Well, please turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Samuel chapter 28. 1 Samuel chapter 28. I'll pick up reading in verse 3. We'll read to the end of the chapter. 1 Samuel 28, beginning in verse 3. 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, let us pray.
Opening Prayer
Father, we thank You for the written Word. We thank You for this account in 1 Samuel 28, and in many ways it's a difficult passage of Scripture. We pray for the ministry of Your Spirit, that He would help us, that He would guide us, that He would lead us and instruct us in the things concerning God. We ask again for the forgiveness of all sin and unrighteousness, and we thank You that You've not left us as orphans in the world.
You have given the Spirit, and You have given us the written Word. And certainly the lesson, the grand lesson in 1 Samuel 28 is that the Lord God Almighty refused to answer Saul. We ask God that you would help us to never make peace with a closed Bible or neglected worship. Help us, Lord God, to seek communion with you, and help us, Lord God, to be faithful and obedient unto you.
And we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well this morning we looked at Acts chapter 8 and we saw that account of Simon the sorcerer, Simon the magician. Now the Bible doesn't condemn magic, sorcery, or witchcraft because they don't work. The Bible condemns magic, sorcery, and witchcraft because they're wicked. And in this particular instance, you see that.
This woman brought someone up. Whether it was the real Samuel or not, we will survey the passage and try to answer that question. But suffice to say, for us, it ought never to be the case that the people of God seek elsewhere for divine revelation. We're not to seek out witches.
We're not to seek out magicians. We're not to seek out sorcerers. were to seek the true and the living God. We are to be content with the written record of His revelation given to us in the Old and the New Testaments. We are to be a people that are subject to the authoritative, infallible, and inerrant word of the living God.
This is indeed a sad end for Saul, the king of Israel. Now, chapter 28 actually goes with chapter 31. If you look at the flow of the narrative, we see that there's this bit inserted about David, and then it returns again to Saul. So, just imagine that chapter 28, verses 3 to 25, go with chapter 31.
It's on the night before this battle with the Philistines that Saul seeks this advice, or he has this consultation, excuse me, with this medium or this witch at Endor. So that's how the passage is structurally formatted.
Occasion of Saul's Decision
Let's look specifically at the teaching of the passage. In the first place, we have the occasion of Saul's decision in verses 3 to 6. Secondly, we have the nature of Saul's request in verses 7 to 14. And then finally, the consultation with the conjured spirit in verses 15 to 25.
But note, with reference to the occasion, Samuel is dead. That's bad news because Samuel was in fact the prophet of God. Samuel was the revelator. He was the speaker for God.
So in verse 3 we are reminded, Samuel had died and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah in his own city. This already had occurred. It was already referenced in chapter 25. It serves to remind us, in this instance, and then sets the stage for what Saul engages in, in terms of pursuing this witch at Endor.
Now, note what Saul does at the end of verse 3b. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. So he was compliant to the law of God at least partially. As we move through the narrative, we will see that he wasn't fully because he sought out a particular medium.
He sought out a particular witch. But this is consistent with God's law. In fact, look at a few passages to see God's will with reference to Israel in the land that they were going to settle. Notice in Leviticus chapter 19.
Leviticus chapter 19 at verse 31, give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits. Do not seek after them to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. And then again in chapter 20 at 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.
And then in verse 27 in the same chapter, A man who 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 turn over to Deuteronomy chapter 18 Deuteronomy chapter 18 specifically verses 9 to 14 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 and 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." So Saul is acting consistently in that he puts these mediums and these spiritists out of the land. It's obviously inconsistent that he then seeks one out to get some information on how to deal with the Philistine threat. But in terms of obedience to the law, you see that he's on the right path or the right course, at least for a brief time. One commentator said, the very need for such prohibitions is an indication that the problem of necromancy, that means to communicate with the dead, the problem of necromancy and of religious practices related to the dead was widespread in ancient Canaan.
