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You can turn in your Bibles to 
1 Samuel 28. I should say at the outset, some 
of what we deal with tonight, I'm not sure of the specific 
interpretation, so some of this will be tentative. When we get 
to the section where Saul is dealing with Samuel, we will 
refer to him as Samuel, and at the end we'll look at the various 
options. Some believe it was actually Samuel Others believe 
that it was the devil, various options in terms of what's going 
on here in 1 Samuel 28. So I'll just begin reading in 
verse 1. Remember that verses 1 and 2 
go specifically with chapter 27, but I do want to begin reading 
in verse 1. Now it happened in those days 
that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war 
to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, you 
assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you 
and your men. So David said to Achish, surely 
you know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, 
therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever. 
Now Samuel had died and all Israel had lamented for him and buried 
him in Ramah in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums 
and the spiritists out of the land. Then the Philistines gathered 
together and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all 
Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the 
army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled 
greatly. And when Saul inquired of the 
Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim 
or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, 
find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire 
of her. And his servants said to him, 
in fact, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor. So Saul 
disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and 
two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he 
said, please conduct a seance for me, and bring up for me the 
one I shall name to you. Then the woman said to him, look, 
you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums 
and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for 
my life to cause me to die? And Saul swore to her by the 
Lord saying, as the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon 
you for this thing. Then the woman said, whom shall 
I bring up for you? And he said, bring up Samuel 
for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she 
cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, 
saying, why have you deceived me? For you are Saul. And the 
king said to her, do not be afraid. What did you see? And the woman 
said to Saul, I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth. So 
he said to her, what is his form? And she said, an old man is coming 
up, and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was 
Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed 
down. Now Samuel said to Saul, why have you disturbed me by 
bringing me up? And Saul answered, I am deeply 
distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God 
has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither 
by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you that 
you may reveal to me what I should do. Then Samuel said, so why 
do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has 
become your enemy? And the Lord has done for himself 
as he spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom 
out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David, because 
you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute his fierce 
wrath upon Amalek. Therefore, the Lord has done 
this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will also 
deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, 
and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will 
also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines." 
Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground. and was dreadfully 
afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength 
in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night. And the 
woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and 
said to him, look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I 
have put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you 
spoke to me. Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, 
and let me set a piece of bread before you. and eat that you 
may have strength when you go on your way." But he refused 
and said, I will not eat. So his servants together with 
the woman urged him and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from 
the ground and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fatted calf 
in the house and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour 
and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread from it. So she brought 
it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they arose 
and went away that night." Amen. Well, just a reminder of the 
chronology. Remember that this section, 28.3 
to 25, actually goes just prior to chapter 31. So essentially, 
the flow of the narrative in chronological order would be 
27, 28, 2, and then 29, 1 to 11, and then 
chapter 30, and then 28, 3 to 25, and then 31. So what we have is 28, 2, David's 
dilemma, and then this parentheses about Saul, and then David's 
dilemma is revisited or picked up again in chapter 29. So in 
a way, the writer creates a great deal of tension. If we didn't 
know the story and we read chapters 27 and 28 to 2, we would see 
that David has gone to Philistia. David is living under the protection 
of Achish. David is out killing the enemies 
of Israel, but he reports back to Achish that he's going on 
raids within Judah itself. So he has built up a camaraderie. 
and to respect with Akish. And Akish wants him to be his 
servant forever. And as we come to chapter 28, 
we see that Achish then presents David with the next battle. He 
wanted him to fight with him against Israel. Of course, David 
can't do that. And so we're left hanging. What's 
going to happen to David? Well, that's what chapter 29 
then answers. So we might ask the question, 
why is 28, 3 to 25, inserted right here, especially 
if it goes with chapter 31. And the way that we know this 
is the geography that is mentioned. Notice in 28.4. We see that the 
Philistines are gathered together and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together 
and they encamped at Gilboa. So this is just before the battle 
as we compare chapter 31 verse 1. The Philistines fought against 
Israel and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines 
and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. So Gilboa is the site of the 
battle. And what we find with Saul in 
3 to 25 is that he is presently there. Look at chapter 29 and 
verse 1. Then the Philistines gathered 
together all their armies at Aphek and the Israelites and 
camped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. So if you have Gath 
down here on the map and Gilboa up here, Aphek is just about 
halfway. So what you have in 27 is there 
in Gath In chapter 29, they're in Aphek, and in chapter 31, 
they're in Gilboa. So 28, 3 to 25, happens on the 
eve of the battle with the Philistines. Another indicator is in verse 
19 of chapter 28. when Samuel says moreover the 
Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the 
Philistines and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. 
