King Saul’s Woes

That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man [literally, two-souled man], unstable in all he does.—James 1:7,8, NIV

1. What circumstances led to Saul’s depression?

2. What did he do to counteract his condition?

3. What are the lessons for us as we learn about Saul’s kingship?

The author is not a psychologist or a psychiatrist; nor does he claim that his observations of Saul’s depression are clinical diagnoses. He is merely showing that the events in Saul’s life suggest that he was deeply depressed some of the time and acted irrationally at other times as well. Modern diagnostic names are attached to such actions as a way of description so that it might be easier for the reader to relate to the point of this article—to avoid spiritual depression and double-mindedness.

Israel’s First King

In a sense Saul was Israel’s second king because God was the only king the nation had had until this time. Since Saul was the first human king of Israel, the circumstances surrounding his choosing, anointing, and actual kingship were unique and trying. The job that awaited him must have appeared daunting. Because of its lack of military strength, Israel was slowly and systematically being conquered by the Philistines, a nation with a highly-trained militia at the time Saul began his reign. Israel did not have much of an economic system in place and the national government must have seemed somewhat rag-tag. Additionally, the people were not as faithful to God as they once were. Is it any wonder that Saul, “hid himself among the baggage” (1 Samuel 10:22, NIV) when it was time for his public anointing? Although at this moment he was a humble young man, fear may have played a part in his reluctance as well. Whatever the reason to hide, it appears Saul did not want the job of king.

Saul’s situation was made worse because God did not want Israel to have a king in the place of continuing the system of judges. But God had relented and told Samuel the people were rejecting him, not Samuel. Although displeased about the decision, Samuel followed God’s instructions (1 Samuel 8:4-22). There was also a group in Israel that despised the selection of Saul as king. The seeds were planted for what today is called cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance according to the American Heritage Dictionary is defined as: “A condition of conflict or anxiety resulting from inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s actions, such as opposing the slaughter of animals and eating meat.” Saul was appointed to a job he did not want, by a prophet who did not want him in that job, with the expectation that he would replace Jehovah God as the king over God’s chosen people. Saul’s probable cognitive dissonance might have come from a belief that he was not good enough for this tough job even though he took it anyway. Saul’s inner conflict started as soon as he agreed to be king. According to Dr. Osher Doctorow, cognitive dissonance can lead to depression. In a 2005 article entitled Emotional-Cognitive Conflict Dimensions he wrote: “This could correspond to depression, learned helplessness, abandonment of responsibilities, highly indecisive behavior, etc. And indeed, in depression there is often a history of cognitive dissonance over prolonged periods (especially in clinical depression).”

Let us look at some examples in Saul’s life to see how cognitive dissonance might have led to depression, producing some irrational decisions and eventually his death.

Not long after Saul had become king, his patience wore thin as he waited seven days for Samuel to appear, so he decided to offer up a burnt offering himself (1 Samuel 13:9). Saul knew God’s arrangements regarding offering up sacrifices, yet he did just the opposite. The cognitive dissonance appears clear when he gives Samuel excuses for what he did rather than immediately begging God for forgiveness. He was already rationalizing his behavior.

Next God through Samuel told Saul to “smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not” (1 Samuel 15:3). Saul decided to keep the best livestock for sacrificing (vs. 15). This greatly displeased God. Samuel told Saul that it was because he lost his humility that he did such a thing (vs. 17). Saul knew God was in charge yet he disobeyed God’s direct command to utterly destroy. This was quintessential cognitive dissonance—knowing one thing is right yet doing something else —and it led to more pride and irrational behavior.

A third example indicating that Saul was cursed with cognitive dissonance is his desire to consult a woman with a familiar spirit. In 1 Samuel 28:3 Saul had been commanded to remove “familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.” He knew full well that wizardry and witchcraft were wrong, yet he disguised himself so as to seek the advice of such a woman. The fact that he disguised himself shows he knew what he was doing was wrong. Saul’s cognitive dissonance was making him a “double-minded” man (i.e., someone who knows what is right, does what is wrong, then tries to justify and/or hide the wrong behavior).

Cognitive dissonance is said to lead to depression, and that seems to be what happened to Saul. The apostle wrote, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). Saul is a textbook case of instability. He knew God was the true ruler of Israel and that God had chosen him as the first king. So he knew he should be doing what was right in the sight of God. But he often did what seemed right in his own sight. This double-mindedness led to his unstable condition. Today that “unstable” condition would be called depression.

Signs of Depression

There is a special type of depression called bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. “Bipolar disorder is also known as manic depression because a person’s mood can alternate between the ‘poles’ mania (highs) and depression (lows) … [Mood swings] can last for hours, days, weeks, or months.”{FOOTNOTE: Bipolar Disorder. It was written by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) © 2005.} Some of the symptoms of mania are “exaggerated optimism and self confidence,” “aggressive behavior,” “inflated sense of self importance,” “poor judgment, distractibility,” and “reckless behavior.” The symptoms of the depression phase are similar to clinical depression: “prolonged sadness,” “worry,” “anxiety,” “feelings of guilt,” “recurring thoughts of death or suicide.” Often the manic symptoms are viewed as having a positive impact because of high energy levels and increased mental activity. But as this article warns, “When symptoms of mania are left untreated, they can lead to illegal or life-threatening situations, because mania often involves impaired judgment and reckless behavior.”