In other words, they were told not to do this. If you go into the land, or when you go into the land, you will see that the Canaanites engage in these practices. You're not supposed to do it. Dale Ralph Davis says, we must remember that Scripture describes such practices not as futile, but as pagan.
God forbids Israel to use these means, not because they do not work, but because they are wicked. Remember, there were magicians at the time of Moses who ate the very work of God in the miracles conducted by Moses and Aaron. This stuff is real, but it's prohibited. This stuff is dangerous, and the people of God need to guard against it.
The people of God need to value and prize the written word above all other things when it comes to connection with the supernatural.
The Philistine Threat and God's Silence
Now notice the threat posed by the Philistines in verses 4 and 5. They were the perennial enemy of Israel at this particular time. So it says in verse 4, 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. Sort of reminiscent to that time in the Valley of Elah, when Goliath, that Philistine giant, comes out to challenge the armies of Israel. What do we find? We find Saul terrified.
We find Saul and his men trembling greatly because of the threat posed by these Philistines. He has no living connection with God, so therefore he trembles at the threat of the Philistines. He has no vital communion with God, so everything causes him to freak out. The righteous are the wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
He has forfeited that by his own disobedience, by his own lawlessness and recklessness. And now looking at this Philistine threat, he is terrified. Now, what is most terrifying is verse 6 and then again in verse 16. Notice in verse 6, and when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.
That's more terrifying than facing a Philistine threat. When God Most High doesn't answer, when the Lord is silent to our cries, when He's absent from our life, that's what's most grievous in this chapter. It's not the threat posed by the Philistines, but it's the threat posed by the living and true God. Notice what the Spirit says, the conjured Spirit, in verse 16.
Then Samuel said, so why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? So there's a threat greater than the Philistines that Saul is facing in 1 Samuel 28. And it is the refusal by God to speak to Saul via these particular means that he had sanctioned and that he had utilized in the past. Now, notice his desire, or rather, notice his inquiry there in verse 7.
Now, this is a very grievous passage. Whatever we make of this conjured spirit, whatever we do in terms of identifying that spirit, please don't lose the forest for the trees here. We need to understand the issue facing Saul is a silent God. The issue facing Saul is that God is now his enemy.
The issue facing Saul is no more speech from the living and true God. There's no more prophetic word. There's no more Yeram and Thumi. There's no more dream, there's no more revelation, there is no more access that Saul has wherein he can gain the wisdom necessary to face these sorts of things as the sitting king in Israel.
And so these men know where this woman is to be found, and that brings us to the nature of his request. Notice, he then disguises himself. That's a bit of wisdom on his part, because she's not going to open the door and say, come on in, Saul, because it's him that was responsible for having put her out of the land. Now, I should also say that in terms of his journey, he would have had to skirt the Philistines, because where Gilboa is and where Endor is, the Philistines were camped at Shunem.
So he disguises himself, he skirts around them, he's got two other men with him, and then he goes to visit this particular witch at Endor. Again, the circumstances are grave, and he is willing to take whatever step necessary to try to get some guidance to face his earthly enemies, namely the Philistines.
Saul's Disguise and Journey to En Dor
He comes to her, verse 8, and he said to her, please conduct a seance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name with you. Now, it is intriguing. Look at what it says there in the middle of verse 8. So Saul disguised himself, put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him.
And they came to the woman by night. At the end of verse 25, it says, then they arose and went away that night. It's interesting how oftentimes, not always the case, but oftentimes, great acts of wickedness occur at night in the Bible. And the prophet Isaiah speaks in a way that is reminiscent of what's happening in this particular instance.
He says, 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. 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, a gloom of anguish, and they will be driven into darkness." Vannoy says this is the same sort of gloom and darkness found in 1 Samuel 28. It is the darkness of the absence of God. Brethren, you and I know experientially what it is like to feel as if our prayers aren't leaving past the sealet. You and I know what it's like to perhaps engage in public worship and, you know, have the spiritual vitality of a cold fish.