So the chronology is clear. The question is why 3 to 25 in 
the midst of David's dilemma? It could perhaps be to indicate 
that David's dilemma as big and as difficult as it may have been 
was nothing in comparison with Saul's dilemma. Saul has received 
no direction whatsoever from the Lord. The king of Israel 
has no recourse to prophet or to priest or to dream. The king 
of Israel has been cut off by the God of Israel and now the 
king of Israel has applied himself to witchcraft in order to get 
guidance and direction so that he may know how to proceed with 
the Philistines. So David's dilemma is a difficult 
one, but Yahweh will indeed deliver him from that. Saul's dilemma 
is a monstrous one, and there will be no deliverance. In fact, 
in 1 Chronicles 10, in summarizing Saul's downfall, It points specifically 
to 1 Samuel 28 and the fact that Saul consulted a medium. So this 
is pretty much the fruition of the downfall of Saul. It started 
with a little bit of defection, a little bit of accommodation, 
a little bit of taking matters into his own hand, a little bit 
of paring off the edges here and there, a little bit of disobedience 
here, all to the point where now he is actually seeking out 
a witch in order to get guidance so he knows how to proceed against 
the Philistine threat. So as believers, the dilemmas 
we may face are certainly big and they're certainly difficult 
and they're certainly hard to be sure, but we nevertheless 
face them with God Most High. If you are of Saul, if you are 
an unbeliever, you still have trials, you still have difficulties, 
You still have dilemmas in life, but you do not have God. That, 
then, is the greatest dilemma of all, trying to live a life 
without the presence of the Lord God Most High. So that's probably 
the author's intention. It's almost as if he hangs us 
at this point where we've got this tension. What's going to 
happen to David? And then we shift gears to find out what's 
going on with Saul. So we're going to treat this 
section under three considerations. First, the occasion of Saul's 
decision in verses 3 to 6. Secondly, the request by Saul 
concerning the medium in verses 7 to 14. And then thirdly, the 
meeting with Samuel in verses 15 to 25. A medium is essentially 
someone who speaks to the dead. Necromancy or a necromancer, 
somebody that communicates with the dead in order to get wisdom 
or guidance or help for the living. It seems absolutely paradoxical 
to me But thank the Lord that he has given us his word rather 
than these sorts of things. So let's look first at the occasion 
of Saul's decision. Three things we ought to consider 
here. First, the death of Samuel. Second, the threat posed by the 
Philistines. And third, the desire of Saul. Notice in verse 3, now Samuel 
had died. He didn't die here. He hasn't 
died at this particular occasion. This simply sets the stage for 
what is to follow in this particular narrative. Samuel died back in 
chapter 25 at verse 1. This is simply a reminder and 
it does indicate something as well in terms of the prophetic 
ministry in Israel. There were still prophets to 
be sure but no prophet par excellence as Samuel was. And so all Israel 
had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah in his own city. And then at the end of verse 
3, and Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the 
land. You see the wisdom of the author in that one verse he sets 
the stage for everything we need to know when we get into the 
rest of the chapter. This one verse contains the information 
necessary to proceed in the narrative. Those are the sorts of things 
you ought to look for in your Bible study. When an author or 
a narrator gives us a historical context, gives us a setting, 
gives us a specific referent, that is in order to assist us 
to understand what the bulk of the narrative is all about. So 
Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. 
So that when we get down to it, when we see Saul seeking a medium 
that he had put out of the land, we are to conclude that he is 
in vile rebellion against the word of the living God. Now the 
Bible, the Old Testament law, the Torah specifically dealt 
with this issue of necromancy or mediums or communicating with 
the dead. Leviticus 19 and verse 31, give 
no regard to mediums and familiar spirits. Do not seek after them. Do not seek after them to be 
defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. Again 
in chapter 20 in verse 6, and the person who turns to mediums 
and familiar spirits to prostitute himself with them, I will set 
my face against that person and cut him off from his people. 
Again in verse 27 in Leviticus chapter 20, a man or a woman 
who is a medium or who has familiar spirits shall surely be put to 
death. They shall stone them with stones, 
their blood shall be upon them. And then in Deuteronomy chapter 
18 verses 9 to 14, Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 9 to 14, this 
indicates is that there shouldn't have been houses or shops where 
there were mediums or where there were fortune dollars or where 
there were those who were communicating or attempting to communicate 
with spirits of those departed. This was a capital crime in Old 
Covenant Israel. In Deuteronomy 18 at verse 9, 
when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, 
you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. You need to understand that Canaanites 
practiced these things. This was part and parcel of life 
in Canaan in this situation. He goes on to say, there shall 
not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter 
pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or 
a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one 
who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls 
up the dead. For all who do these things are 
an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, 
the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall 
be blameless before the Lord your God, For these nations which 
you will dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners. But 
as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." 
David Samora says, the very need for such prohibitions is an indication 
that the problem of necromancy and of religious practices related 
to the dead was widespread in ancient Canaan. So you see you're 
an Israelite living in Canaan and you've got Saul's problem. 
You're not hearing from God. There's no prophetic word. There's 
no dream. There's no priest. There's nothing 
to sort of give you the shot in the arm that you're looking 
for. You happen to see your Canaanites go down to the local medium. 
and they call upon some dead person and then they go home 
and things seem to go well for them. The Israelite would be 
tempted to go that route. They are prohibited from doing 
so. Davis makes this observation. 
We must remember that scripture describes such practices not 
as futile but as pagan. We need to understand when we 
look at 1st Samuel chapter 28, 3 to 25, something happens there. The woman sees something and 
so does Saul. Is it legitimately Samuel? Again, we'll look at those options 
at the end. But whatever happens, they did 
see something in this particular situation. So Davis says, we 
must remember that scripture describes such practices, not 
as futile, but as pagan. He says Yahweh forbids Israel 
to use these means, not because they do not work, But because 
they are wicked, the devil is a real deceiver. He appears as 
an angel of light. When persons mess with the occult, 
sometimes things happen. And this is the point. God doesn't 
forbid us because they don't work. It's not the case, don't 
use that particular device or Don't go to that particular medium 
or to that particular spiritist because it's vain and empty and 
it doesn't work. That's not God's point. But it's 
because they're wicked, they're abominable, they're associated 
with paganism and with false religion. So the death of Samuel, 
verse 3, sets the context or the stage for what is to follow. 
