Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. – 1 Samuel 16:14

 Today's Scripture Reading (May 26, 2025): 1 Samuel 16

We think that Aristotle introduced the concept of "horror vacui." The Latin phrase's translation is often given as "Nature abhors a vacuum." It is a concept that still rings true in science, but the Greek philosopher's assertion also holds in many other areas of life. Aristotle believed that "horror vacui" was why a water pump functioned; the mechanism created a vacuum through which water was pulled through the pump.

But nature always abhors a vacuum. Regardless of the subject of our discussion, the emptiness will always be filled unless considerable work is done to counter that effect. Always. It is that way in life, and the concept is mirrored in fiction. As a Science Fiction fan, maybe the most memorable example comes from the Star Trek Universe. In Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, a title which finds its origin in William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," the concept of "horror vacui" is placed on the lips of Mr. Spock. Spock comments, "This will be my final voyage on board this vessel as a member of her crew. Nature abhors a vacuum. I intend you to replace me."

Samuel tells us that God's Spirit had left Saul. But nature abhors a vacuum; what is empty will always be filled by something. This filling of a vacuum has always been the rationale for why meditation for the Christian needs to be entered into with caution. We need to make sure that we are meditating on something. For Christians, meditation often centers around a passage of scripture and what God requires us to understand. Traditional meditation frequently concentrates on self-emptying. The problem with that concept is that it allows something else to take its place. Possibly, something less edifying.

God leaves Saul empty, but it doesn't take long for something else to take up residence inside of the King. Samuel says it was an evil spirit that found its home inside the King and that it tormented him. But once God had left Saul, or maybe we should say that once Saul had evicted the will of God from his life, Saul could no longer act as a godly King because, to truly be godly, always requires God's presence in our lives.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 17