In 1 Samuel 16:14, why did the Lord send an evil spirit to trouble Saul? If God is good, why is there evil in Him?

February 05th 2018 | 42630 views 

There is no evil in God. 1 John 1:5, “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” Additionally, “God is love,” and “God…cannot lie” (1 John 4:16, Titus 1:2).

1 Samuel 16:14 reads, “But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”

The word evil is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance Hebrew word #7451, ra. It occurs 663 times in the Old Testament and does have the thought of evil but is also translated as “affliction,” “adversity,” “grievous,” “sore,” and “sad” depending on the context. 

Consider the following two examples:

Nehemiah 2:2 (CSB), “…the king said to me (Nehemiah), “Why are you sad (ra), when you aren’t sick? This is nothing but sadness (same root word) of heart.”

Proverbs 15:10, “Correction is grievous (ra) unto him that forsaketh the way…”

These two scriptures illustrate that ra can mean sad or grievous - something that hurts the heart. So, when God withdrew His spirit of guidance and blessing from Saul because Saul openly defied Him, Saul felt great loss. 

When God appointed leaders in Israel—whether Moses, the elders, or later the kings—He gave them a measure of His Spirit (His power and influence) to help them govern wisely, maintain order and judge the people fairly. Saul received this empowering Spirit when he first became king, and it gave him courage, clarity and authority to act as God’s representative (as seen in 1 Samuel 11:6). 

But when Saul stopped obeying God, that special Spirit of wisdom and sound judgment was taken away from him and given instead to David (1 Samuel 16:13–14). Once God withdrew His support, Saul no longer had the confidence and steadiness that came from being God’s chosen leader. In its place grew a heavy spirit—discouragement, fear and a deep sense of being abandoned. Scripture calls this an “evil spirit from the Lord,” not meaning God sent a wicked being to torment him, but that Saul’s anguish was the natural result of God removing His favor and sustaining power. Saul felt the weight of knowing he was no longer God’s chosen instrument, and that inner collapse—his brooding, anxiety, and loss of courage—was the consequence of God’s judgment on his disobedience.

Whenever we lose God’s favor due to our sins, God desires us to feel remorse and grief. Through experience, we learn to supremely value God’s will and recognize the great error of disobedience. It is our guilty consciences and (usually temporary) loss of our heart communion with our Father that causes this spirit of sadness and grief. 

Therefore, 1 Samuel 16:14 may be understood as meaning - the loving, guiding spirit of God left Saul, and God sent correction causing Saul to have a spirit of remorse and sadness.

Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast Episode #1280: “Is God an Angry God?”
Uncovering God’s true character through a specific set of scriptures
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

Animated videos for children, parents and Bible class teachers:
“Who was King Saul? Part 1”
“Who was King Saul? Part 2”

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