The idea that Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out 
of the land is again additional information or necessary information 
as we move our way through. Now the threat posed by the Philistines, 
we've already dealt with their location, they're ready, they're 
gathered for battle with Israel, they're located at Shunem. And 
when Saul saw this, what happens? He is terrified, he's greatly 
afraid. This is Saul as we see him in 
chapter 17 when David comes on the scene. Remember when Goliath 
is taunting the armies of Israel. We see Israel greatly afraid 
and Saul right there with them. He's a lot different than when 
he first comes on the scene. His claim to fame after he is 
identified as the would-be king was killing Ammonites until the 
heat of the day. Something happened to Saul and 
it wasn't just that he lost his courage in terms of battle, it 
was that he lost his relationship with the living God. He didn't 
have faith in Yahweh. David has faith in Yahweh. David 
is a servant of the Lord. And for all David's problems, 
as we move through the rest of 2 Samuel, and we see David fall 
into the sin he does with Bathsheba and then with Uriah, Nevertheless, 
he is a man after God's own heart. He never stops. He never defects. He never apostatizes. The success 
of David is measured by his relationship with God. The failure and the 
decline of Saul is measured by his rejection of the living and 
true God. So Saul is terrified when he 
sees what is happening in this instance. Note his desire in 
verse 6. When Saul inquired of the Lord, 
the Lord did not answer him either by dreams or by Urim or by the 
prophets. So there was no dream. There 
was no priesthood, there was no prophet. We know why there 
was no priesthood, because he slaughtered them all. In chapter 
22, there was one surviving priest, the man named Abiathar, and that 
man is now with David. We know that Saul was no longer 
subject to the prophetic word. He was cut off according 1st 
Samuel chapter 15. The Lord God had rejected Saul 
in that instance because he engaged in rebellion. Remember that God 
through Samuel said that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. 
It was rebellion in chapter 15 and now it has come to fruition 
as full-blown witchcraft in 1st Samuel chapter 28. The man's 
decline is truly amazing. The man's decline ought to rise 
up and point a finger at us and call us to take heed, lest we 
also fall. Remember, tracing back Saul's 
history, the very beginning of the end was in 1 Samuel 13. Samuel 
said, I will meet you. You wait for me. Samuel was late, 
and so Saul undertook to offer up sacrifice on his own. He was 
not authorized to do so. God, through the prophet, had 
told him to wait. But Saul had a hankering to worship, 
and he went ahead and he undertook. We get to 1 Samuel 14, and what 
does Saul do? He imposes a fast upon Israel. No doubt, with holy purposes 
and reasons, I thought, you know, if we fasted and we showed our 
devotion to God, well, then he would certainly bless us. Well, 
that didn't work out for Saul. Saul was a sinner against God. As I said in chapter 15, God 
tells Saul to go in to destroy Agag and the Amalekites. He spares Agag, he spares the 
livestock, and this because of his religious devotion. I thought 
we would use the livestock to offer up sacrifice to the Lord. By the time we get to the end 
of chapter 16, the spirit of the Lord has departed from Saul. 
A distressing spirit has come upon Saul, and he is troubled 
in heart. David comes on the scene. David 
is a national hero and a victor. Saul should have been thanking 
God for sending David to spare their their skin at the Valley 
of Elah, but instead he's filled with envy and rage and malice 
and murder. Saul is a case study in defection 
and in apostasy, and believers today would do well to take their 
cue from David rather than from Saul. So notice that brings us 
secondly to the request by Saul concerning the medium in verses 
7 to 14. In the first place he asks his 
servants, find me a woman who is a medium that I may go to 
her and inquire of her. Davis says Yahweh's silence did 
not silence Saul's terror. hence he wrongly turned to what 
he had rightly prohibited. I like that statement. He wrongly 
turned to what he had rightly prohibited. Remember verse 3. 
It was as a result of Saul that the mediums and spiritists were 
put out of Israel. According to the Levitical law, 
they should have been executed. So he somewhat complied, he somewhat 
obeyed, at least they were outside of the land of Israel. But now 
he is engaging in that which he had prohibited. Davis says 
he asked his men to locate a woman skilled in necromancy. Perhaps 
a word from the dead would help him face tomorrow. And it is 
intriguing that the servants of Saul knew exactly where to 
find such a woman in Endor. Now if we go back to our map, 
this was our map, we have Gath and Philistia here, we have Aphek 
here, remember they're at Shunem and Mount Gilboa. Endor is about 
four and a half miles north of that location. So when Saul puts 
on a disguise in order to go visit this witch at Endor, he 
has to skirt the Philistine armies as well. He has to move past 
them because they're further north than Israel. It's not a 
lot of distance, but then he has to get around them. in order 
to go to this witch at Endor. What does that indicate to us? 
