he realised that you cannot fool God, or His appointed servants, in this case the prophet Samuel. Saul was determined to win this one, no matter what.
"Samuel said, Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifice, as in obeying the voice of the Lord?...Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He has rejected you from being king." 1 Samuel 15:22a, 23b
Samuel had also rejected Saul at this point, if he hadn't already done it before. Saul really wanted Samuel to come with him, "to worship the Lord your God," but Samuel was unwilling. As Samuel turned to go Saul grabbed at the skirt of Samuel's mantle, to hold him back. That was not something that would be favourably viewed. The mantle tore as Samuel pulled away, and Samuel really got upset at this point. He tore into Saul, repeating some and extending other parts of Saul's downfall.
"And Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day..." Verse 28a
That word and the word 'torn' contained within it do not seem to have come from God - it just did not come to pass like that. There was no "tearing" of the kingdom in Saul's time. He actually increased Israel's control over the surrounding tribes. David, his successor, did nothing at all to tear the kingdom from Saul, even though he had several opportunities. David rightly believed that it was not up to him to remove someone God had appointed and anointed to a role.
But Samuel's next words definitely have no purpose except to wound. Unresolved and unrepented anger leaves us open to serious infiltration from the enemy. Sometimes it's subtle - "He needs to know how serious this is," or "He needs to know what I think of him" - and sometimes it rises up with a thought, "The only way to solve this is to kill him." Samuel didn't go that far.
"...and has given it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you." Verse 28b
That doesn't seem like a message from God, but someone who is bitter and angry. Mind you, that part of the word did come to pass, but why destabilise the man who would still be king for fifteen years?
The enemy were using Samuel to sow some serious seeds of doubt and uncertainty in Saul. That doubt would later lead him into a massive downward spiral.
Over the years several things about Samuel and his involvement with Saul have bothered me - as I prepared these points things suddenly seemed to fit into place.
a) Samuel grew up in the household, under the guidance, of Eli, who exercised no control over his wayward sons. Consequently, he did not have a good role model for training his own boys. That won't be a good enough reason on Judgment Day, because he certainly had the ability to hear from God, and since the beginning it has ultimately been the parents' role to "train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
This verse, then, is cause for some concern:
"When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel...His sons did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after gain, took bribes, and perverted justice." 1 Samuel 8:1,3
b) There was a strong reaction from the people:
"All the elders of Israel assembled and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint us a king to rule over us like all the other nations." 1 Samuel 8:4-5
c) There was a strong reaction from Samuel:
"But it displeased Samuel when they said, Give us a king to govern us. And Samuel prayed to the Lord."
Young's Literal Translation puts it like this: "And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel..."
That was a good decision to seek wisdom from God. He didn't always do that. But why was he displeased?
About 550 years prior to this God had spoken to Moses about this very situation, anticipating this moment. In Deuteronomy 17:14-15.
"When you come to the land which the Lord your God gives you, and you possess it and live there, and then say, I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are about me; You shall surely set over you him whom the Lord your God will choose; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you;"
There was no reason for Samuel to be upset, because God had planned for this moment. However, because he had failed his sons and the people, he allowed the tempter to sell him the idea that this desire of the people for a better system was a personal failure. This feeling stayed with him and caused a serious problem or two soon after.
d) God appears to mollify Samuel:
"And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken to the voice of the people in all they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not be king over them." 1 Samuel 8:7
Actually, the people had rejected Samuel's sons, and in that sense they were rejecting Samuel's plan for succession, which would have been a failure with his sons in place, anyway. Instead of seeking a Godly solution (another prophet, perhaps?), they wanted to copy their ungodly neighbours. Ultimately, I think that Samuel also felt that rejecting God was still rejecting Samuel.
e) Samuel calls the people to Mizpah to announce the kingdom
Samuel accurately conveys the words of God given to him at Ramah to the people gathered at Mizpah (1 Samuel 10:17), some time later. Neither when God spoke to him at Ramah, nor when Samuel spoke to they people at Mizpah, was there any suggestion that their request was outrageous, unreasonable or inappropriate. It was treated as 'a matter of fact' and approved by God.
It's not unusual for people who are being used by the enemy to operate in an ebb and flow of goodness or Godliness. Here Samuel was performing as God's major prophet in the way he was intended to. Sometimes this ebb and flow makes it hard for observers to realise or respond appropriately when they are being manipulated. Samuel himself would have possibly had little idea that at other times he was acting in a manipulative manner, because he had been fed and then had consumed justifying and validating feelings by the enemy.
f) Samuel appeals to his good name
At the beginning of Samuel's speech for the king's inauguration he made an unnecessary appeal to the people regarding his honesty and integrity. They had never questioned that, but he was preparing the way for something worse to come.
"...I am old and gray, and behold, my sons are with you...here I am; testify against me before the Lord and Saul His anointed. Whose ox or donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded or oppressed? ...And they said, You have not defrauded, or oppressed us." 1 Samuel 12:2-4
g) Samuel distorts the timing behind their request for a king
In 1 Samuel 8 we saw that the people requested a king because Samuel was old, and his sons did not follow in his ways. During his inauguration speech (see 1 Samuel 12:12) he turned this around and claimed that they clamoured for a king at a much later time, when Nahash king of the Ammonites came against them.
Saul had already been anointed king at the time of the Ammonite challenge, and called the people together to successfully defeat Nahash after "the Spirit of God came mightily upon (him)." 1 Samuel 11:6.