You and I know what it's like to go and pour over the Scripture and feel as if we're not getting anything out of it. Praise God Almighty, that's not the constancy in our lives and in our experience. But in this particular instance, that is exactly what Saul is steeped in. And as we move through the narrative, and as we summarize at the end, I want to try and show there's a fundamental difference between Saul and a struggling believer.
We cannot assume for the moment that whatever Saul experiences is potentially there for all of the people of God. It's not. He's not the people of God. The Spirit had already departed from him.
The Lord Most High had already condemned him. The Lord had already absented himself from him. But as we survey the passage, we ought to appreciate that what Vannoy says there is true. There is no darkness in the heart of the believer. like the absence of God Almighty.
Now, notice the request put to the medium in verses 9 to 14. The woman is fearful. The woman thinks, perhaps, that this is entrapment. The woman doesn't want this to be the case.
And then in verse 10, Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, as the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. Don't miss the irony here. He is swearing by Yahweh protection to her about something that Yahweh has forbidden. This is absolutely indicative of a confusion that sets in when men resist, reject and refuse the living God, and when that God has rejected and refused them.
Again, Van Noy says Saul blasphemously used the name of the Lord to guarantee the woman that she could violate the law of the Lord with impunity. I swear by God that it's okay for you to disobey God, is essentially what he's saying. Davis says 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.
So he assures her that no punishment, no harm will come to her. Just give me what I want. Again, as we survey through this particular passage, that's the emphasis. Does Saul want God?
No, he wants good results on the battlefield. If Saul was serious, he'd repent before the living and true God. If Saul was serious, he'd believe the truth concerning the true and the living God. Saul is a pragmatist.
Saul wants some help as he faces the Philistines. Saul is akin to so many in Canada and in America that want enough religion to sort of smooth out the rough places in their lives. They don't want God. They want what God can do.
They don't want communion. They want benefit. They don't want sort of union. They would rather just have the blessings.
And that is precisely Saul's tactic in all of this. He wants help to face the Philistines. He doesn't want God. In fact, he'll use or invoke the name of God to assure this woman her safety in something that God has prescribed the death penalty for.
It is truly an amazing situation that the king of Israel finds himself in at this particular point.
The Appearance of the Conjured Spirit
Now 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. Again, I'm going to tell you flat out, I don't think it was the real Samuel.
And I'll give you the reasons for that as we close the message tonight. But she did see something. And the fact that she cried out may indicate that everything up to this point was a sham. Everything up to this point was a fake.
Everything up to this point, she was working the crowd. The fact that she cries out, the fact that she actually sees something now shocked and surprised even her at this particular juncture or at this particular point. Now notice her response in verses 13 and 14. 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. Again, he's going to speak with this particular conjured spirit in a few moments. There was something there. Remember, it's not that the Bible forbids it because it doesn't work.
The Bible forbids it because it's an abomination. We need to see that and appreciate that. There are things out there that are bizarre. There are things out there that are strange.
There are things out there that we as God's people cannot sufficiently and comprehensively explain. There are some places where we come up lacking and where we come up short. We are not creator. We are not infinite.
We are not all knowledgeable. We are certainly not omniscient. We don't have the resources that God has. So as we move and and and shock and jive and have our being with sinners around us.
Yeah, there's things we can't explain There is magic we see it with those magicians at the time of Moses the people that were astonished there in Samaria by Simon this was before motors. This was before the way that people deceive others today That's not to say that they couldn't have deceived them without motors and other sorts of things But it does seem as if Simon had some ability in terms of those magic arts Those things exist, but they're forbidden. They are prohibited. They are ungodly.
They are unholy.
Consultation with the Conjured Spirit
Now let's look finally at this consultation with the conjured spirit. In verse 15, 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. You see? It's not God that he wants. It's not communion restored.
It's really not even a revelation of God. It's help for his problem with the Philistines. Again, I think this is very symptomatic. Again, the trappings are different.
