In these passages is the account of God directing Samuel to anoint David, son of Jesse, to become king over Israel. God had rejected Saul as king because Saul did not obey God. Further, Saul did not view God as his God but Samuel’s God. Saul was not aligned with God.
God chose David, who the Bible characterized as ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ The Bible says, “God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
These passages also give an us another glimpse at the spiritual world. After Samuel anointed David, God’s Holy Spirit ‘came upon David mightily.’ God’s Spirit then departed from Saul, and God sent an evil spirit to torment Saul.
Saul retained David to play the harp for Saul. When David played his harp the evil spirit would depart from Saul. However, it would return when David left Saul’s presence. It appears that evil spirits can torment nonbelievers. However, they don’t seem to be effective around believers.
