Calvary Road Baptist Church
“A Survey Of Satanic & Demonic Warfare In Second Samuel”
Second Samuel
Our survey of Satanic and Demonic warfare brings us to the book of Second Samuel. You may recall, from our consideration of First Samuel, that First and Second Samuel were originally a single book in the Hebrew Scriptures, divided into First and Second Samuel for the first time in the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament in use during our Lord’s day.
To refresh your memory, there were six episodes in the historical record of First Samuel that caught our attention as we looked for overtly supernatural references.
The first episode was an event in the life of a barren woman named Hannah, whose prayer for a child that would be answered with the delivery of Samuel was mistaken by the high priest Eli to be a case of public intoxication. Her protest is found in First Samuel 1.16, where she said,
“Count not thine handmaid for a daughter of Belial: for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief have I spoken hitherto.”
Belial is referred to sixteen times in the Bible.[1] Most of the times the word Belial is found in the Bible it is associated with a person’s despicable conduct, such as Eli’s suspicion that Hannah was drunk. Outside the Bible, however, and certainly known to the Jewish people of that day, “Belial is especially well-attested as the proper name of the Devil, the powerful opponent of God, who accuses people and causes them to sin.”[2]
The next episode, and admittedly a surprise to me, is the theophany recorded in First Samuel 3.10:
“And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.”
The Hebrew word translated “stood” is a commonly used word for what only a physical person is capable of doing. Thus, the God of Israel appeared in physical form to the little boy named Samuel.[3] First Samuel 3.21 confirms the LORD manifested Himself to Samuel on at least one more occasion by taking on physical form:
“And the LORD appeared again in Shiloh: for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the LORD.”
Third, of the features in First Samuel that were most notable to us, chapter five records the aftermath of the Philistine’s capture of the Ark of the Covenant that was foolishly taken to a battlefield by the Israelites. First Samuel 5.1-5 records what God did when His captured Ark was placed before the Philistine idol, Dagon. Understanding that demons lurk behind every idol, Dagon’s house became a supernatural battlefield between the demons who employed the idol Dagon to secure worship from the Philistines and the God of Israel, Who demanded the return of His ark. Unsurprisingly, the God of Israel won the day by repeatedly toppling the statue so that it was not left standing before the Ark of God and then cutting off the statue’s head and hands. Only the stump was left. From that day forward, the priests of Dagon would not enter their place of worship, correctly discerning that a supernatural battle had been fought and the one true and living God showed the Philistines that He had won. One commentator observed, “The ground had been conquered and was now under the dominion of Yahweh.”[4]
The fourth encounter of the supernatural kind we took note of is recorded in First Samuel 16.14-16, where we learn of an evil spirit from the LORD sent to trouble King Saul. Verses 15 and 16 make specific references to the evil spirit from God. Recall that King Saul had sinned against God by usurping the priest’s office, with the result being that his royal dynasty was forfeited.[5] He greatly sinned a second time by disobeying the command to destroy the Amalekites and sparing Agag, resulting in God rejecting him as king.[6] The passage referred to took place right after the prophet Samuel anointed David to be Israel’s next king. Thus, Saul’s rebellion cost him dearly:
“The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.”
I mentioned that this is a highly challenging passage to get a firm grip on. Perhaps a holy spirit was sent from God to stir Saul’s conscience, who provided relief from disturbing King Saul when David played the harp for him, described in the verse as an “evil spirit” because of the feeling the spirit produced by stirring King Saul’s conscience, and not because the spirit was personally unholy. This episode may also be an example in God’s Word of what many people would like to write off as Saul’s psychological issues, but which were spiritual matters in which cases God was depriving someone of enjoyment following sinful conduct and wrong decisions.[7]
Fifth, and the most interesting to me of these incidents we took note of, was the idolatry of David’s first wife, Michal, who was restored to him from her second husband following David’s successful escape from her father, his years on the run as a fugitive, and his eventual enthronement as the king of a united monarchy. The narrative declares that Michal initially loved David, and on several occasions, risked her father’s wrath to save her husband’s life. But it is in First Samuel 19.13 that we learn of Michal using an image, a teraphim, an idol, to conceal David’s escape from her father. What might have contributed to Michal’s change of heart toward David? There could have been any number of causes. But her involvement with idolatry and idolatry’s corresponding demonic influence cannot be ruled out. By the time we get to Second Samuel 6.16, we read that David was relocating the Ark,
“And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.”
Interestingly and foolishly, she did not stop there. She next criticized her husband, the king, to his face, Second Samuel 6.20:
“Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself!”
