Does God send evil or harmful spirits to people?

[Zzyzx]

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Does God send evil or harmful spirits to people he dislikes or disfavors?

According to the Bible, he does

1 Samuel 18:10 The next day an evil [or harmful] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul

What are other examples of evil or harmful spirits sent by God?

Note: 1 Samuel 18 is an interesting read of palace intrigue.

[SallyF]

Pictures sure do paint a thousand words. I get very little defensive response from Christians in my arguments against Christianity when I post supporting images - with written argument from me - that demonstrate that they are believing in make-believe. The above image does just that.

The image is from a Christian site http://hopehelphealing.com/1samuel/ These good folks appear to accept the sending of evil spirits as an article of faith.

For the OP: the mythological Jehovah is certainly written of as bringing weal and woe.

And yes, the misanthropic, genocidal god of the biblical writings does send evil spirits on people he doesn't like.

There are references to ‘an evil spirit’ (rûaḥ rāʿâ) sent by God in Judg. 9.23 and 1 Sam. 16.23. In the latter case, the spirit which afflicts Saul is also called rûaḥ ʾĕlōhîm rāʿâ, ‘an evil spirit of God’ or ‘evil divine spirit’ (1 Sam. 16.15, 1 Sam. 16; 1 Sam. 18.10), rûaḥ YHWH rāʿâ, ‘an evil spirit of Yahweh’ (1 Sam. 19.9), and, in its first occurrence, rûaḥ rāʿâ mēʾēt YHWH, ‘an evil spirit from Yahweh’ (1 Sam. 16.14).

Rûaḥ, the Hebrew word commonly translated ‘spirit’, …

Judges 9:23 is in addition to the loving tale in Sam.

With the genocide and the sending of evil spirits, we may be glad that the biblical Jehovah is never shown to be anything more that the product/s of human imaginations.

[1213]

…1 Samuel 18:10 The next day an evil [or harmful] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul

What are other examples of evil or harmful spirits sent by God?

Before speaking of other evil spirits, can you tell what was that evil spirit? How God sent it? What it meant?

[SallyF]

And Jehovah (the God of Love) sent the Angel of Death to slay the firstborn sons of the Egyptians.

We don't have so much as a single hieroglyph to mark this further act of genocide by the biblical version of "God" (you would think they would remember) we only have it in the ethnic propaganda of Jewish folks that it happened. But nonetheless, the "Angel of Death" looks like a very evil - and certainly troublesome - spirit to this New Atheist.

And the "Word of God" teaches us that it came from "God".

[Tcg]

Before speaking of other evil spirits, can you tell what was that evil spirit?

Sounds like a psychosis of some sort. In these mythological tales, this imaginary God isn't apposed to gifting his poor servants with such maladies.


Tcg

[Zzyzx]

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…1 Samuel 18:10 The next day an evil [or harmful] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul

What are other examples of evil or harmful spirits sent by God?

Before speaking of other evil spirits, can you tell what was that evil spirit? How God sent it? What it meant?

Read the Bible. That is a direct quote.

Do you need a Non-Theist to help you read or understand the Bible?

[1213]

Do you need a Non-Theist to help you read or understand the Bible?

There are several ways to understand it, it would have been nice to hear how you understand it.

[Zzyzx]

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Do you need a Non-Theist to help you read or understand the Bible?

There are several ways to understand it, it would have been nice to hear how you understand it.

Those who have something rational to say have no need to know how I understand a direct biblical quote.

It would seem as though bibolators would not need coaching from a Non-Theist to properly communicate about the Bible.

[1213]

...
Those who have something rational to say have no need to know how I understand a direct biblical quote. ....

Ok, in that case I have to assume you don’t understand what it means.

Bible speaks of many spirits. One of them is God who is love, according to the Bible:

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
John 4:24

He who doesn't love doesn't know God, for God is love.
1 John 4:8

Other is the Holy spirit, or spirit of truth:

When the Counselor [Greek Parakletos: Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, and Comfortor.] has come, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me.
John 15:26

However when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak from himself; but whatever he hears, he will speak. He will declare to you things that are coming.
John 16:13

Now, if person has spirit of love and spirit of truth, it means person does loving things and remains in truth. And I think they can be seen as good spirit(s).

But what are the evil spirits. If the good are love and truthfulness, evil are for example envy. In the case of Saul (1 Samuel 18:10), the evil spirit seems to be envy, it makes Saul to try to kill David, who is better than him. Now, if we read the whole book, or at least the whole 1 Samuel 18, we can notice how that spirit is sent to Saul. It is sent by making David great and successful.

Now that this may be clear, I can continue to your question:
“What are other examples of evil or harmful spirits sent by God?�

Envy is one, others is greed. Here are some of them, or results of some of them:

covetings, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness.
Mark. 7:22

Now the works of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
Gal. 5:19-21

[Difflugia]

What are other examples of evil or harmful spirits sent by God?

I took a look at this and there are more than I thought. There also seems to be at least a bit of ambiguity whether a "spirit" (usually ר֥וּחַ) is an independent entity, something akin to a thought or attitude, or something in between. It's often difficult to tell whether Yahweh adjusted someone's spirit in the sense that He "hardened Pharaoh's heart" or if He sent something evil to act with volition.

In any case, I really hope that the "spirit of whoredom" in Hosea 4:12 is some sort of ghostly madam or something.

One of the more interesting and explicit ones is in 1 Kings 22:19-23. It uses the word "spirit" in the same sense that other verses seem to mean an attitude, but only after the "spirit" talks to God and wishes to be sent to do God's evil bidding.

And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; and the LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ And the LORD said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ Now therefore behold, the LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the LORD has declared disaster for you.�

Here's the list I found of God sending evil spirits, making people's spirits evil, sending good spirits that make kings beat people up, or something like that. There's actually more, but I left out ones that were basically the same (the same story in Kings and Chronicles, for example) and most of the ones that were just different spirits tormenting Saul. This might make an interesting set of devotional readings.

Deut. 2:30
Judges 9:23
Judges 14:19
1 Sam. 11:6
1 Kings 22:19-23
2 Kings 19:6-7
1 Chron. 5:26
Isaiah 4:3-4
Isaiah 37:6-7
Jer. 51:1-2
Hos. 4:12
Hos. 5:4