The question came to me while researching the subject of demonic possession. It may or may not come as a suprise to you, but there are no recorded examples of demon-possession anywhere in the Old Testament. The event is only found in the writings of the New Testament (specifically the Gospel accounts and the Book of Acts). That said, you will find some who allege David exorcised a demon from King Saul…
Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.
(1 Samuel 16:14)
After this, Saul summons David, who plays the lyre, causing the evil spirit to leave him (1 Samuel 16:23).
It sounds as if David performed an exorcism… but is that so? I don’t think so, but I can see how someone might misinterpret this text to believe it. Let’s start with the supposed-demon: Someone might read v14 and conclude that God either directly sent a demon or at the very least allowed one to attack Saul’s mind, but I don’t think either explanation does the text justice. I think the second half of the verse is best explained by considering the first half: God’s spirit left Saul. Why? Because Saul disobeyed God, and has been told the crown over Israel will pass to another (that happened in the previous chapter). With that, Saul’s relationship with God was fractured. In its place was an evil (distressing) spirit.
This is what happens when our relationship with God wavers. We falter. We struggle. We become distressed and troubled. That happened to Saul, so what we’re reading here are the first steps that will lead the King of Israel to his demise, as he will turn his wrath against David, the Lord’s chosen replacement as King over Israel. That dark journey takes him further away from God. He follows the evil spirit in his heart (the evil attitude in his mind, you might say), as opposed to following God. What we have here is a troubled King, aware that the blessing God gave him is going to be taken away, and instead of turning to the Lord and drawing closer to Him, he pulls away, becoming paranoid and borderline demented.
That, I think, is all the text means. I don’t think it has anything to do with demonic possession. As said, there is no explicit example of demon possession occurring anywhere in the Old Testament. The circumstance seemed only to begin in the lead-up to the arrival of the Messiah. To that end, I would cross-reference this study with the words of Zechariah, who prophesied that, in the age of the Messiah, “unclean spirits” (demons) would be removed from the land (Zechariah 13:1-2).
~Matthew