In the first book of Kings (xvi. 13) we read : ” And Samuel anointed David in the midst of his brethren. And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. But the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him.
And the servants of Saul said to him : Behold, now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord give orders, and thy servants who are before thee will seek out a man skilful in playing on the harp, that when the evil spirit of the Lord is upon thee he may play with his hand, and thou mayst bear it more easily. …
So whensoever the evil spirit from the Lord was upon Saul, David took his harp, and Saul was refreshed, for the evil spirit departed from him.”
And the Bible describes how Saul acted when the evil spirit came upon him. ” And the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, and he prophesied [i.e., acted like a prophet, but in a mad manner] in the midst of his house.
And David played with his hand as at other times. And Saul held a spear in his hand, and threw it, thinking to nail David to the wall. David stept aside out of his presence twice.
And Saul feared David, because the Lord was with him, and was departed from himself” (i Kings xviii. 10). What rage the devil must have infused into the man that would fling a dangerous weapon at another, such as Saul did ! It tells of another attack : ” And the evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, and he sat in his house, and held a spear in his hand ; and David played with his hand.
And Saul endeavoured to nail David to the wall with his spear. And David slipped away out of the presence of Saul ; and the spear missed him, and was fastened in the wall, and David fled and escaped that night ” (i Kings xix. 9).
In that singularly interesting book of the Old Testament, the book of Tobias, and in its third chapter, we read that when poor old Tobias was blind, and had been upbraided by his wife, he sighed and began to pray with tears, “That the Lord would do with him according to His will, and that He would command his spirit to be received in peace, for that it was better for him to die than to live “.
It continues : ” Now, it happened on that same day that Sara, daughter of Raguel, received a reproach from one of her father’s servant maids, because she had been given to seven husbands, and a devil named Asmodeus had killed them. .
So when she reproved the maid for her fault, she answered her saying : May we never see son or daughter of thine upon the earth, thou murderer of thy husbands. …
At these words she went into an upper chamber of her house, and for three days and three nights did neither eat nor drink, but continuing in prayer with tears, besought God that he would deliver her from this reproach.
At that time the prayers of them both [the elder Tobias and Sara were heard in the sight of the glory of the Most High God, and the holy angel of the Lord, Raphael, was sent to heal them both ”
In Christianity, especially within the context of the Roman Catholic Church, there is a history of documented cases of exorcism, which is the ritualistic expulsion of evil spirits or demons. The Catholic Church has specific guidelines and rituals for performing exorcisms, and there have been reported instances where individuals were believed to be possessed and underwent exorcism ceremonies.