Samuel was definitely pursuing a different agenda, one that minimised his failure to ensure familial succession. His reactionary behaviour is typical of someone dealing with disappointment and unresolved issues. If we don't deal with the temptation thoughts as they enter, if we allow them to settle, if we feed them with what we think is more evidence of wrong-doing, then we end up making bad decisions which lead to bad actions which are destructive. Once the enemy gain an entrance it's a simple matter to keep feeding in the negative thoughts until they prevail.
h) Then Samuel calls down destruction on their harvest as if God is responsible
After recounting historical examples of God's blessing followed by a falling away of the Israelites (1 Samuel 12:8-14) Samuel said:
"But if you will not hearken to the Lord's voice...then the hand of the Lord will be against you. So stand still and see this great thing the Lord will do before your eyes now." 1 Samuel 12:15-16
Just because Samuel claimed that God was involved in what he was about to do does not make it so. We have to look at what happened, and what the Scriptures, especially the New Testament, tell us about God's character and nature.
"Is it not [the beginning of the] wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord and He will send thunder and rain; then you will know [without any doubt], and see that your evil which you have done is great in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.” 1 Samuel 12:17
Wait a minute - that's destructive, isn't it?
i) Where did the destructive storm come from?
I know the Old Testament is full of stories like this, where God destroys things and kills people, but is this what Jesus taught? Well, not at all, actually.
"The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy..." John 10:10
"This is the message which we have heard from Him and now announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all." 1 John 1:5
Maybe things changed when Jesus came?
"For I am the Lord, I do not change." Malachi 3:6
But that's right at the end of the Old Testament, just 300 or so years before Jesus - what about before that time,?
Moses knew it:
"God is not a man that He should lie, nor the son of a man that He should change His mind." Numbers 23:19
(Note that the original translation uses the word 'repent' where I have substituted the words 'change His mind', since that is the literal meaning of the word 'repent'.)
Just as in the New, so also in the Old: God has nothing to do with accidents, loss, destruction or death, even when called in by a prophet. They are the work of he whom Jesus called "the thief."
Elisha made a similar mistake, in 2 Kings 3:23-24, just after he took over from Elijah. A large group of youths mocked him, so he "called a curse down on them in the name of the Lord. And two she-bears came out of the wood, and ripped up forty two of the boys."
While it is true for mankind that "out of the same mouth come forth blessing and cursing," (James 3:10a) that is not true for God. What is true is that when prophets (anyone can do it, actually) are given authority from God to change situations with their words, we have to be extremely careful to make sure that our words are a blessing, and never a curse. Balaam found that out and declared it in Numbers 23:20b. "He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it."
Blessing as an outcome only comes from God,
where blessing refers to words or actions which are positive, beneficial and creatively good. Anyone can invoke a blessing upon a person, object or situation with their words or attitude - you do not need to be ordained, or a pastor or bishop or any other category of leader to bless. Anyone can do it.
Curses and their evil outcome only come from the enemy,
where curses are words or actions which are negative, harmful and/or destructive. Anyone can curse a person, object or situation by their words or attitude - you do not need to be a witch, witch doctor, medicine man or any other category of evil leader in order to curse. Anyone can do it, but there is a penalty for doing it!
Note Proverbs 26:2 which says, "The causeless curse shall not alight." In other words, without a valid reason (due to something we have done wrong) a curse cannot settle on us. Unfortunately, through our mistakes, most of us enter into that situation sooner or later.
j) What is this "great evil in the sight of the Lord" Samuel accuses the people of doing?
Nowhere, neither in Deuteronomy nor 1 Samuel or anywhere else, for that matter, does God say that asking for a king is evil. It certainly is not a 'great evil'. God was actually neutral about it at the very least, or positive at best. Samuel has embarked on a path of self-justification and self-aggrandisement. His pride has been hurt, and so the enemy are able to feed off that. Samuel has found something to make the people feel guilty.
(Return to previous link.)
k) Samuel's self-serving action had the result he wanted
"So Samuel called to the Lord, and He sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel." 1 Samuel 12:18
When we ask God to do something bad God isn't going to do it; all that happens is that we empower the enemy to bring that evil to pass. Unfortunately, it seems that it's often easier to get evil to come to pass than it is to get good. Now that Samuel is going down this path of serving himself rather than God it is only a matter of time before something even more serious goes wrong.
This fear of God that Samuel set up in the people is not the sort of thing that makes people want a close relationship of love. Destruction of the harvest doesn't come from a God of love, but someone to be feared: the enemy. Certainly God is not looking for that sort of fear from Their people.
l) The people call on Samuel to help them be right with God
"And all said to Samuel, Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for us a king. And Samuel said to the people, Fear not, you have indeed done all this evil; yet turn not aside from following the Lord...The Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name's sake...far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; but I will instruct you in the good and right way." 1 Samuel 12:19-23
These days we would call that manipulation: the end result is spiritual abuse. There was no evil in asking for a king, except in Samuel's eyes, as he submitted some of his thoughts to the enemy.
Samuel should have known The Law. He probably did, but for his own gratification he needed to set up a need-for-Samuel system among the people, just like many church leaders do today. In truth, we have Ephesians 4, which says that every believer has received at least one of the five ministry gifts, and our job, as leaders, is to raise up the body to do the work of the ministry (verses 8 to 16). But that is a threat to the status quo, the system that makes church people reliant on ministry leaders for everything. And when the leaders fail, the followers fall away.
Can we trust Samuel to always instruct the people "in the good and right way"?
m) Just like with us today, God told Samuel certain things but left the rest up to him
We tend to think, as we read Scripture, that everything those great men and women did was directly from God, that God spoke to them about everything, and then they followed. That isn't the case.
I realised this for myself just a couple of years ago as I was asking God to show or give me answers about some big questions I had. I was shocked at what came back.
"We can't tell you everything. Some things you have to work out for yourself."
That's not to say that God does not lead us in paths of righteousness - it just means that we have to make lots of decisions about our pathways. Some will be good, some not so good, and some could go bad. It's more a case of knowing God's ways (see Psalm 103.7) than it is of hearing from God. It's easy to let hardship or mistakes lead us down a self-pity path, or a sadness path, or even a path of revenge or antagonism. Of course, those paths are curated by the enemy. They seem like our own, logical, brain-reasoned deductions, but unless they are designed to have a Godly, positive, self-sacrificing and generous outcome, they are evil temptation at work.