He is a desperate man. What should that illustrate for 
us? Men apart from God are desperate men. We need direction, we need 
guidance, we need help in this world. And that's why Solomon 
in the Proverbs says, trust in the Lord with all your heart 
and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge 
Him and He shall direct your paths. Persons need direction. We have issues. We have problems. We have dilemmas. And Saul is 
so spent and so pressed that he's about to face the Philistines 
in battle and he's terrified, so he is reaching out to the 
dead in order to find direction for his life. So the servant 
said, in fact, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor. Now notice the meeting with this 
medium. Verse 8, so Saul disguised himself 
and put on other clothes. It means he took off his royal 
garments. He doesn't have his robe. He 
doesn't have all the regalia that would indicate that he's 
royalty. He knows that if this woman identifies him, the woman's 
not going to read his tea leaves. The woman isn't going to be there 
for him if she identifies that it's, in fact, Saul, because 
Saul's the reason she has lost her place in Israel. So Saul 
disguises himself, puts on other clothes, and he went. And two 
men went with him, and they came to the woman by night." Notice 
at the end of verse 25, then they rose and went away, that 
night. It's interesting, this all happens 
under the cover of darkness. Later, the prophet Isaiah will 
say in chapter 8, verses 19 to 22, And when they say to you, 
seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter, 
should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead 
on behalf of the living? To the law and to the testimony, 
if they do not speak according to this word, it is because there 
is no light in them." I think it's conspicuous that Saul does 
this misdeed at night. The prophet goes on to say they 
will pass through it hard-pressed and hungry and it shall happen 
when they are hungry that they will be enraged and curse their 
king and their God and look upward. Then they will look to the earth 
and see trouble and darkness, gloom of anguish, and they will 
be driven into darkness. Van Hoy says this is the same 
sort of gloom and darkness found in 1st Samuel 28. It is the darkness 
of the absence of God. That is Saul's dilemma. And so 
the author is saying, David's got it rough, but God's going 
to look after him. Saul has been abandoned by the 
Lord God Most High. Saul, when he refused God, has 
brought it to the point where God has now refused him. He's 
telling us as readers we need to take heed to this. This ought 
to terrify us if we ever get to the point where we're happy 
with a closed Bible or with neglected means of grace. We ought to take 
our cue from Saul and do just the opposite. Now notice the 
request put to the medium in verses 9 to 14. Well first he 
says, please conduct a seance for me. Can you imagine that? 
The king of Israel. The typical picture of the kingdom 
of God on Earth. He is asking this witch at Endor 
to conduct a seance for him and bring up for me the one I shall 
name to you. Then the woman said to him, look, 
you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums 
and the spiritists from the land. Gil rightly suggests that this 
should have pricked his conscience. He's Saul. He, of course, knows 
what he's done. He knows that he operated according 
to the law of God. He was responsible to put these 
mediums and spiritists out of the land. And now she says this, 
and he's standing there, hardened as can be. She at the end says, 
why then do you lay a snare for my life to cause me to die? She 
fears it may be entrapment. They're coming to get their tea 
leaves read. They're coming to get some communication 
with the dead so that she can be then turned in and executed 
by the state. Now this is absolutely amazing. If you go back for just a moment 
to chapter 23. Chapter 23. Remember we saw Saul and the 
sort of things that he would say that just were like, boy, 
how could he ever do such a thing? Remember in Keilah, in verse 
7, Saul was told that David had gone to Keilah, so Saul said, 
God has delivered him into my hand, for he has shut himself 
in by entering a town that has gates and bars. Come on, Saul, 
you can't really believe that you are getting the blessing 
of God. You are receiving the favor of 
God. Later on he pronounces a benediction 
upon the Ziphites. Notice in chapter 23.21, and 
Saul said, Blessed are you of the Lord, for you have compassion 
on me. Is he kidding? Does he actually 
think he can pronounce a benediction? Go back to 28 and verse 10. This 
woman expresses her fear that she is going to be executed for 
being a medium, and Saul has the gall to swear by Yahweh that 
her life will be preserved. Notice in verse 10, Saul swore 
to her by the Lord saying, As the Lord lives, no punishment 
shall come upon you for this thing. How bad can this man possibly 
get? Vanoy says that Saul blasphemously 
used the name of the Lord to guarantee the woman that she 
could violate the law of the Lord with impunity. Davis adds, 
the reader must not miss the irony. Saul swears the oath by 
Yahweh, by Yahweh's life, as he seeks help from a source that 
Yahweh has condemned. I mean, this man is gone, brethren. There is not a shred of decency 
left in Saul. And this is the miserable picture 
of a man who neglects the things of God. I cannot overestimate 
that, because the reality is it started off small. The first 
few chapters, when we see Saul, he's a man head and shoulders 
above all the rest of Israel. He's from a humble background. 
Samuel anoints him. Everything is good. He knows 
how to kill Ammonites. He looks like he has the ability 
to lead. He has a courage. He has a bravery. He has a battle-proven ability. 