The circumstances are different. I'm not suggesting persons in Canada and America go to spiritists or go to mediums or go to witches to try and get this sort of thing. But there is this pragmatism about man. He wants the supernatural insofar as the supernatural can help him with his daily life.
And when we reduce God to that sort of a manager, that sort of an engineer, that sort of a worker of things so that we'll have nice and happy lives, we've missed the point of communion with the living and true God. Now that doesn't mean we can't pray to God, doesn't mean we can't ask for direction from God, it doesn't mean we don't trust that in his providence he'll guide us and direct us and steer us and all that sort of thing. But when we try and manipulate circumstances so that the supernatural or so that God himself will just work things out in our benefit so that we'll be able to conquer the Philistines, you have to see how fundamentally wrong that is. And we ought never to present the gospel that way, which is the unfortunate reality with reference to many that preach the gospel.
Come to Jesus. Have a happy life. Come to Jesus and be whole. Come to Jesus and just be complete.
No, come to Jesus for forgiveness of sin. Come to Jesus for the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. Ray Comfort says, in America, at least, probably in Canada, preachers preach Jesus for happiness. No, we preach Jesus for righteousness.
It isn't happiness that Americans and Canadians need. It is a righteousness that avails with God. And so there's two different approaches, and Saul is in the wrong lane. He is asking for what he can get.
Again, Davis says, if anything, Saul's quest should have been to face God, not to seek Samuel. His need was not for information, but communion. Not so much to prepare for battle, but to recover God's presence. Saul, it seems, wanted the results of God's favor more than he wanted God's favor.
He wanted the results of God's favor more than he wanted God's favor. I think this happens in worship too. What are we more concerned with? The glory of God or our feelings with reference to the glory of God?
How do we judge a good worship service? I was moved, I was affected, I was experiencing the great and the glorious things. Now, we can still have biblical, faithful, God-honoring worship without our experiences, without our warm affections. Now, certainly those things are nice, and they're helpful, and we love them, and all that sort of thing, but do we worship God because He's God, or do we worship God for the things that He gives us?
Do we serve God because He's God, or do we serve God because He does make our lives quite nice? Thank you very much. You see, he's engaged in strictly pragmatic religion, seeking to manipulate, seeking to game the system so that he can win against the Philistines. Now,
The Conjured Spirit's Response
note the response of this conjured spirit. In verses 16 to 19, he highlights in the first place the fact of God's departure from Saul. Verse 16, then Samuel said, so why do you ask me seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? Everything that he says in verses 16 to 19 has already been said by Samuel when Samuel was alive to Saul.
This wasn't, wow, I can't believe this sort of a thing with reference to Saul. He'd heard this from Samuel while Samuel was alive. This isn't new information. This isn't new data.
This isn't new things to sort of make Saul go, wow, I never had any idea that this is the way things were. I'm going to repent and I'm going to sort of revise my life and station before God. That's not it at all. He comes to him and he says, why do you ask?
The Lord has departed from you. The Lord has become your enemy. Notice in verse 17, the fulfillment of God's word. 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.
Fulfillment of the Word from 1 Samuel 15
Go back for just a moment to chapter 15. Chapter 15 is huge in the Saul narratives. Chapter 15 is the decisive point, and that's what is invoked by this conjured spirit in even more detail in just a moment. But in 1 Samuel chapter 15 at verse 28, notice.
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 when Saul heard the conjured spirit speak of David as his neighbor, it just incensed him. It just made him enraged. It just made him upset.
Saul was not a fan of David. Saul was not on the David fan club. Saul tried to hunt and kill David on numerous occasions. He despised David.
He wanted to rid the earth of David. And here this conjured spirit says, this is precisely what Yahweh spoke back in 1 Samuel chapter 15 at verse 28. He's torn the kingdom from you and he has given it to your neighbor who is better than you. What an indictment against Saul in 1 Samuel 28.