As a prophet of God Samuel knew that what he said would most probably come to pass, even if he was angry...
n) When Samuel found that Saul had made offerings to God, he was furious
"And Samuel said to Saul, You have done foolishly! You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you." 1 Samuel 13:13a
We don't know anything about those commands. Perhaps they were never given as Samuel implied, since when God gives commands the Scriptures normally record them as such.
Was Samuel referring to the provision in the Law that only a Levite could make a sacrifice to the Lord? Perhaps, although Gideon and David, neither of whom were Levites, offered up sacrifices to God without problems.
Was he referring to the time, more than two years prior, when at Saul's anointing he had said, "You shall go down before me to Gilgal; and behold, I will come down to you and offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. You shall wait seven days, until I come to you and show you what you shall do." 1 Samuel 10:8
It's quite possible that Samuel was speaking that far into the future, just for this special time of attack, even though they had been to Gilgal in the meantime to renew the kingdom and sacrifice peace offerings. That's how prophecy sometimes works.
Or perhaps chapter 10 verse 8 was misplaced at some time in the past and was really meant to be chapter 13 verse 8? It would make more sense there.
The crucial thing that is missing, though, is a command or comment from God about this situation, and about what Samuel said next. It really looks like he was being manipulated into an "I told you so" punishment routine because he was still seething over his seeming demotion. The enemy also were keen to dismantle this new kingship idea as quickly as possible.
o) Samuel's punishment for Saul was swift and severe
"...for the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever." 1 Samuel 13:13b
It's hard to say if that had any effect on Saul. Most of us are just interested in the here and now, and not the hereafter. The next part, though, would have had an effect:
"But now your kingdom shall not continue." 1 Samuel 13:14a
That is certainly ambiguous - does Samuel mean "after death" or is he saying, "from this point on?" His next sentence implies that this discontinuation is going to apply now, from this point on!
"The Lord has sought out a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people." 1 Samuel 13:14b
There it is. When Samuel was anointing Saul's head with oil he said, "Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over His heritage, Israel?" 1 Samuel 10:1b
Don't be fooled by Samuel turning this fact into a question - it's a rhetorical question, a figure of speech to emphasise the absolute fact of what was taking place. Back in the present this now looks like a move to replace Saul at this time because he hasn't met Samuel (and God's?) standards.
p) Saul's kingship lasted another 15 years, because God had established it
From Samuel's point of view Saul needed to be replaced, and as a prophet he had immense authority to set the wheels in motion, with or without God's participation.
But there is a problem - from God's point of view, Saul cannot be replaced as easily as that. In fact, even though he subsequently died in battle, it was as an old man of 70 who had ruled Israel for 40 years! Samuel spoke in haste, in an attempt to demoralise Saul, perhaps even to get him to quit his difficult job. He was trying to use his authority to maintain some semblance of control. Once again, this is a typical example of spiritual abuse.
This is not to say that Samuel was a bad man - far from it. Instead, when we look carefully at what happened we can see the way the enemy used his unresolved pain to nearly take out the king who would never lack a man on the throne, Saul's successor, David.
How do we know that God did not want Saul removed at that time? Or at any time?
David knew it. He refused to take Saul's life when it was in his hands to do so.
Isaiah expressed it like this: "And yet He is wise...and does not take back His words." Isaiah 31:2
Samuel must have been familiar with the story of Balaam, and these words from Numbers 23:19a.
"God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should show repentance (change His mind)." (Note that I have added the words (change His mind) in brackets, since that is what repentance means.
Yet, in various places in the Old Testament we find words to the effect that "God regretted that He had..." What sort of figure of speech is at work there?
In Genesis 6:6 we read, in connection with the immense wickedness on the face of the Earth, "And the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and he was grieved at heart."
Since God also "knows the end from the beginning," (Isaiah 46:10) and everything in between, God knew what would happen back in that day; it was not a surprise to Them. Since God is not a (hu)man, to help understand God and Their response to situations, the writers of Scripture applied human characteristics to the Divine Being. We call this anthropopatheia, or a figure of Condescension. (ref. E.W. Bullinger, The Companion Bible, Appendix 6.)
The correct way to describe what was meant to be conveyed in Genesis 6:6 is that this is not what God ever intended to happen, although they obviously knew it would. It was a result of mankind's free choice.
q) When Saul did not totally destroy the Amalekites and their livestock as God ordered, Samuel was angry.
The instruction God gave to Samuel to give to Saul is in 1 Samuel 15:2-3.
When Saul did not follow the instructions to the letter, we read:
"Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, I regret making Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed My commands." 1 Samuel 15:10-11a
Verse 11 goes on to say:
"And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night."
Why was Samuel angry, of all things?
Anger is probably the most misunderstood emotion, especially among Christians. I heard a preacher I greatly admire say recently, "Well, God created anger."
What?? They certainly did not, any more than They created hatred, or lust, or greed, or idolatry. We just need to read Galatians 5, Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3 to see that anger and its various forms are described as "the old nature," "falsity," a way to "grieve the Holy Spirit," and "works of the flesh."
Each of those negative emotions mentioned above is the enemy's perversion of a Godly characteristic. They always produce destruction of one sort or another:
anger is the perversion of zeal and is overcome with self-control
hatred generally follows on from anger and is the perversion of dislike; it is overcome with self control and genuine concern for others
lust is the perversion of love and is overcome with self-control
greed is the perversion of self-preservation and is overcome with generosity
idolatry is the perversion of self-interest and is overcome with worship of God.
And so on. James 1:20 has an excellent point of wisdom:
"For man's anger does not promote the righteousness of God." In other words, anger works the plans of the enemy. While Samuel could not receive wisdom from the New Testament, he certainly had enough to go on from Genesis 4.
