23 And all the multitudes were amazed, and said, Can this be the son of David?
24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This man doth not cast out demons, but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.
25 And knowing their thoughts he said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand:
26 and if Satan casteth out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then shall his kingdom stand?
27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
28 But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then is the kingdom of God come upon you.
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation.
Verse 45 concludes: “Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation”, showing that this passage is meant to be understood as a parable. “Unclean spirit” is a phrase often synonymous with “demons” in the Gospels. We showed in chapter 4 that Jesus was using the language of the day when talking about demons, and so He was here. Jesus was effectively saying, “In the same way as you believe unclean spirits can go out of a man and re-enter him, so this generation was once cleansed, but is soon going to become even worse than it was initially”.
Christ's conformity to popular language did not commit him to popular delusions. In one case, he apparently recognizes the god of the Philistines: "If I by Beelzebub cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out?" (Matt. 12:27). Now, Beelzebub signifies the god of flies, a god worshipped by the Philistines of Ekron (2 Kings 1:6), and Christ, in using the name, takes no pains to dwell upon the fact that Beelzebub was a heathen fiction; it was a mere accommodation to popular speech on the subject of demons.
Sin comes from within and nothing from outside a man can enter him and defile him (Mk. 7:15).
Careful reading indicates that “the unclean spirit” is synonymous with the man, as a deaf demon refers to a deaf man in v. 22 of the same chapter. “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places...”. Walking through a wilderness and deciding to return to one’s house is clearly language applicable to a man. This is all confirmed by the fact that Jesus is almost certainly alluding to a verse in the Septuagint version (which was the Bible in common use in Christ’s time) at Proverbs 9:12, although it is omitted for some reason in the A.V. This verse clearly speaks of a man, not a spirit, “(the scorner of instruction) walks through a waterless waste, through a land that is desert, and with his hands garners barrenness”.
The “spirit” often refers to the attitude of mind (e.g. Dt. 2:30; Prov. 25:28; Is. 54:6; 61:3; Ez. 18:31; Mk. 14:38; Lk. 2:40; 2 Cor. 2:13; 12:18; Eph. 4:23). an “unclean spirit” may possibly refer to an unclean state of mind, which would fit the context in vv. 34–36. Because “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7), the spirit would be synonymous with the man. Thus the parable would describe a man’s attitude of mind being cleansed and then his going into an even more degenerate state as happened when Saul’s ‘unclean spirit’ was cured by David playing the harp, and then it returned even worse. Notice that we read of “an evil spirit from the Lord” affecting Saul (1 Sam. 16:14); this attitude of mind was sent by God, not a super–human evil being.
Grk. akathartos =impure (Y) from ‘a’ (as a negative particle) and a presumed derivative meaning ‘cleansed’. The word therefore, means ‘impure’ both ceremonially and morally (i.e. lewd) or especially demoniac. (S). It means in this context a religion not purged, pruned or cleansed.
3 see notes on Matt. 12:43
ruwach: can represent the mind of an individual: Gen. 26:35 (mind); 41:8, 45:27; Ex. 6:9; Ex. 35:21; Num 5:14, 30; Deut. 2:30, Joshua 2:11 (courage); Joshua 5:1; Judges 8:3 (their anger); 9:23; 1 Sam. 1:15; 1 Sam. 16:14-16, 23; 18:10; 19:9; 1 Kings 21:5; 2 Chron. 36:22; Ezra 1:1,5; Job 7:11 (spirit); 15:13; 20:3; 21:4; 32:8,18; Psa. 32:2; 34:18 (spirit); 51:10, 17; 77:3,6; 78:8 (spirit); Psa. 106:33; 142:3; 143:4; Prov. 1:23; 11:13; 14:29; 15:13; Prov. 16:2,18,19,32; 17:22,27; 29:11 (his mind); 29:23; Ecc. 1:14,17; 2:11,17,26; 3:21; 4:4,6,16; 6:9; 7:8,9; 10:4; Isa. 11:2; 29:24; 30:1; 54:6; 57:15; 61:3; 65:14; 66:2; Jer. 51:11; Ezek. 3:14; 11:5 (spirit, mind), 19; 13:3; 18:31; 20:32 (mind); Ezek. 21:7; 36:26; Dan. 2:1,3; 5:12, 20 (mind); 6:3; 7:15; Hab. 1:11 (mind); Hag. 1:14; Mal. 2:16.
Clean Heart: See Psa. 51:10, 73:1; Prov. 20:9. This is the opposite to an unclean heart or possibly spirit.
Right Mind: See Mark 5:15; Luke 8:35.
Spirit: relates to the sentient element in man by which he perceives, reflects, feels and desires.” H.P. Mansfield “To The Strangers Scattered Abroad” on 1 Peter 3:19.
