The answer is that this spirit of harm was sent by the Lord as an act of judgment on Saul’s sin. Robert Bergen explains: “Saul’s tortured state was not an accident of nature, nor was it essentially a medical condition. It was a supernatural assault by a being sent at the Lord’s command, and it was brought on by Saul’s disobedience.”5 Saul’s repeated rebellion against God’s commands had brought not only his rejection as king but also God’s judgment in the form of this heaven-sent spiritual torment.