Likely, she was even so reckless that she spoke that way to her husband in front of witnesses. The price she paid for her folly? Second Samuel 6.23 informs us that “Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.” So, what about her teraphim?[8] That is too important a matter to pass by without comment. Teraphim are household gods, mentioned fifteen times in the Old Testament.[9] Some teraphim might have been life-sized, such as seems to have been the case with Michal’s. In any event, Michal had to have dabbled in idolatry to possess such a thing, which made her susceptible to demonic influence.
The final incident of Satanic and Demonic warfare we looked at in First Samuel was King Saul’s necromancy in First Samuel 28.3-13. The passage is too long for us to read at this time, but I should point out the three words were of particular interest to us in the passage, “familiar spirit(s)” in verses 3, 7, 8, and 9, “wizards” in verses 3 and 9, and “gods” in verse 13. You will recall that someone with a “familiar spirit” is a necromancer, the Hebrew word referring to someone who seeks interaction with the spirits of the dead[10] and that King Saul had condemned such people from the land, according to the Law of Moses, verse 3. But he sought a necromancer to consult with the spirit of the now-dead prophet, Samuel, verses 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12. Consulting with the dead is possible, and Saul was successful in his endeavor, though God forbids it, Deuteronomy 18.9-12. A “wizard” has knowledge of or intimate acquaintance with the unseen world, from spirits, not necessarily the dead.[11] Deuteronomy 8.9-12 speaks as strongly against this type of individual as a necromancer because, in its entirety, it is an association of some kind with the supernatural of a type God prohibits. The final word we noticed is translated “gods,” elohim,[12] best understood to refer to any incorporeal being, while most frequently but not always used in the Bible to refer to God.
Let us now turn to Second Samuel, where apart from the record of Michal’s criticism of David in chapter six, which I am convinced is linked with her idolatry initially noted in First Samuel 19; I have discovered no direct evidence of Satanic or Demonic activity. Nevertheless, I want to survey Second Samuel before concluding with remarks about spiritual warfare:
Chapter One
Is concerned with news of King Saul’s death and David’s lament.
Chapter Two
Is concerned with the civil war that ensued as David began to take steps to consolidate his reign over all twelve tribes of Israel, beginning with his tribe of Judah and possibly the tribe of Simeon. The tribes resisting David followed King Saul’s son Ishbosheth and his general, Abner.
Chapter Three
As the civil war continued, David’s position strengthened; he demanded the return of his first wife, Michal, who had been given to another man by her father when David was a fugitive and not expected to survive. The opposing general, Abner, was slain.
Chapter Four
King Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, was assassinated by two men and honorably buried by David. This is the chapter that we are introduced to Mephibosheth, the son of David’s beloved late friend Jonathan, who was crippled in an accident.
Chapter Five
It took David 7½ years to consolidate his rule over the entire nation, all twelve tribes. He then took the stronghold of Zion, called it the city of David, and made Jerusalem his capital. When the Philistines reacted to David’s consolidation of rule and the taking of Zion, they attacked and he defeated them.
Chapter Six
Once Jerusalem was David’s capital, he brought the Ark of the Covenant to the city, celebrating along the way when he was despised and criticized at the moment of his greatest triumph by his wife, Michal. Pentecostals and Charismatics point to David’s dancing before the Ark to justify their approximation of pagan frenzy in worship. Still, David’s celebration at the head of a procession is hardly justification for pagan frenzy during worship. Michal’s criticism of David at the height of his success could not have been more stupid.
Chapter Seven
Enjoying peace, at last, David’s desire was to build a Temple to replace the Tabernacle originally constructed during Moses’ day. However, as a man of war, it was not God’s plan for him. This chapter does contain what is referred to as the Davidic Covenant, ensuring that the Messiah will be a descendant of David and will someday reign from the throne of David when comes the day of the Theocratic Kingdom on earth at the Second Coming of Christ.
Chapter Eight
Contains a catalog of David’s military victories as Israel’s king.
Chapter Nine
Is the chapter that records King David’s kindness and generosity toward his beloved late friend Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth.
Chapter Ten
In this chapter, David was provoked to war by the outrageous treatment of ambassadors, he dispatched to show kindness to a young king whose father had died. It serves as a great example of good intentions being misunderstood by foolish assumptions about someone else’s motives.
Chapter Eleven
This is the dismal record of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband (one of David’s famous mighty men, Uriah) to cover up his wicked behavior, concluding with his marriage to Bathsheba. I see no evidence of Satanic or Demonic activity associated with David’s criminal conduct, illustrating that we can commit grievous sins without supernatural seduction or instigation.
Chapter Twelve
Records the exposure of David’s attempt to conceal his sin by the prophet Nathan. Humiliated, David repents of his terrible sin, God forgives him (Psalm 32 & 51 are associated with this time), but his child born to Bathsheba dies.
