Demonic Dementia

1 Samuel 16:13-18
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.
14 But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
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1 Samuel 18:9-12
9 And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.
10 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul's hand.
11 And Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his presence twice.
12 And Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from Saul.
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1 Samuel 19:8-10
8 And there was war again: and David went out, and fought with the Philistines, and slew them with a great slaughter; and they fled from him.
9 And the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his javelin in his hand: and David played with his hand.
10 And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin: but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night.

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Saul hadn’t been himself lately. His actions were becoming unpredictable. At times he appeared to be imbalanced. His conduct seemed to present a frightening reality: God had indeed departed from him.

With that departure came a new influence that began to impact Saul’s thoughts and actions. And, it was obvious to those closest to him that “an evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul.”

But … for those outside this inner circle, I wonder if anyone would have noticed the difference. Would they have realized an “evil spirit” was influencing their beloved leader?

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We live in the midst of an unseen world — the spirit world. We as believers in Christ know that.

However …

Do we, in our everyday life, look at the world that swirls around us through the dual lens of seen and unseen? I know at times I don’t. It’s easy to see much of what transpires with only our natural, rather than spiritual, senses.

The Bible makes it very clear that there are forces at work vying for dominance — those of God and those of Satan. The spirit of good and the spirit of evil, if you will.

In relation to Saul, I came across a note in my King James Version Study Bible. When I read it my mind immediately went to what we are experiencing in our daily lives right now. And not just our lives in America, but the entire world.

Here’s what it said:

“The evil spirit brought on Saul a demonic dementia ….”

That is a perfect description of what Saul was undergoing. He was acted upon, at times, by a force that completely over powered him causing a “demonic dementia.”

Now … here’s what is really interesting. The evil spirit, acting upon Saul, caused him to try and kill David.

Why in the world would God “allow” that to potentially happen? He knows His Son must come one day to die for the sins of mankind. And for that to happen, David has to hang around a little longer. It doesn’t seem compatible with the mind and will of God … humanly speaking.

So, we need to ask:

Why the evil spirit on Saul? Why the “potential” death of David at the hands of a demonically demented King? What is to be our take away from this Biblical narrative? — — — —

God is reminding each generation (through His Word which is relevant for every generation) that there is always a spiritual, demonic element at work which we can’t see.

For example.

What’s the first thing we see when Yeshua starts out in His ministry? We see the demonic world and the spirit world colliding with each other. The demonic (Satan) is still seeking to thwart and derail the spiritual (Yeshua). We get a brief glimpse into what Satan and Yeshua see all the time — the behind the scenes warfare of two opposing forces.

We too easily lose sight of why God called us unto Himself in the first place. It wasn’t so we could live the good life skipping our way into Glory. No. He saved us to be His vessels, His ambassadors, His servants to the lost and spiritually dead world in which we live.

That being true —

God knows that we need, every so often, a reality check — a wake up call — as to our true spiritual condition. Are we seeking first the kingdom of God and what is important to Him or our own lives as we want to see them played out?

Because …

If we’re living primarily for ourselves and what we desire, we WILL fall prey to the Demonic Dementia that is happening right now in our Country, our world, and (dare I say it?) to some degree in our churches and congregations.

Here’s where I’m going with all of this.

Many people are wondering what’s behind that which we’re experiencing right now. And it appears that the political/social elements are what mainly get highlighted. Very little consideration is given to the notion that an “evil spirit” might be at work.

What we are living through now (and perhaps until the end-times) is a worldwide Demonic Dementia of increasing magnitude. The spiritual and political landscape of the entire world is being reshaped in a way that’s not good. And it doesn’t bode well for the future.

So … how can we, God’s people, be cognizant of the realities of both worlds — the seen and the unseen?

May I suggest, for starters, that …

The answer is found in Yeshua Himself.

What did He do when He “wrestle[d] not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” during the temptation in the wilderness?

He, the Word made flesh, turned to His own Words. It was the infusion of His Word that brought clarity and objectivity. And so it is to be with us, God’s people, as well.

We won’t have the clarity and objectivity we need to decipher the ever changing and confusing elements we’re faced with UNLESS we view the world through the corrective lens of the Word.

God’s people will be confused and ignorant of what is happening in the world if they don’t have more than just a general overview of the Word. To be able to make sense of the daily events surrounding us, we need to have daily “contacts” put on our spiritual eyes of understanding. Otherwise, we will not see as we should.

We’re living, as God’s people always have, in a demonically demented world system. But thankfully, we are the ones that can bring Biblical clarity to it all. We have the wonderful opportunity of standing apart from this present evil World and letting our Light shine in such a way that people will see our life and be drawn to our Saviour.

We have the answer to the Demonic Dementia that has overrun this world — Yeshua, the ever-present living Word.