And then, from 13 on, it's just this gradual, horrific decline. If you have ever met or known 
somebody in the Christian life that has fallen away, ask them, 
what was it that started it out? I mentioned it before, typically 
people don't just wake up on a Monday morning and apostatize. They don't wake up on a Monday 
morning and say, I'm done with Jesus. I'm done with God, I'm 
done with the church, I'm done with it all. No, it doesn't typically 
start that way. I'm sure they're out there, but 
it's typically those who leave off things, those who neglect 
things, those who take little steps here and there. Those little 
steps gradually add up to huge falls. We need to learn that 
lesson from this apostate that has been vividly displayed for 
us so that we can understand what religious defection ends 
up as. Now notice the specific request 
in verses 11 and 12. The woman said, Whom shall I 
bring up for you? And he said, Bring up Samuel 
for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she 
cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, 
saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul. Now something 
intriguing here is that the woman is surprised. she startled when 
she sees this literally if you look at the margin in the New 
King James she will actually will see that in verse 13 in 
just a moment but notice in verse 12 when the woman saw Samuel 
she cried out with a loud voice why would she be startled? it 
may give us a hint or an indication or a suggestion that everything 
she'd done up to this point was a fake it was a fraud I mean 
I can't imagine that everybody who sets up a a sign at the front 
of their house that says fortunes told, and tea leaves read, and 
dead communicated with. I can't imagine all those persons 
have special powers. Maybe they do, but maybe it is 
the case that they're fakes, and they're charlatans, and they're 
more than happy to give you a general prediction about life. I see 
in your future that you're going to continue to breathe, and you're 
just so consumed with their alertness, and their alacrity, or their 
astuteness, you pay them their money. This woman was startled 
when she saw what she saw, which suggests that perhaps she had 
never successfully engaged in necromancy prior. So nevertheless, 
she does see something. And when she sees this something, 
it says in the text, Samuel, the woman spoke to Saul, saying, 
why have you deceived me? For you are Saul. This indicated 
to her that the one seeking Samuel was Saul. And that brings us 
to verse 13, the king said to her, do not be afraid, what did 
you see? And the woman said to Saul, I 
saw a spirit ascending out of the earth, or I saw God's ascending 
out of the earth. Literally, God's Elohim, the 
word that we use for God is a plural form, and it can also be God's, 
plural. God is the divine being, it's 
used in Psalm 82 for judges. Here it is a good gloss or a 
good rendering to speak of a spirit. I think that is a legitimate 
interpretation in this particular text. So Saul asks her specifically, 
what did you see? She says, I saw a spirit ascending 
out of the earth. So he said to her, what is his 
form? And she said, an old man is coming 
up and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was 
Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed 
down." Now this is precisely what Saul was after. He wanted 
to communicate with Samuel. He wanted the prophetic word. 
He wanted understanding. He wanted guidance. He wanted 
help, because he's going to face the Philistines in battle. And 
that brings us, thirdly, to this meeting with Samuel in verses 
15 to 25. Actually, before we proceed, 
it is intriguing how brief the narrative is in terms of the 
actual action There's not a detailed scenario where the woman does 
whatever the woman does. There's no detailed sort of indication 
concerning her process or concerning her ritual. When you look at, 
say, for instance, the Levitical sacrificial system, It's spelled 
out in great detail, isn't it? I mean, in terms of Leviticus 
chapters 1 to 9, what sacrifice is for what? I mean, it's detailed, 
right? Most readers get to about Leviticus 
3 and they scratch their heads and they say, wow, I don't know 
if I can handle this much longer. It's just detail after detail 
after detail in terms of how to approach the living God via 
the sacrificial system. You go back even further to the 
building of the tabernacle. Again, we get to chapter 25 in 
the book of Exodus, and we see that that's the largest section 
in the book of Exodus, 25 to 40. and it's the detailed description 
on how to build the tabernacle. And what we find there is that 
God prescribes for his people how they are to conduct themselves 
in his house. Notice that God doesn't tell 
Moses how Moses is supposed to prepare Moses' house. God doesn't 
say to Moses, I want a lamp there, I want a table there, I want 
bread there, I want an altar there. God gives liberty to Moses, 
but when it comes to God's house, according to the regulative principle 
of worship, God determines how he is to be worshipped. At any 
rate, detailed explanations. Not so here. Why? Because the 
author doesn't want anybody to get an itch to go out and find 
a medium, or to try and do this for themselves, or to go purchase 
a Ouija board from Walmart and give it a shot. The author gives 
us just a bare sketch so that it doesn't create in us this 
desire or this longing or this curiosity wherein we might pursue 
these things. This is not a how-to conjure-up-spirits-from-the-dead 
passage. It is very brief in order to 
discourage such an approach from anyone who reads this particular 
chapter. I believe at times curiosity 
is the first stepping stone into the occult. Persons see it, they're 
interested, they're intrigued, they listen to something, they 
hear something, they see something, and they take just a little step 
and they end up getting into those particular things. Now 
notice the meeting with Saul. There is a question, a response, 
and aftermath. Notice Samuel's question in verse 
15. Why have you disturbed me by 
bringing me up? It's a good question, isn't it? 
Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Now notice Saul's 
response. Saul answered, I am deeply distressed 
for the Philistines make war against me and God has departed 
from me and does not answer me anymore. That's probably one 
of the most difficult statements in all of the Bible for anyone 
to ever have to come to grips with. God has departed from me 
and does not answer me anymore. It truly is a terrifying picture. of what is in view here. Neither 
by prophets nor by dreams, therefore I have called you that you may 
reveal to me what I should do. Essentially what Saul says is 
my problem, Samuel, is the complete absence of God. Remember David's 
dilemma? He's got to march with the Philistines 
against Israel. At that point, he probably doesn't 
know precisely how he's going to deal with that. Nevertheless, 
we'll put that on the back burner for now and deal with that in 
chapter 29 and show how faithful God is to deliver David yet again 
through the Philistines. The problem in this section is 
solved. He's got no God. I am deeply 
distressed for the Philistines make war against me and God has 
departed from me and does not answer me anymore." Now notice 
the end of the verse, therefore I have called you that you may 
reveal to me what I should do. It's interesting because what 
Saul indicates here is that he doesn't want God for God. His problem isn't the absence 
of God. His problem is the absence of 
God's help. And I think his answer betrays 
that. I think his answer gives evidence of that. God has departed 
from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets 
nor by dreams. What should Saul have done? Instead 
of fetching a medium and seeking to conjure up Samuel, he should 
have been praying and fasting and weeping and pleading. and 
searching the scriptures and seeking after God. You see, brethren, 
when God is silent towards you, the response is not go down to 
the local fortune teller. It is to be like David. We'll 
look at this at the end tonight. David had times when he didn't 
have that felt presence of God. Did David go down and find a 
medium to conjure up Samuel? No. David kept seeking God. You see, the genuine believer 
wants God for God. He doesn't want just what God 
can give him. Davis says, if anything, Saul's 
quest should have been to face Yahweh, not to seek Samuel. His 
need was not for information, but communion. You see, Saul 
doesn't get it. He's a hardened man. Not so much 
to prepare for battle, but to seek God's presence. Saul, it 
seems, wanted the results of God's favor more than he wanted 
God's favor. It's a subtle distinction, but 
it's a real distinction. Do we want God's favor? Do we 
want God's presence? Do we want God himself? Or is 
it just what God can do for us? Saul betrays the spirit that 
has plagued him since Back in chapter 13, he looks at God as 
a means to achieve a particular end. I think this is a peculiarly 
fitting word for Christianity in our generation because we 
utilize God. We seek to manipulate God. We treat God as if he's Baal 
just to spit out the particular blessings or privileges we want. 
If God does not give us what we want, we conclude that, well, 
you know, He just doesn't love me, and He's not there for me, 
and He doesn't care for me. No, brethren, the glory of Christianity, 
the glory of biblical faith, the object and the prize is God 
Himself. It's not what God gives, it's 
who God is. That's the blessed boon of our 
Christian religion. So this is Saul's problem. Now 
notice the response of Samuel in verses 16 to 19. Note that 
Samuel tells Saul nothing new. There's no new information here. 
He simply rehearses what Saul has already been told by Samuel 
during Samuel's life. He didn't need to conjure up 
Samuel, he didn't need to go to this medium, he didn't need 
to skirt the Philistines, he didn't need to disguise himself, 
he didn't need to degrade himself further by going to the very 
witch that he had cast out of the land of Israel. Everything 
in verses 16 to 19 is information that Samuel had already given 
to Saul. Note first the fact of God's 
departure. Verse 16, Samuel said, So why 
do you ask me, seeing Yahweh has departed from you and has 
become your enemy? In other words, you can't change 
that at this point, Saul. He has departed from you and 
He has become your enemy. What does this indicate? Saul, 
the least of your problems are those Philistines on the other 
side of Gilboa. Saul, the least of your worries 
are those Philistines with their rage and their madness and their 
desire to terminate you and all the Israelites. You've got an 
enemy you haven't even begun to consider. You haven't fully 
entered into the gravity of this particular situation. You haven't 
felt your genuine need. Notice in the second place, this 
is the fulfillment of God's Word. Verse 17, and the Lord has done 
for himself as he spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom 
out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Remember 
back in chapter 15, specifically in verse 28, we read, that are in verse 27, and as 
Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe 
and it tore. So Samuel said to him, the Lord 
has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given 
it to a neighbor of yours who is better than you. I'm sure 
that didn't feel good to Saul when he heard that his neighbor 
would be better than him back in 1528. How do you think this 
bit of information from Samuel to Saul felt in chapter 28? God has departed from you, God 
is now your enemy, and oh, by the way, that neighbor that is 
better than you is David. The man you've been hunting, 
the man you want to murder, the man who has graciously spared 
your life on two occasions, he is the man that is going to receive 
the kingdom. I'm sure Saul probably didn't 
find this as a thrilling tidbit of information at this particular 
juncture. Notice in the third place the 
reason for God's action. Why does God do what He did? 
Why did God do what He did? Verse 18, Because you did not 
obey the voice of the Lord, nor execute His fierce wrath upon 
Amalek. Therefore the Lord has done this 
thing to you this day. You see, again, brethren, we 
have this idea that obedience is sometimes optional. If I don't 
want to do what God says, well, you know, I'll just confess it 
and forsake it and ask His forgiveness, and then I'll do better. Well, 
that didn't happen in 1 Samuel 15, verses 22 and 23. Samuel said, as always, great 
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the 
voice of the Lord. That's the kind of stuff we need 
to come to grips with. You know, when we look at that 
Ten Commandments and we just violate them with impunity, does 
it ever occur to us that Saul did such things and ended up 
in a horrible condition? We should learn from these things. 
We should take notice of these things. We should remember that 
obedience to the voice of the Lord is greater or is better 
than sacrifices. It's what he says in verse 22, 
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the 
fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of 
witchcraft. Now we might not seek out that 
medium at Endor, but our rebellion to the revealed will of God as 
it comes to us in the scripture is as the sin of witchcraft. 