Chapter Thirteen
Children are influenced by their parent’s sins. One of David’s sons rapes one of David’s daughters, his own half-sister. Another of David’s sons, Absalom, eventually killed his half-brother for raping his full sister and then fled. David? He was outraged, but did nothing. What could he do after what he had done?
Chapter Fourteen
Records the complex relationship David had with his son, Absalom, and the conniving that was done by others to reconcile them. But were they really reconciled?
Chapter Fifteen
Records Absalom’s rebellion to overthrow his father, David. Had he succeeded, David would have been killed. One of those who took Absalom’s side in the rebellion was Ahithophel, a longtime counselor who had served David for many years.
Chapter Sixteen
Here we are told that David’s former counselor, Ahithophel, who sided with Absalom, urges the young rebel to rape David’s concubines as an act of public defiance against David. This shows Ahithophel’s animosity toward David, as well as exposing the depth of Absalom’s bitterness toward his father to publicly humiliate him in such a way.
Chapter Seventeen
Ahithophel requested that Absalom appoint him to lead twelve thousand men to immediately pursue David while he was tired and disorganized. Hushai thwarted Ahithophel’s request to Absalom. Knowing that any delay against so experienced a fighter as David would be fatal, Ahithophel then went home, knowing Absalom could not succeed if he delayed, and hung himself. Have you wondered why Ahithophel turned so strongly against David? Perhaps he never forgave David for what he did to Ahithophel’s granddaughter, Bathsheba, Second Samuel 11.3 and 23.34.
Chapter Eighteen
Despite David’s directive that his generals go easy on Absalom, Joab was shrewd enough to know that Absalom must die for David’s reign to survive, so he killed him. In yet another tragic display of blindness to reality with regard to his children, David insulted his faithful warriors by improperly grieving for the rebel, Absalom.
Chapter Nineteen
Informed of David’s conduct, David’s general and nephew Joab sharply rebuked him to bring him to his senses, saving him from a political disaster. David had, in effect, punished loyalty and rewarded disloyalty. It becomes obvious that David has some serious fence-mending to do.
Chapter Twenty
This chapter records the re-establishment of David’s authority and includes entirely unnecessary bloodshed. Killing had become too easy for Joab.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tells us of a three year drought, punishment for the slaughter of innocent Gibeonites, David’s lack of strength in battle owing to his age, and the slaying of giants.
Chapter Twenty-Two
In this chapter, we find David’s victory song, which is very similar to Psalm 18.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The last words of David are found here, and the names of David’s mighty men.
Chapter Twenty-Four
In this chapter, we find David’s unauthorized census of the people, God responding with a plague that resulted in 70,000 deaths as punishment, and the purchase of the Jebusite Araunah’s threshing floor, where the Temple built by Solomon would eventually be located. The account of David’s census found in First Chronicles 21.1 reveals Satan’s involvement in this activity, but I will deal with that when we look at First Chronicles.
Let me conclude by dealing with six common objections to emphasizing spiritual warfare today.
Six Common Objections to Emphasizing Spiritual Warfare Today
Some people have dismissed the metaphor of “spiritual warfare” as an inappropriate way of describing the experience of the Christian today. I respond here to six of the most common objections.
- The concept of spiritual warfare reflects a primitive, prescientific worldview. This modernist perspective on spiritual warfare has been deeply ingrained in American, British, and Continental educational institutions. Many people scoff that a belief in demons went out with a belief in dragons, elves, the tooth fairy, and the Easter Bunny. The issue is often framed as a choice between accepting a modem scientific worldview or devolving into a gullible, uncritical acceptance of a primitive, prescientific worldview. Of course, this is not an issue of being scientific or not. It is an issue of whether we accept the predominantly naturalistic assumptions of certain understandings of science. It is in no way incompatible with the scientific method to give credence to a belief in a personal God - or, conversely, to believe in the evil spiritual dimension. This issue is of such critical importance in our society.
- Demons and evil spirits are not very prominent in the Bible. Although this is not often stated as a formal argument, some people unwittingly believe that the Bible just doesn’t have much to say about the evil supernatural realm. Yet the evidence of Scripture dearly points in the opposite direction. The conflict with Satan and the powers of evil is a major theme in biblical theology. This has recently been researched in an important monograph by Sydney H. T. Page, professor of New Testament and academic dean at Edmonton Baptist Seminary, in a volume titled Power of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons. Page offers the reader a comprehensive biblical analysis of each of the pertinent passages from Genesis to Revelation. Regardless of the number of times demons are mentioned in the Bible, what really matters is the fact that they are discussed and that they are presented as the enemies of Christ and His people.
