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Why did God send a distressing spirit to King Saul in 1 Samuel 19?


1 Samuel 19:9

Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand…


Why would God do that to King Saul? That is a great question. To answer it, we need to go back to chapter 16.

1 Samuel 16: 13-14

13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward … 14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. 

King Saul had God’s Spirit upon him in the past (1 Samuel 10:10). As time went by with Saul on the throne, he became more and more proud and continually resistant to the Holy Spirit. God ended up making Saul aware of his poor decisions and the resulting consequences.

Saul had finally come to a place in which God gave him his own way. It doesn’t mean that Saul was forever devoid of God’s love or forgiveness. God came to the point of not leading Saul anymore. It meant that his time as king was coming to an end and that God was pulling His support and giving it to David. It was the beginning of the end for Saul on the throne. God was no longer supporting Saul as king. 

The consequences didn’t stop there, though. God also made sure he was given a measure of torment, or distress, from a spirit… and it affected others around him. God had grown tired of Saul’s resistance and rejection.

For me, it almost seems like a Romans 1 scenario, where God gave people over to their sin. If people want their sin and turn on God enough, there may finally come a point in which God will allow them to have what they want. He won’t force Himself on anyone.

It can be an eyeopener. It's an interesting thing… and scary, too. Jesus said He is with us always (Matthew 28:20). However, if we continually resist His Spirit and stay in a sinful state, He will begin to remove things from us. Many times, that will include jobs, assets, positions of influence, or even family.

God doesn’t want that for us, though. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us He wants us to have a future with peace and hope. Along with that, we can walk in His goodness and mercy if we abide in Him (Psalm 23:6).


Romans 1: 24-25

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator—who is blessed forever. Amen.