Go back to the chapter. 1 Samuel 28. He speaks concerning this is the reason for God's action. Verse 18. He gives the reason for God's action.
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. Go back to chapter 15. Go back to chapter 15.
I just want to give you a brief sort of summary of what happens in 1 Samuel 15. God, through Samuel, tells Saul to go and decimate the Amalekites. Do not spare any of them. Kill Agag, the king of the Amalekites, kill every human being in Amalek, and kill every animal. wipe them off the face of the earth, obliterate them, destroy them, devastate them.
That is the commandment of God to Saul. Saul goes to the battle, he spares Agag, he spares the animals, and yet he continues to maintain his own faithfulness, his own righteousness, and his own obedience. He tries to deflect this whole situation upon the people. Well, the people thought we should spare these things.
The people thought that we should continue on with these things. No, Saul was rebellious and Saul had rejected the word of the living God. Now notice specifically at verses 22 and 23. Samuel said, has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, 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 back in 1 Samuel chapter 28. The disobedience of Saul, the rebellion of chapter 15, is actually ended in real witchcraft in chapter 28.
And then notice finally what this conjured spirit says to Saul. This actually is new data. This actually is information that is of a prophetic nature. And notice in verse 19, he 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.
The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. So the death of Saul and his sons, it occurs in 1 Samuel 31. The defeat of Israel by the Philistines occurs in chapter 31. So what this conjured spirit speaks concerning the future is true, it's accurate, it's correct.
Saul and his sons die on the field of battle. So again, it's not that these things don't work, it's that these things are abominable. Keep that in mind because you don't have this idea in our society that these things actually do work. Whenever I pass the home of a fortune teller or somebody with a crystal ball, I just think of it as nonsense.
I don't give it any credence whatsoever. But because there are the fakes and the shams and the charlatans, it doesn't mean there's actually not real people engaged in real magic or real witchcraft or divination or the sorts of things, again, that the Bible prohibits from the people of God ever seeking after or ever going after. And then in terms of the aftermath, obviously Saul is upset. Notice in verse 20, 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." You see her concern, right? Don't forget our deal. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to fall prey to the penal sanctions of the Mosaic Law.
She didn't want to get her head chopped off or be stoned or whatever the appropriate punishment was for her. But see, at this point, she's the least of Saul's worries. Saul doesn't care at this point with reference to who she is and what she's doing. The servants encourage him, he eats, they rise, and they go away that night.
Is This Really Samuel?
Well, in conclusion, is this really Samuel? It's a good question, isn't it? Again, I don't know that I have the definitive answer, but I'll give you some things to think about. There are three views on the passage.
Isn't that the case? Passages for the most part in the Bible. There's always three views It's always you know you gotta gotta weigh the evidence you gotta so you can't do your work, right? It gotta be an exegete when you when you study the Bible I mean, there's not with you know obvious propositions or declarative statements.
You shall not murder. There's not three positions on that Don't murder that that's all there is to it, but in some of these passages especially narrative passages where the author doesn't give us theological conclusion I mean, wouldn't we like to have some addendum in chapter 28? Okay, here's some lessons, and here's some clarification, and here's what... The authors don't always do that.
The authors don't always specify exactly what it is you're supposed to think. The authors don't always give us this tidy, nifty answer to everything that concerns us with reference to our study of Scripture. But the three positions, the first is that the medium engaged in deception and told Saul what he already expected to hear. The medium engaged in deception and told Saul what he already expected to hear.
Again, there is some rehearsal of or review of things that Samuel had already spoken, but verse 19 is new information. Verse 19 in terms of Saul and his sons dying in Gilboa at the hands of the Philistines is new data Perkins says neither could this be a bare illusion for he plainly foretold Saul's destruction which an ignorant woman could not know She couldn't have known this. It was, in fact, the conjured spirit that spoke prophetically concerning Saul's battle with the Philistines and his subsequent loss. Secondly, the medium really made contact with the departed spirit of Samuel.