- Experiences with the demonic realm happen only on the mission field, especially in the non-Western world. I have heard a few people in a variety of churches suggest that demons are only operative in areas of the world where the gospel has not yet reached or where idolatry is still prevalent. They infer that Satan is just not as active in the Christian West. This position is both inaccurate and dangerous. First, there is no biblical support for the notion that demonic hostilities cease in a region where many people have become Christians and the influence of the gospel is felt. In fact, Scripture seeks to prepare believers for ongoing attacks from the realm of evil. Second, the Western world has become decreasingly “Christian” and increasingly open to diverse cults, non-Christian religions, and various occultic beliefs and practices over the past two generations. Third, there are vastly increasing reports of direct and explicit forms of demonic activity in recent years. There are a variety of reasons for this, some of which may be perceptual.
- Demonic activity died out by the second century. Some believers have argued that demonic activity was particularly acute during the ministry of Jesus, but progressively waned after that and eventually died out after the generation of the apostles. Church history illustrates just the opposite, however. Numerous accounts of demonization and exorcism as well as descriptions of the deceptive work of demons in pagan religions fill the writings of the church fathers. There is no hint of demonic activity dying out. The church fathers, rather, attempt to expose the malevolent activities and point people to the saving and keeping power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- “Warfare” is not an appropriate metaphor for people who seek peace. At a time when our nation is longing for peace in the streets of its cities and among warring factions in various countries of the world, it seems odd and somewhat inappropriate for Christians to be waving the banner of warfare. Some twenty-five years ago, Harvard theologian Harvey Cox expressed his displeasure with the concept of spiritual warfare. He quipped, “I don’t warm up to military metaphors and battle imagery.” When we talk about spiritual warfare, however, we are not envisioning armed conflict or the provocation of hostilities among people. We are taking the adjective spiritual quite seriously. We are suggesting that life is not just biology; there is a uniquely spiritual dimension to reality. There are unseen, personal forces that have an impact on day-to-day life. Not all of these spirits are positive and benevolent either. There are many that are evil and bent on destruction. The Bible calls Christians to be aware of this and to prepare for a struggle. The biblical metaphor of spiritual warfare, then, is a shorthand way of referring to our conflict with these spirit forces. They are the perpetrators of untold evil, in both the physical realm and the moral realm. The Bible describes these spirits as especially working to keep people from responding to the redemptive message of the Lord Jesus Christ and to bring about the demise of the people of God. The gospel of deliverance we bring to people is actually a message of peace and reconciliation that is precisely what the demonically inspired instigators of violence need.
- Stressing spiritual warfare might lead to an unbalanced, experience-oriented theology centering on the spectacular. Some conservative Christians shy away from talking much about spiritual warfare because they associate it with groups they perceive to be extreme or who focus too much attention on the spectacular. But, as we have already discussed and will develop even more, the theme of spiritual warfare is thoroughly biblical. For us to reassert an emphasis on spiritual warfare is to turn to the testimony of the Bible, not to a theology based on experience. This theology, however, should have an impact on experience as we see people set free from the captivity of the powers of darkness. And, in this sense, spiritual warfare is truly spectacular.
Although other objections may be raised, these six hold little compelling force to keep us from asserting that spiritual warfare is an important metaphor that needs to be emphasized in the church today. In fact, the weight of biblical importance given to the theme coupled with the struggle the church faces in following Christ would mandate that more attention be given to thinking through the nature of our conflict.[13]
__________
[1] Deuteronomy 13:13; Judges 19:22; 20:13; 1 Samuel 1:16; 2:12; 10:27; 25:17, 25; 30:22; 2 Samuel 16:7; 20:1; 23:6; 1 Kings 21:10, 13; 2 Chronicles 13:7; 2 Corinthians 6:15
[2] Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter W. Van der Horst, editors, Dictionary Of Deities And Demons In The Bible, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Second Extensively Revised Edition, 1999), pages 169-171.
[3] Michael S. Heiser, The Unseen Realm: Recovering The Supernatural Worldview Of The Bible, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015), page 223.
[4] Michael S. Heiser, Demons: What The Bible Really Says About The Powers Of Darkness, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), page 156.
[5] 1 Samuel 13.9-13
[6] 1 Samuel 15.1-23
[7] See also 1 Samuel 18.10-12; 19.9-10
[8] DDD, pages 844-850.
[9] Ge 31:19, 34, 35; Jg 17:5; 18:14, 17, 18, 20; 1Sa 15:23; 19:13, 16; 2Ki 23:24; Eze 21:21; Ho 3:4; Zec 10:2
[10] Francis Brown, S. R. Driver & Charles A. Briggs, The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew And English Lexicon, (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1979), page 15.
[11] Ibid., page 396.
[12] Ibid., pages 43-44.
[13] Clinton E. Arnold, 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1997), pages 24-26.
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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church