Pneuma (pneuma): can represent the mind of an individual as well as his mental state and disposition. Matt. 5:3; 26:41; Mark 2:8, 8:12; 14:38; Luke 1:47,80; 2:40; Luke 10:21; John 3:5-8; 4:23,24; 11:33; 13:21; Acts 17:16; Acts 18:5,25; 19:21; 20:22; Rom. 1:4,9; 2:29; 7:6; Rom. 8:1,4,5,6,9,10,11,13,14,15,16,26,27; 11:8; 12:11; 14:17; 1 Cor. 2:11,12; 3:16; 4:21; 5:3-5; 6:17,18,20; 7:34; 16:18; 2 Cor. 2:13; 3:3,6; 4:13; 7:1,13; 12:18; Gal. 3:3; 4:6,29; Gal. 5:5,16,17,18,22,25; 6:1,8,18; Eph. 1:17; 2:2,18,22; 4:3,4,23; 5:9; 6:18; Phil. 1:19,27; Col. 1:8; 2:5; 1 Thess. 5:23; 1 Tim 4:12; 2 Tim 1:7; Philemon 25; Heb. 4:12; 12:9,23; James 4:5; 1 Pet. 3:4,19; 1 Pet. 4:6,14; Jude 19,20.
Jud 9:23 Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
That is God let develop a bad attitude between Abimelech and the landowners of Shechem
1Sa 16:14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
What does this tell us one Yahweh is in control of the evil spirit not Satan the demon. Second the spirit of Yahweh is his holy spirit. The evil spirit does God’s will not Satan’s will. The Hebrew word translated “evil” may refer to the character of the spirit or to its effect upon Saul. If the latter, another translation option might be “an injurious spirit”; cf. NLT “a tormenting spirit.”
Thus the holy spirit or spirit of Yahweh is supernatural the evil spirit is not, it is a feeling of ill will between two parties as the above usage show us and the spirit of Yahweh is always used thought-out the Hebrew Bible as the holy spirit
1Sa 16:15 And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
They believe that this is an affliction sent by God. Where is satan in all this?
1Sa 16:16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
They recommend that they find a skilled musician, insisting that when the musician plays, Saul will be well. They make no suggestion that anything supernatural is occurring.
Now do you recommend that the best response to an attack by one of satan's minions is to play some music, in order to send it away? If not - why not?
1Sa 16:23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Whenever David plays, Saul is 'refreshed and well', and the 'evil spirit' goes away. There is no suggestion that anything supernatural is occurring. We are told very bluntly that music causes evil spirits to leave, though we know that this 'evil spirit' returned to Saul at times.
1Sa 18:10 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.
Does the text say that the supernatural minion of satan, or a troubled spirit sent by God as an affliction? The evidence, I believe, points to the latter. This interpretation is also verifiable. Show me someone 'possessed' with an evil spirit, and let's have some good music and see what happens.
1Sa 19:9 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.
The real problem for people who believe that these 'evil spirits' referred to in these two places of the Old Testament are supernatural beings, is that they cannot escape the fact that Scripture insists that supernatural means are not required to send them away. Just some good music is all that is necessary.
And the reason why these passages remain such a stumblingblock to thise who believe that they refer to supernatural beings, is that these 'evil spirits' are described in the Scriptural record as:
1) Being sent by God to do His will, not as the minions of satan.
2) Behaving in a manner identical to psychological distress.
The fact that these 'evil spirits' are sent away by taking steps which people naturally use to soothe their troubled feelings, is very telling.
So What was that 'evil spirit' sent by God to Saul?
I believe it was a psychological affliction. Let's see what an earlier 'evil spirit' sent by God is:
Judges 9:
22When Abimelech had reigned three years over Israel,
23Then God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech:
1) If these 'evil spirits' are supernatural beings who are the buddies of satan and do his evil will, then why does God always send them?
2) How do you send an supernatural evil being 'between' two groups of people? Do they have to share?
3) What do other translations say?
TLB:
22-23Three years later God stirred up trouble between King Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, and they revolted.
NAB:
22 When Abimelech had ruled Israel for three years,
23 God put bad feelings between Abimelech and the citizens of Shechem, who rebelled against Abimelech.
NKJV:
22 After Abimelech had reigned over Israel three years,
23 God sent a spirit of ill will between Abimelech and the men of Shechem; and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously with Abimelech,
NLT:
22 After Abimelech had ruled over Israel for three years,
23 God stirred up trouble between Abimelech and the people of Shechem, and they revolted.
CEV:
22 Abimelech had been a military commander of Israel for three years,
23-24 when God decided to punish him and the leaders of Shechem for killing Gideon’s seventy sons.
So God turned the leaders of Shechem against Abimelech.
TEV:
22 Abimelech ruled Israel for three years.
23Then God made Abimelech and the men of Shechem hostile to each other, and they rebelled against him.
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