You may not go visit the local fortune teller, you may not go 
to Walmart and buy yourself a Ouija board, But rebellion is as the 
sin of witchcraft. It is in the same category. And this is precisely what had 
been underscored in 1 Samuel 15. And stubbornness is as iniquity 
and idolatry. Because you have rejected the 
word of the Lord, he also has rejected you from being king. 
So this was the reason. In other words, Samuel is essentially 
saying to him, Saul, you shouldn't be surprised. We covered this 
ground. We already went through this 
in chapter 15. You should have learned the lesson. You should 
have cried out for repentance. in repentance, you should have 
sought the Lord while he can be found, and called upon him 
while he is near." And then notice the judgment of God upon Saul 
in verse 19, "'Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel 
with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you 
and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the 
army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.'" So the 
two-fold judgment, the death of Saul and his sons and the 
defeat of Israel. The aftermath is essentially 
Saul's response, he falls full length on the ground, verse 20, 
and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel, and there 
was no strength in him for he had eaten no food all day or 
all night. Turns out the medium can fix 
a mean calf, so she cooks up a meal, convinces Saul to eat, 
he eats, and then he goes and he dies in battle. Gil makes 
the comment she didn't want him to drop dead in her house. I 
mean, it's bad enough that she's a medium. She certainly didn't 
want to be found with a dead king in her house. So I think 
that's a pretty astute observation there. So that's the exposition. When we come to this appearance 
of Samuel, certainly interpreters differ on what we're dealing 
with. I think the three majority reports are, first, the witch 
engaged in deception and told Saul what he had already expected 
to hear. She deceived him, she faked him 
out, and basically told him what he already wanted to hear or 
expected to hear. William Perkins says, neither 
could this be a bare illusion, though. For he plainly, Samuel, 
foretold Saul's destruction, which an ignorant woman could 
not know. The idea is probably not that it was a fake. It was 
probably not the case that she was just, you know, pulling some 
hocus pocus on him and pulling the wool over his eyes. That's 
probably not the option. The second option is the witch 
really made contact with the departed spirit of Samuel. The 
text certainly reads that way. The text does not indicate we're 
dealing with an apparition. The text does not indicate that 
we're dealing with the devil. The text very specifically, in 
verse 15, indicates that it's Samuel. And then verses 16 to 
19, essentially, Samuel rehearses or repeats everything Samuel 
had already said when he was alive. Now, certainly there are 
some problems with that interpretation. Because you see, if God condemns, 
via the law, putting mediums and spiritists out of the land, 
it seems odd that he would sanction the use of a medium to conjure 
up Samuel in order to give information to Saul. As well, according to 
the text and according to Saul's own statement, the Lord would 
not communicate with him, neither by dream, or by Urim, or by prophet. There was no access to God by 
Saul. So it does at least present a 
challenge that why then would God, through Samuel, communicate 
to Saul? Now, as I said at the outset, 
this is tentative. I'm not prepared to die on any 
of these interpretations tonight. It is a difficult passage. I 
called Pastor Barcelos this afternoon, and I said, if one of your children 
or somebody in your church asked you about Samuel in 1 Samuel 
28, what would you tell them? He said, well, I would tell them, 
let me talk to Pastor Butler. And then he said, if I couldn't 
get a hold of you, he said, I would say that's a very obscure passage 
and a difficult passage. There are such in the Bible. 
There are difficult passages, brethren. This is one of them. 
Perkins makes this observation concerning that it was really 
Samuel. He says, the souls of the saints 
departed are far from the devil's claws in dominion. The souls 
of the saints departed are far from the claws of the devil and 
his dominion. are the Devil's Claws and Dominion. Perkins believes, as does Matthew 
Henry, as does John Gill, as does a whole host of others, 
that what we're dealing with is the activity was produced 
by a demonic spirit that surprised and manipulated the witch. So 
again, I am not prepared to die on any of these interpretations. 
I'm simply telling you that that's what they are. But the bottom 
line, and this is what we ought not to miss, is that Saul's dilemma 
is huge. Saul's problem is massive. Saul 
has an enemy greater than the Philistines, and that enemy is 
the living and the true God. In terms of that interpretation, 
though, that it was indeed a demonic spirit. I think of all that I 
read today, Matthew Henry seemed to alight well on that interpretation. He said, the specter or apparition 
personating Samuel asks why he is sent for. He says, to us, 
this discovers that it was an evil spirit that personated Samuel. For it is not in the power of 
witches to disturb the rest of good men and to bring them back 
into the world when they please. Nor would the true Samuel have 
acknowledged such a power in magical arts. But to Saul, this 
was a proper device of Satan's to draw veneration from him, 
to possess him with an opinion of the power of divination, and 
so to rivet him in the devil's interests. He goes on to say, 
it is cold comfort, it is cold comfort which this evil spirit 
in Samuel's mantle gives to Saul, and is manifestly intended to 
drive him to despair and self-murder. Had it been the true Samuel, 
when Saul desired to be told what he should do, he would have 
told him to repent and make his peace with God, and recall David 
from his banishment, and would then have told him that he might 
hope in this way to find mercy with God. But instead of that, 
he represents his case as helpless and hopeless, serving him as 
he did Judas, to whom he was first a tempter and then a tormentor, 
persuading him to first sell his master and then to hang himself. Again, I think there are strengths 
to number two and three. I do not think number one is 
accurate. I do not think it was a fake. I do not think it was 
a fraud. I think she saw something. And 
I think that Saul saw something. But it's either the witch really 
made contact with the departed spirit of Samuel, or the activity 
was produced by a demonic spirit that surprised and manipulated 
the witch. Perkins says, after giving some 
reasons as to that interpretation, says, it remaineth then that 
this Samuel was a mere illusion of Satan. Well, we've already 
dealt with the downfall of Saul. I don't want to rehearse that 
again, but I do want to leave us with a closing thought in 
terms of the absence of God. The professing Christian who 
refuses God's word may be refused by God. Now, we know that ultimately 
if somebody is refused by God, they were not of us. They were 
not of us, because the genuine believer does hold fast. He may 
not always hold fast as he ought, but he does hold fast. Saul was 
not a man who lost his salvation. Saul was never a saved man to 
begin with. 1 John 2, they went out from 
us, but they were not of us. For if they were of us, they 
would have continued with us. But we need to learn, we need 
to understand, one of the means that God uses with his faithful, 
with believers, are warning passages. Some say, well, if you're eternally 
secure and you believe in the preservation by God and perseverance 
of the saints, why are the warning passages there? That's a means 
that God uses for the good of his people. It's a means that 
God uses to keep us online. We ought to fear and we ought 
to tremble if we reject the word of God, we reject the means of 
grace, we leave off those things that God says is for our good. We ought to fear and tremble. 