"And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry?...if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door, and you must master it." Verses 6-7
Not only sin, but sin via temptation - that was what God was attempting to teach Cain, Samuel and us. When we don't resist temptation there are always consequences, sometimes also called repercussions.
Here is a progression of evil we can learn from Cain's story:
Wrong-doing leads to
Rejection, leads to
Resentment, leads to
Anger, leads to
Hatred, leads to
Murder.
We will find that repeated throughout Scripture. To learn more about Anger and how to deal with it, click here.
And so Samuel's anger was entirely misplaced. Was he upset for God's sake, or for his own sake? Or was he upset that Israel's first foray into human regency looked to be failing? It's hard to say, and in the end doesn't matter, since whatever lay behind his anger, it was not justified nor did it come from God.
r) Did Samuel turn God's word "regret" into "reject"?
1 Samuel 15:11a records God's words like this:
"I regret making Saul king, for he he has turned back from following Me, and has not performed my commands."
We know that when God says, "I regret" something, that does not indicate a change of mind, but rather an expression of sympathy, "This is not the way we intended it to turn out."
We know that the second part of verse 11 says that Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night. There is no indication that God said anything further to Samuel about the matter, in spite of his much crying. That lines up with my own experience of God's response when I don't agree with something from Them!
Samuel went to meet Saul and found him at Gilgal. He also found a lot of animals there that he did not expect, taken as plunder by Saul's large army, against God's command.
"Then Samuel said to Saul, Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me tonight. Saul said to him, Say on." 1 Samuel 15:16
Samuel actually recounted some previous messages that God had given him for Saul. It's always good to start with something familiar. He finished with this damning statement:
"Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king." Verse 23b
Saul responded positively. He readily admitted his mistake and asked Samuel to pardon him.
That seemed fair enough, a good idea, but Samuel wasn't having any of it. I can almost see myself having the same self-righteous attitude that Samuel then showed towards Saul the sinner. Don't we become a part of the problem if we worship alongside someone who has made such a dreadful mistake? No, I think we might become a part of the solution if we do that!
"And Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel." Verse 26
There it is again, but this time there is a total rejection of Saul, not only as king, but as a worshipper of Yahweh. Devastating for Saul? I think so, we know so. The following chain of disastrous events shows so.
s) Samuel uses his words to attack Saul once more
Samuel turned to go, and as Saul seized the skirt of Samuel's mantle it tore.
"And Samuel said to him, The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day, and has given it to a neighbour of yours who is better than you." Verse 28
Ouch! That hurts. When people take offence they tend to lash out. Once the enemy get even a slight grip of our thinking, our words can so easily become offensive and wound, and our actions then even more so. Samuel went on:
"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie or repent (change His mind) , for He is not a man that He should repent (change His mind)." 1 Samuel 15:29
There is that powerful truth again - so Samuel did know it!
Here he is saying that God is not going to change His mind about this - Saul is out of the kingship.
But there is a problem - that truth is also retroactive for all time. It was first stated hundreds of years earlier, and is a foundational characteristic of what we know about God. Those words also mean that Saul, established as king by God Himself, is king forever, as long as he lives, anyway. No one, no man can change what God has established. Nor will God...
As we will see, Saul's kingship lasted another fifteen years or so. He wasn't going away, nor was God sending him away. Not even Samuel's prophetic words could change that.
t) Samuel turned back to worship God with Saul
Once more Saul admitted his mistake and asked Samuel to return with him to worship the Lord. Samuel did so, and also hacked Agag, the Amalekite king that Saul had spared, into pieces. (Verses 30-33.)
u) Samuel was still upset, and turned his back on Saul
"Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah...And Samuel came no more to see Saul to the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul." 1 Samuel 15:35
I can't help thinking that a different attitude, a different response from Samuel, would have been a great help to Saul as he navigated the difficulties of his kingship. I cannot see any instruction from God that Samuel was meant to abandon Saul like this. Who wanted Saul to be abandoned? The enemy, of course.
v) The last part of the last verse in 1 Samuel 15 says that God changed His mind...
"...and the Lord repented (changed His mind) that He had made Saul king over Israel." (Verse 35.)
Is that possible, can or does God ever change His mind?
Even Psalm 89:34 categorically denies the possibility of this ever happening. Jesus declared that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses (Scripture verses are witnesses in this sense) will everything be confirmed:
"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of My lips."
Here is another witness, from Isaiah 31:2.
"Yet he too is wise...he does not take back his words." (NIV online via Bible Hub)
So what is happening here, where God supposedly "changes His mind" about making Saul king? Once again God is stating categorically that they never intended Saul's actions to take this not-totally-obedient path.
Please note: My intention has not been to cast an innocent Samuel in a bad light, but to show the forces at play behind the harmful things that play out every day, including in church situations, under the subtle influence and attacks of "the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly realm." They were also at work in the lives of Job, his family, and his friends.
w) The first verse of 1 Samuel 16 says that God rejected Saul as king
"The Lord said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?" Verse 1a
If we look at this with rational eyes it seems that Saul's kingship is over, especially in the light of what immediately follows:
"Fill your horn with oil; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided for Myself a king among his sons." Verse 1b
Jesse's youngest son, most probably from an illicit relationship, was anointed king. However, it took another 15 years before he became king, after the death of Saul in battle. If God appoints us, even if we don't perform to Their high standards, God might reject our behaviour, but God does not replace us or cast us off. Ever.
Salvation in the Old Testament predated the Old Covenant, which was not a covenant of righteousness, but of relationship. Long before Mt Sinai, we read:
"And Abraham believed God, and this was credited to him as right standing with God." Genesis 15:6.
