There’s a puzzling verse in 1 Samuel 16: 14. It says that the spirit of the Lord left King Saul “and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him.” Did the Lord assign that mission to the spirit and then send it to Saul in order to carry it out?

There are other verses, too, that make it appear that evil comes from God. For instance, Isaiah 45: 7 says that God sends evil to people. And II Chronicles 18: 22 has the prophet Micah telling Ahab that the Lord sent a lying spirit to Ahab’s prophets.

Thinking about these things, the story of Job came to mind. We know the results of Satan’s attack on him. It was a destruction that hit hard his family, servants, and even livestock. Disease ravaged his body. Temptation to refute God came in many ways.

We also know from the story that none of this would have happened had God not allowed it to happen. Satan’s advances were only made possible after God’s covering protection was lifted from around Job.

That was done too with Saul. After Saul quit listening to the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord left him. That left an opening for a spirit of Satan to enter, which it did. I believe this because none of us are neutral. We’re on one side or the other. If we’re not for Jesus, then we’re against Jesus. In us is either God’s Spirit, making us His child; or in us is the spirit of the devil, making us a child of wrath.

So what’s coming across to me from these puzzling verses, and the Job story, is that evil spirits, on their own, desire to and do bring evil to us in various forms, e.g., through people, animals, the weather, etc.

Evil is already here. The spirits very presence on earth guarantees their evil actions will manifest among us. And those actions, it must be remembered, are formulated in their minds, not God’s.

But in some cases, the spirits must seek permission to do what they want to initiate. If God grants it, He will lift His protection—FOR HIS PURPOSES.

Sometimes, seemingly, it is lifted because what is meant for evil, God intends it to be worked out for the good (Gen. 50: 20). Then there are those who reject Him, and He seeks to get their attention, leading to repentance. Other times – especially when it concerns the faithful – it is to establish, develop, strengthen, and/or confirm our character (1 Peter 5: 10).

The point is that God does allow evil to take place. When scripture says that evil, or an evil spirit, comes from the Lord, though; it is saying so only in the sense that God has removed His protection.

Further proof that God doesn’t send evil, or evil spirits, is also found in the Job story. We see that the calamities that ensue are filled with and accompanied by temptations to refute and turn against God. And as we believers all know, God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone (James 1: 13).