We ought to fear and tremble the thought of leaving those 
things off. We ought never to be content 
with a closed Bible And we ought never to be content with the 
neglect of the means of grace. If we get to that place where 
it's easy for us to skip Bible reading, it's easy for us to 
miss church, it's easy for us to neglect the things that are 
most necessary for us. Have we forgotten the lesson 
in the wilderness with both Israel and Jesus? Man shall not live 
by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth 
of God. How is it that Christians today think they don't need daily 
bread? How is it today that Christians 
think they don't need to go and sit under the preaching of the 
word? How is it that we've gotten to this place where there's this 
maverick spirit that just wants to do it on our own? And I don't 
need any help, and I don't need any guidance. I just need, you 
know, me. I'll take care of it. No, you 
need the scriptures, you need the Lord God Almighty, and you 
need the means that He has ordained for your good. Secondly, the 
professing Christian must not ever turn to the occult in order 
to seek guidance. That is absolutely abominable. It was right that Saul excluded 
them from Israel. It was absolutely horrific that 
Saul then sought one out. to seek her guidance or to seek 
her assistance in conjuring up Samuel so he could get a fix 
on how he ought to approach this battle with the Philistines. 
Christian, if you do not hear from God, then read more. If 
you do not hear from God, then study harder. If you do not hear 
from God, then read good theology books. Don't get a Ouija board. Don't go to the local fortune 
teller. Don't seek those things out. If you start to play games 
with those things, it isn't long until you're in a bad place. 
I doubt persons wake up on a Monday morning, you know, in the satanic 
church. or followers of Alistair Crowley, 
or followers of participants in black masses, or human sacrifice. I doubt anybody just gets there 
overnight. It's probably a gradual thing. You start a little bit here, 
and you end up in a bad place. And then finally, the believer 
who senses silence from God will continue to plead with God. Look 
at Psalm 13 for just one example. Psalm 13, see a marked difference 
between David and Saul. Saul doesn't hear from God, he 
goes and visits a witch in Endor. David doesn't hear from God and 
David just keeps knocking harder at God's door. Psalm 13, how 
long, O Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will you 
hide your face from me? How long shall I take counsel 
in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? How long will 
my enemy be exalted over me? You see, David had his trials. David had those. periods where 
he didn't have the felt presence of God. Does David then say in 
verse 3, I'm going to go fetch a witch in Endor, and I'm going 
to seek Samuel, and I'm going to get some guidance and some 
help on how to fill up this longing in my soul? No, he keeps on with 
God. Consider and hear me, O Lord 
my God. Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep 
the sleep of death. Lest my enemies say, I have prevailed 
against him. Lest those who trouble me rejoice 
when I am moved. But I have trusted in your mercy. 
My heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the 
Lord because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalms 42 and 43, why 
art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God. That is the marked difference 
between the genuine believer and the false professor. The 
false professor doesn't sense God and he gives up. The true 
believer knocks, asks, seeks, continues, reads, prays, is in 
church. You know, that's the thing that 
I hear sometimes. I just didn't feel like reading 
my Bible because I didn't feel like I would find God. When does 
feelings become the controlling factor in our lives? I don't 
feel like eating food that's good for me but doesn't taste 
good. I don't feel like it, but I do it. I don't feel like lifting 
weights or running or walking. You may not feel like doing certain 
things, but you know it's right, so you do it. And yet, when it 
comes to the means of grace, I don't feel like it, so I'm 
not going to do it. That's just unrighteous behavior, and I think 
it opens the door to unfortunate ends. So let us learn from Saul, 
let us learn from David, and let us seek the Lord always. 
Father, we thank you for the Word of God and we thank you 
for these clear pictures that you paint in the Old Testament 
concerning faith and faithlessness. Help us, God, not to cut corners. 
Help us not to reject the things that you've ordained for our 
good, but help us to pursue these things with thanksgiving and 
with great joy. Be with us now. Grant us grace 
in the remainder of this week. Bless all of our brothers and 
our sisters and bring us together on the Sabbath day that we may 
worship you in spirit and in truth. And we pray through Christ 
our Lord. Amen.