Even when Abraham had sex with his wife's foreign maid in a man-planned attempt to have the son of promise (Genesis 16), even after laughing at God's confirmation of the promise (Genesis 17), even after trading his wife for sexual favours while in fear for his own life (Genesis 20), he did not lose his right-standing with God.
28.
In the Old Testament there was no indwelling Holy Spirit for all believers. Or any believers. With leaders like Samson, Gideon and Saul "the Spirit of the Lord" would come upon them and they would perform great feats. Once Samuel anointed a teenage David to be king, "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward." 1 Samuel 16:13b
In the following verse we read: "But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul..." That's understandable, since anyone carrying "the Spirit of the Lord" should also be performing according to the word of the Lord, and Saul was not.
I have no doubt that, as he realised what he had lost, Saul became disturbed, morose and depressed. Those feelings come and go, become lighter and heavier, but harder and harder to shift if we don't praise and worship God frequently.
The enemy input these seemingly innocent but seemingly accurate ideas, even to Christians with an indwelling Holy Spirit, that "it's all God's fault," or "why did God let it happen to me," or "what if I try this?" "Maybe I can go it alone," or "I think I'm just going to give up." Eventually they come to "Life isn't worth living like this," or if there is another person somehow connected to our misery, sooner or later there is a 'random' thought that killing them is the only answer.
The thoughts enter our consciousness as if they were our own, discrete, logical deductions or observations. The enemy attack is subtle and, if we don't resist it, it becomes relentless in the end. That's what happened to Saul.
29.
1 Samuel 16:14 contains a trap that a lot of people (most people?) miss completely.
"But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him."
That last part simply is not possible - evil spirits DO NOT come from God, ever. God administers Holy Spirit, also known in the Old Testament as the 'Spirit of the Lord' or the 'Spirit of God'.
The adversary, the devil, the leader of "the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly realm" as Paul describes the enemy in Ephesians 6:12c, administers the evil spirits who torment people and cause great mischief and evil all over the world.
This topic was introduced on the previous page under David Takes a Census - two opposing versions, here.
The topic is also thoroughly covered under Some Common Misunderstandings from the Old Testament, here.
To understand who the enemy are and how they work, see Know Your Enemy, here.
Even the wayward Pharisees recognised that demons (just another name for 'evil spirits') are under the control of the prince of demons (another name to represent the adversary), when they challenged Jesus' deliverance ministry in Matthew 12:22ff.
"This man casts out demons only by...the prince of demons."
Jesus replied, in verse 25:
"And if the adversary (Gk = ho satanas = the adversary, nominative case, usually incorrectly translated as a name, Satan) casts out the adversary (Gk = ton Satanan = the adversary, accusative case, usually incorrectly translated as a name, Satan) he is divided against himself..."
Even without teaching from Jesus the Pharisees and scribes knew that God did not send demons or evil spirits to harass people. This particular story is important because it also shows that 'ordinary' but serious physical conditions can have a spiritual origin. That, of course, is the whole message of the first two chapters of Job.
"Then a blind and dumb man, under the power of a demon, was brought to Jesus, and He cured him, so that the blind and dumb man both spoke and saw." Verse 22 According to verse 24 it was easily recognised by everyone there that the physical healing came with the removal of the spiritual oppressor.
30.
It wasn't the removal of Holy Spirit from Saul that led to his decline.
Saul was in a fix:
a) he was in his mid fifties with no retirement plan in sight;
b) he had not asked for this job and was reluctant to accept the challenge at first;
c) he had had several powerful encounters and experiences with God through it,
d) but he had now been dumped twice by his nation's spiritual leader.
e) That spiritual leader subsequently declined to work with him, or even visit him;
f) and he was told he would be replaced by someone, a near neighbour, who would do a better job.
The good things that Saul had done, his victories over Israel's enemies and significantly expanding the nation's territory seemed to have been forgotten or discounted. All his efforts seemed to have been for naught. Happy verses like "Rejoice in the Lord, " and "Praise God in and for all circumstances" had not yet been written. What was he to do?
Saul did what many of us do, even with all of the teachings of Scripture and an indwelling Holy Spirit as well - he started to feel isolated and abandoned. We know now that God will never leave us or forsake (abandon) us, but did Saul know that? (He should have, the original inspiration for Hebrews 13:5 is found in Deuteronomy 31:6,8.)
When our future looks bleak we know to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight," (Proverbs 3:5-6) but that was still two generations away for Saul.
Note: The presence of an evil spirit settling on Saul from time to time did not prevent Holy Spirit from returning in His own time.
When Saul decided to have David killed he fled to Samuel at Ramah. Saul went to take David himself, but as he approached the company of prophets who were with Samuel, Saul started to prophesy (speak the praises of God) as Holy Spirit came upon him, just like in the beginning when Samuel anointed him as king. He could have used this God-encounter to soften his heart, but chose not to.
They could have been recent or long ago, back in the past.
"Don't climb up there, you might fall."
"You always make the same mistakes," or "Can't you ever get it right?"
"You're useless," or "You're stupid," or "You're ugly," or "You're fat."
"Jesus doesn't like that," or "God hates what you are doing." And so on.
For the first forty years of my life I would have occasional nightmares, less often as I got older. I grew up on a farm next to a railway line, in the days of steam trains. I loved to go outside and watch the trains go by; sometimes they would stop opposite our rural house for some reason or another, before 'choof-choof-choofing" off again. We lived a mile out of town, and when I heard the loud steam whistle at the level crossing up the road I would waddle outside with a warning from my mother in my ears.
Decades later I was in Sun City, an outlying city in greater Phoenoix, AZ, when I once more heard the warning whistle from a modern, diesel locomtive, about half a mile away. It was the same sound I used to hear as a child, and it sent shivers down my back. Why?
It seemed that the trigger for the nightmares was still with me.
