The Exorcist's Bestiary

Many are confused by the language of 1 Samuel 16:14, which says, “Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.” What business does God have with sending demons to people?

I’ve heard lots of answers proposed to this question, but the best answer I’ve encountered was during a deliverance session. Whenever the Holy Spirit gives permission to remove a demon from a participant, I command the demon to go to the feet of Jesus and go where he tells them to go. After the demon left, the Holy Spirit told one participant that the demon could ironically be used elsewhere to bring people closer to him.

Theologian Greg Boyd talks about this biblical idea as a divine Aikido of sorts, which “is a martial arts technique that trains ‘warriors’ to engage in nonresistant combat, turning the force of aggressors back on themselves in order to neutralize their opponent and hopefully to enlighten them regarding the evil in their heart that fueled their aggression” (The Crucifixion of the Warrior God, 767).

Let’s apply this concept to demons, which are attracted to our spiritual sickness. While their hope is to ruin us, their worsening of our condition actually draws attention to our need for healing and causes us to find help, ultimately causing the demon’s efforts to backfire on itself via divine aikido. Once we know we’re sick, we seek out the only doctor who can heal us from the condition: Jesus. We deliverance ministers, counselors, and therapists come alongside him as assistants to help diagnose the spiritual condition and lead participants toward freedom.

From this perspective, yes, King Saul’s demon is from God. On one hand, it makes the theological point that the King of Israel has fallen and is no longer carrying the guidance of God’s Spirit. But on the other hand, the demon that is preying on his sin may cause enough pain to turn Saul back toward God if he turns from his sin and seeks his help. This is a dynamic that I sense Paul himself might have encountered with “the thorn in his side.”