Saul’s Erratic Behavior

From what is recorded in the Scriptures and from the account in 1 Samuel, Saul definitely did exhibit erratic behavior, behavior that brought him from being a conquering king to the taking of his own life. Shortly after he had been anointed publicly as king he heard about Nachash the Ammonite, who demanded the people of Yabesh-gil’ad to serve him and let him put out their right eyes; and they asked for a week to find someone to save them (1 Samuel 11:1-9, Leeser). Saul asked why the people of Yabesh-gil’ad wept. When he got the answer, “his anger was kindled greatly.” Then he cut oxen and sent the pieces throughout Israel saying, “Whosoever goeth not forth after Saul and after Samuel, shall have his herds thus treated” (vs. 7). Saul was in a manic phase—albeit righteously—which exhibited itself in his self-confidence and courageousness.

Another example was when the Israelites had won a hard battle with the Philistines and Saul commanded that no soldier could eat anything until evening (1 Samuel 14:24). One commentary makes this observation about the command: “This rash and foolish denunciation distressed the people by preventing them from taking such refreshment as they might get on the march, and materially hindered the successful attainment of his own patriotic object” (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, p. 215). Poor judgment and reckless behavior are signs of the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

The depression side of Saul’s disorder was depicted in the words “and there troubled him an evil spirit from the Lord” (1 Samuel 16:14, Leeser). We know that this “evil spirit” condition came and went: “And it came to pass, when the spirit of God was upon Saul, that David took the harp, and played with his hand; so Saul became relieved, and he felt well, and the evil spirit departed from him” (1 Samuel 16:23, Leeser). Another example: “It came to pass on the morrow, that an evil spirit from God came suddenly over Saul, and he spoke foolish things in the midst of the house: while David was playing with his hand, as on previous days; and the spear was in the hand of Saul. And Saul cast the spear; and he thought, I will strike David through even on the wall. And David turned aside out of his presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David; because the Lord was with him, and from Saul he was departed” (1 Samuel 18:10-12, Leeser). Saul’s fear of David was irrational. Saul was king, but he knew the spirit of God was with David and this worried him and made him jealous. He was anxious about David and the situation. He twice tried to kill David while David was playing for him, even though David’s playing was the one thing that gave him temporary relief from his depression. The signs of depression are worry, anxiety, and recurring thoughts of death. At times Saul was indeed in a very depressed state.

Saul Deals with his Depression

David’s music gave Saul temporary relief from his depression (1 Samuel 16:23). Scientists have learned this was not accidental. In a 1999 article entitled Frequently Asked Questions about Music Therapy the American Music Therapy Association lists who can benefit from music therapy: “Children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly with mental health needs.” In the article Massage and Music Therapies Attenuate Frontal EEG Asymmetry in Depressed Adolescents authors Nancy Aaron Jones and Tiffany Field wrote: “Listening to music has been associated with decreased stress hormone (cortisol) levels in depressed adolescents.” The therapeutic effects of music have been found to be biologically as well as emotionally helpful. Modern science seems to be proving what was known long ago: music can help with depression. The one thing to note is that the therapeutic benefits of music are either temporary or are merely associated with more positive healing results. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Temporary relief such as Saul experienced is welcome. But as we apply the lessons from Saul’s life to our own we want to identify total cures, not just temporary relief.

Lessons for the New Creature

As new creatures in Christ we do not concern ourselves as much with diseases of the flesh as with afflictions of the new creature. Cognitive dissonance, however, can lead to spiritual depression. When we have made a complete consecration to the Lord and know what things please and displease him, and if we continue to do the things that displease, we are living in a condition of cognitive dissonance. This is what James was talking about when he said a “double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” He is unstable because he is not fully relying on God for guidance and direction. Oftentimes this condition leads to a spirit of rationalization. As we saw with Saul, rationalization can lead to impatience and pride. Saul’s impatience was manifested when he offered up the sacrifice because he was tired of waiting for Samuel to arrive and do it. His pride was shown when he rationalized his behavior to Samuel.

Saul became more and more unstable, prideful, impatient, and even more depressed as he continued to rationalize the dissonant part of his life. Saul chose two ways to combat the depression: he had David play music for him, and he asked the witch of Endor for her counsel. These gave only temporary help; Saul was evidently consumed with depression and fell on his own sword to end his life.

As Christians we can find temporary relief from spiritual depression as well. Like the sweet sounds of David’s music we can increase our religious activities because we know such activities produce a surface feeling of holiness. David played good music and it made Saul feel good, but it did not cure Saul’s depression. As Robert Brand wrote: “We cannot attend enough meetings, give or listen to enough discourses, or study enough, to right this sort of wrong.” Meetings and study alone only treat the symptoms and do not get at the root of spiritual depression.

While professional help may be needed in certain types of clinical depression, it usually cannot solve problems associated with spiritual depression. Such problems might be similar to Saul consulting the witch of Endor. That witch may have given Saul some information he wanted, but she did not relieve him of his depression.

We may get good information and much help for clinical depression from a doctor, psychologist, a worldly friend, or a variety of other human sources, but to prevent or cure spiritual depression we must rely on help from above, and do what Paul wrote about himself: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). This requires full submission to God, something Saul did not do. It requires fully relying on God for everything through prayer and supplication, which Saul did on occasion. It most assuredly requires the attitude of “this one thing I do” (Philippians 3:13). If we do that one thing, we should have no room for being double-minded and spiritually depressed.

All Christians are subject to periods of spiritual depression in their lives. Even Peter and Paul had to fight occasional bouts with it. Missing meetings and studies may be symptoms of depression, but the real cause emits from a disturbed relationship with God. This can only be cured through a diligently maintained prayer life, which both seeks and accepts the Lord’s help and forgiveness. This lies at the very core of Saul’s depression. He never fully accepted the Lord’s help and guidance.

Ah, my heart is heavy laden,
   Weary and oppressed.
Come to me, saith one, and coming,
   Be at rest.

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1. Bipolar Disorder. It was written by the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) © 2005.