In them I would hear the whistle, and go outside to watch for the train. As it got near our place I had to go inside the house and hide, otherwise the train would "get me." Sometimes it would come off the tracks and slowly chase me down, or the driver and fireman would get out after stopping the train and catch me. If I left it too late before I started to head inside, my movements became excruciatingly slow, and I would be caught. And then I would wake up.
So I asked, "Why am I still triggered by that sound, what's going on?" And God opened my memories so that I could resolve the problem.
When I was a toddler, my mother would say to me something like, "Don't go over the road, the train will get you."
I did cross the road at some stage, but only to stand and look through the fence along the railway line. But whether it was that lapse in rigid obedience, or just the general, fear-based warning, I had unconsciously allowed the enemy to get a foothold in the innermost recesses of my soul. And so, just a couple of years ago, I applied the very same technique to myself that we have used successfully with many people.
It goes like this:
1) Process the memory, ask God to restore it, if necessary.
2) If the memory is strong and painful - violent, physically or verbally abusive, traumatic in some other way (such as an accident) we need to take responsibility for the way we felt or feel now. This is NOT taking responsibility for any abuse or trauma directed at us by someone else. See point 4).
3) Hold out your hands before God, at waist height, palms up and open to receive. Do not close your eyes as you do this, or pray with your mind or your lips. Wait ten to twenty seconds like this before proceeding.
This is a special type of prayer, according to Lamentations 3:41. Many people get set free or healed just by following the instruction above. It is correctly translated by AMP pre 1987, Young's Literal Translation and the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer 3:
"Let us lift up our heart on our hands to God in Heaven."
In essence, Psalm 37:4 says that as you "Delight yourself in the Lord, He will grant you the desires of your heart." Lifting up hands before God in this way seems to achieve just that for many people!
4) Say out loud, softly is fine, but don't try to do this just in your mind or heart - it is important to vocalise this, even in a small way:
"I'm sorry I was abused/scared/traumatised/told I was useless/didn't take notice of what I was told." Insert or add the appropriate action words for your unique situation - these suggestions are just to help you find a suitable expression(s) to use.
Note that you are not apologising to or for the abuser as if you deserved the abuse.
5) It is not uncommon for those who have been abused, especially in childhhood, to in turn use similar, abusive tactics on others: perhaps their children, family, workers or social contacts. Release comes through owning (accepting responsibility) for the flawed
attitudes. Like this example:
"I'm sorry that I adopted similar patterns to the abuse that was inflicted upon me, and have used similar tactics on family/relatives/friends/co-workers/neighbours/employees (choose or substitute whatever is appropriate for your situation). I should not have done that, I won't do it again, and I want to repair the damage where I can."
6) "I'm sorry that fear/anger/uncertainty/hopelessness/revenge/self-destruction (insert or add whatever is appropriate to your situation) has taken hold of me. I don't want this anymore. I bundle this/these things up and place them on my hands now."
7) At this point you are going to pass/hand these things to Jesus - He wants to take our burdens from us. Once you have placed everything on your hands that you want to be rid of, gently throw them straight up. (Don't throw your hands over your shoulders - you don't want to put these things behind you, but give them to Jesus to dispose of).
8) Then say, as you throw these things up gently, "Jesus, I give you these things that have burdened me." Pause for a second or two, then, "Thank You, Jesus, for setting me free."
It works!
(Sometimes it will come back as a temptation and catch us unawares, so that we hold onto it again - repeat the above steps as necessary.)
31.
Incident = Response/Reaction > Godly Response/Temptation/Testing
g) Announcement of elevation to kingship = uncertainty > elation.
h) Confirmation of same = "the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him"
= he spoke prophetically in/under the power of God
= this honour was known among the people
= elation > confidence.
i) Announcement to people left Saul (hiding in the baggage) uncertain = tempted to fear > gives enemy access
j) Opposition from some of his people = not concerned
k) Threat from Ammonites = "the Spirit of God came mightily upon Saul" = confirmation > elation
l) Some wanted to kill those who had previously opposed him = forgiven by Saul
m) At Saul's inauguration Samuel claimed having a king was a sin:
= Samuel's idea, not God's idea > is God really in this? > uncertainty > doubt
n) Samuel called down destruction on the harvest as a result = curse from enemy, (blessing from God}
= misplaced fear of God + fear of Samuel = uncertainty for Saul > opens up temptation to question God > gives enemy access
n) Saul offers burnt and peace offerings:
= Saul's uncertainty > impatience > succumbed to temptation = usurp the role of priest + a desire to be seen as in charge
o) Samuel on his own account told Saul that his reign was over, and that God would replace him with a better man.
= Saul in shock > confusion >frustration > uncertainty/anger > Saul's curse affecting Jonathan
p) Saul's army ate food with the blood = Saul sets up a killing stone so men do not sin against the Lord > builds altar to the Lord
q) Saul seeks God's wisdom = no answer.
Casts lots to see who has 'sinned' by eating under his curse = Jonathan is taken > Saul is prepared to kill Jonathan > People prevent him > frustrated by opposition > poor decision-making = stops pursuing enemy
Note: God's failure to answer Saul's request was not due to the sin of eating meat with the blood in it, but to draw attention to the outstanding curse, which was then temporarily negated by the people declaring Jonathan must not die that day, since he had brought the victory.
r) Samuel gives Saul a command from God to utterly destroy Amalek = Saul and his men keep best animals and preserve the king.
s) Samuel confronts Saul > Saul attempts to avoid responsibility by repeatedly lying > then by blaming his men. (Note pattern: Yielding to temptation = sin > leads to lies to cover up mistake = another mistake which gives the enemy advantage/power over us once more.)
t) God tells Samuel that He regrets making Saul king > Samuel distorts this and tells Saul that God has rejected him from being king = repentance from Saul > and wants to worship God
u) Samuel declines, repeats that God has rejected him from being king > but Saul insists > Samuel turns to go > Saul seizes Samuel by his mantle to stop him.
v) Samuel turns on Saul > says that God has torn the kingdom from him > confirms that God does not change His mind (which means that Saul is still king)
w) Saul again admits that he has sinned > still wants Samuel to come with him to worship God > Samuel finally complies > but never came to visit Saul again
x) Afterwards Saul starts to brood on his losses > upset with Samuel > upset with God > Samuel anoints David as king + filled with Sprit of God
y) Saul considers his losses > upset > regret > depression > jealousy towards unknown rival > anger > hatred > spirit of oppression > David with Spirit of God plays harp = spirit of oppression leaves Saul
z) David becomes a hero after slaying Goliath + Saul diminished in eyes of the people > negative thoughts (as above) intensify > unchecked spirit of oppression > spirit of derangement (raving in his house) > spirit of murder = throws spear at David
NOTE: Left unchecked, uncorrected, the temptations of the enemy can become such strong trials within people that even the presence of the Spirit of God is unable, without special intervention, to remove or cancel out the enemy's destructive work.
Saul was not coerced or tricked. Instead, he was spiritually abused by Samuel. He made the poor decisions which led to his downfall, but at any time he could have resisted the temptations that he faced.
You know, like:
"I can't do it," or "I'm no good," or "I'm just no good at this."
"I never get things right," or "Things are always going bad for me."
"This is hopeless," or "I'm hopeless."
"I'll never make it," or "I hate what God is doing to me," or "I just want to die."
Negative words and thoughts like these can have a devastating effect on our present and future. If we persist in negativity we just empower the enemy to bring those things to pass, or to continue to oppress us in that way.
The problem is that these sorts of thoughts come in the form of temptation from the enemy in such a way that we think they are coming from our own, rational observation and thinking. They are not.
Even Job got caught this way, as we will see later on.
Thinking negatively about ourselves and our situation becomes Depression, and as we allow depression to sit within our soul it becomes Oppression, where we start to think about harming ourselves or others whom we think might have harmed us. We have to push back, push back against those negative thoughts, either by changing the subject quickly within our minds, or by turning the negative seed into a positive planting.
That's what king Saul failed to do, that's what Cain failed to do, before and after God spoke to him.
That's how we get to those senseless murders that just don't make any sense: Cain killing Abel, Saul attempting to kill David, the ones in the news every day. People get tempted to believe that the only way to solve the mess they are in is to kill someone. Suicide comes in in the same way: by allowing negative thoughts to continue they become self-destructive thoughts.
Since death does not come from God, any death-wish towards ourselves or others is, in effect, worshiping or placing ourselves in the hands of the enemy, who control death. They would often just as soon cause us great torment and pain instead.
Different scenarios are discussed below, to give you ideas of how to proceed.
Begin the repair/restore part by holding out your hands before God at waist height, palms up and open to receive. Do not close your eyes as you do this, or pray with your mind or your lips. Wait ten to twenty seconds like this before proceeding. As you do so it is quite likely that you will feel something special/different happening on your hands or somewhere else in/on your body.
This is a special type of prayer, according to Lamentations 3:41. Many people are set free or healed just by following the instruction above. It is correctly translated by AMP pre 1987, Young's Literal Translation and the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer 3:
"Let us lift up our heart on our hands to God in Heaven."
In essence, Psalm 37:4 says that as you "Delight yourself in the Lord, He will grant you the desires of your heart." Lifting up hands before God in this way must be delighting in the Lord, since many people have been released and set free from pain and sickness just through doing that!
1) When did the negative thoughts, attitudes or self-condemnation start, what was the incident that precipitated the negativity?
2) Is there another way to view that incident, so that it can no longer harm us or stir up negative feelings? Sometimes we long for punishment or a penalty for the other person involved, but a verse in Job 36:17 might be helpful in dealing with this:
"But you were full of judgment on the wicked; Judgment and justice take hold of you." (NASB)
It might be that, for our own sake and sanity, we need to let judgment and our sense of what justice means in a particular situation, go.
Like this:
"I'm sorry that I have held onto thoughts of judgment and justice towards < name >, I surrender them to you, and Your love."
3) How does God see it, what is God's way of looking at it? If it still causes pain then we possibly haven't forgiven the other person, or we haven't forgiven ourselves.
To forgive someone means that:
a. we no longer hold them personally responsible for our pain or present situation;
b. we are able to ask God to forgive them and bless them in their areas of need;
c. we do not seek punishment for them for their actions toward us.
Nonetheless, if the person is in a position to harm others we can seek to make the problem known so that they are limited or prevented from offending against someone else.
Deal with unforgiveness like this:
"Jesus, I'm sorry that I have held onto this offense for so long. I want to release it to You right now, to let you deal with it. Where offense and resentment and unforgiveness has been, please fill those areas in me with Your love."
3) Another trigger for depression and then oppression is a feeling that God is responsible:
d. for everyone's well-being,
e. and that if someone is not doing well, God is ultimately at fault,
f. either because God has forgotten them or has abandoned them,
g. or because God is actively punishing them for "doing the wrong thing," or punishing them unfairly for the same reason.
h. "Because God can do anything, why doesn't He rescue me from this?"
Once again, this is received as an externally applied temptation in such a way that we think it is really true, and coming from our own, logical thought processes. We need to push back on things like this, using either Scripture or positive, God-based affirmations.
Jeremiah 29:11-17 has great impact for our future:
"For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." v11
"Then you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes..." v13, 14a
Something like this:
"Lord God, I'm sorry that I have blamed others and even You for the mess I'm in. I know now that I've landed here through my own decisions, my own mistakes, and that You have been trying to help my see this. I want to go Your way, and do things Your way."
4) Self-condemning and self-deprecating thoughts often proceed after verbal, physical, sexual or spiritual abuse from someone else. The abuser often makes the victim feel responsible for the abuse, and then for keeping it quiet: "This is our secret." The abuser might use manipulation like, "If you say anything it will break up the family/church/ministry," depending on what area the abuse is taking place. Or it might be "God has planned for us to work together," when it really is the enemy at work via lust, abuse or manipulation.
Because the abuser is subtly getting the victim to agree with what is happening this lie or distortion causes a tearing inside the victim's soul: they are torn between ending the abuse (their feelings, wisdom or conscience) or continuing with it (by masking their feelings, justifying the action or blanking it out). Here is how to proceed:
With hands out, after 15 to 20 seconds proceed like this:
"I'm sorry that I let myself get caught up in an abusive situation, and let my soul get torn in two/in pieces/to shreds (use or substitute whatever is appropriate); I want to be whole again. Holy Spirit, knit my soul together again, so that I can receive and give love, for myself and others."
When things have been going wrong we tend to become negative. It's good to look for things that we have done wrong or are doing wrong; even just a negative attitude will allow the enemy to manipulate us into more negative situations. God is able and willing to change things around, but as Job's story shows later on, the turnaround came after he made some major attitude shifts.
"I'm sorry that I have become negative about my past and my future. I want to trust You, Lord, because You only have good things for me."
Think of the negative thoughts and words that you have entertained, bundle them up and place them on your hands, then throw them straight up to Jesus, and say,
"Jesus, I give you my negativity, Thank You for giving me hope in my final outcome."
If you have thought or wished to apply pain or punishment or even death to someone else, it's time to give that up as well. That's God's job, either in this life or the next:
"Jesus, I am sorry that I stood in judgment over < name >; that's wrong, and I should not have done that. I surrender < name > to You. I don't want any harm to come to them on my behalf, just the blessing of God."
Self-harm often comes as a result or follow-on from sexual abuse. It could come from another, deeply personal, deeply wounding source, The problem is not really the abuse itself, as horrific as it might have been, but the way we process it, or don't process it.
The feelings generally attached to it are hopelessness, loss, confusion, soul-tearing, destruction, inadequacy, anger and worthlessness. The victim needs to push back against each of those feelings which, once again, are being applied from an external source in a such a way as to seem like a rational thought from the person's own mind or wisdom. However, before we can effectively push back against the negative input we need to disable/disempower/nullify the triggers.
Self-harm, by way of cutting, or using drugs, alcohol or sex to take one's mind off the pain of the offence, or over-eating excessively are all signs of a problem or problems that have not been dealt with - they are not the problem itself.
Dealing With the Source Problem
If you don't know, don't remember or have blocked out the original trauma:
Hold out your hands before God as in the previous examples
Wait 15 to 20 seconds in quietness, then say:
"I'm sorry that I have suffered trauma in the past which
Since death comes from and belongs to the enemy, any death wish upon ourselves is tantamount to offering our life to the devil. It's important to understand that the enemy feed that temptation thought through to us, whether it's as a result of pain, sickness or accident, or just a total sense of failure in life. (Yes, that thought too!)
Suicide or self-harm doesn't solve any problems
Eli did not control his sons > corruption
Samuel. raised in Eli's household, did not control his sons > corruption
Israelites requested a king rather than have Samuel's sons rule.
God had planned for this at Israel's founding
Samuel unhappy at being bypassed > wrongly claimed requesting a king was sin
At Saul's inauguration Samuel called down a curse in the name of God upon Israelites
Delayed visiting Saul in battle
Distorted God's response to Saul's error - changed 'regret' into 'reject'
Spoke from his own feelings to demoralise Saul
Falsely prophesied end of Saul's reign - "God has torn the kingdom from you"
Declined to worship God with Saul, even after he repented and confessed
Subsequently declined to visit/encourage/guide Saul.
Saul initially uncertain about new role announced by Samuel
Hid out of sight when announcement was to be made to the people
Some people despised Saul's new position > Saul forgave them
Offered burnt and peace offerings before the Lord when Samuel delayed in coming > Samuel declared Saul's reign to be temporary
Used a curse to keep his outnumbered army fighting all day (emboldened by Samuel's example at his inauguration?) > the curse impacted his son, Jonathan
Built an altar to the Lord and was prepared to finish plundering the Philistines, but outstanding curse halted proceedings
Was prepared to kill Jonathan, who had won a major victory that day, to enact the curse - the people would not allow it
Saul then stopped pursuing the Philistines when he was meant to press on for a bigger victory
Brought many victories over Israel's enemies but did not follow Samuel's instructions from God to destroy the Amalekites and all they had.
Told Samuel that he had followed God's instructions.
Repented and confessed; asked Samuel to worship God with him
Samuel exceeded his prophetic mandate and condemned Saul for his actions. Eventually joined Saul in worship of God
Samuel abandoned Saul, never visited him again.
Saul fell into depression at future loss of kingdom to "a near neighbour who is better than" him.
Depression (feeling bad about oneself and situation) untreated allows entry of spirit of oppression (blaming and wanting to punish others for situation). (Evil spirits come from the enemy, not God.)
Depression > Oppression
Sorrow > Self-pity > Jealousy > Anger > Hatred > Attempted Murder = many attempts to kill David
"You have conferred prosperity upon him in the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land."
The first part of verse 10 - "You have placed a hedge of protection around him and all that he has on every side" - was partly true. It's true that God planted the seeds of protection for Job, and for us, and everyone else who has ever lived, but it is up to us to maintain and trim and fertilise and water that hedge of faith.
The second part of verse 10 is completely true - Job's prosperity and our prosperity come from God. They are always preparing ways to bring abundance into our lives, ways to abundance that we sometimes miss, blind-sided by distracting temptation from the enemy to try something else.
Much like the temptation with Adam and Eve, the adversary's attack on Job starts in a subtle way by recounting what is true; well, mostly. :-)
1 - Introduction
5 - The Enemy Attack (this page)