That's a second view. That's a second position on the passage. that the medium really made contact with the departed spirit of Samuel. The text certainly reads this way. If you look at verse 15, now, Samuel said to Saul, why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?
And then in verses 16 to 19, we have, then Samuel said, rehearsing things that Samuel had, in fact, said to him, at least up to verse 18, in his life with Saul prior to his death. So this is a legitimate option with reference to the particular passage, but I don't think that that's the case. God refused to speak to Saul, but on the supposition that this Samuel is in fact the Samuel that had previously prophesied while he was alive, then God is doing something he said he wouldn't do. And he's speaking to him through a man of God, a righteous man, a holy man that has departed and gone to be with the Lord.
Perkins again says, the souls of the saints departed are far from the devil's claws and dominion. He would not use, or God would not use, Samuel in this particular way to speak to Saul when God had refused to speak to Saul, and then to do it in a manner that God prohibited. not to use witches and not to use departed spirits.
The Demonic-Spirit View
The third position, and the one that I agree with, is the activity was produced by a demonic spirit that surprised and manipulated the medium. It was a demonic spirit that surprised and manipulated the medium. Again, the idea that God would speak to Saul in a manner that is forbidden by God is not consistent with what we have in terms of God. And then the statement of Samuel concerning Saul and his sons in verse 19.
Samuel in quotes. I don't think it is Samuel, but it's this demonic spirit. Notice what he says 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." Saul was not going to be with Samuel.
The Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul. God had rejected Saul. Saul is reprobate. Saul is not going to depart and be with the spirits of just men made perfect.
He is not going to be with Samuel. And neither is Jonathan going to be with the devil. This is a deceiving, demonic spirit that has used this medium to come to Saul and to produce further confusion and further torment in the mind and in the heart of a man that has rejected the living and the true God. I think Matthew Henry gets at it well when he says, the specter or apparition personating Samuel asks why he is sent for.
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. That's encouraging, isn't it? The last thing you or I want is to be in heaven and then be conjured up by some medium at Endor so we can speak to some fool that never listened to us while we're alive.
That's not a good thing, brethren. The souls of the just are made secure in the presence of God Almighty. He says, nor would the true Samuel have acknowledged such a power and magical arts. Samuel was a prophet and preacher of the law of God.
He is not going to validate the magic arts. He says, 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. 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. That's precisely what happens.
Saul is wounded on the field of battle. He then asks his armor-bearer to drive his sword into Saul and kill him. The armor-bearer would not, so Saul falls upon his own sword and kills himself. He says, 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.
See, the real Samuel would not have conducted himself in this enigmatic way, simply repeating what he'd already told him while he was alive, adding the additional information concerning the death of Saul and his son. He would have said, repent, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, get your life together, get in order. He says 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 first to sell his master and then to hang himself.
I think that's what's happening in 1 Samuel 28. Perkins adds, it remaineth then that this Samuel was a mere illusion of Satan. It wasn't the true Samuel, but it wasn't a fake. It was a demonic spirit presenting himself to Saul, rehearsing what Samuel had told him in his life, and ministry toward him, adding the additional information concerning the death.
He was his first, his tempter, and then his tormentor, as Matthew Henry says. It's a terrible and a wretched and a horrible condition that this man ends in.
Application: The Absence of God
And it ought to lead us finally to consider the absence of God with reference to Saul and with reference to us. In terms of Saul, he was a wretch. I think whenever sermons are preached on things like examine yourself, or check your heart, or make sure you're the real deal, or are you struggling with what appears to be the absence of God in your heart, it's the sensitive souls among us that really get plagued. You know, preachers at times may have in their minds, and I don't right now, I promise you, but preachers at times have in their minds persons that need, you know, a good spiritual smacking, and they don't always receive it.
It's the sensitive souls that fall apart. If you're a sensitive soul tonight that's having some coldness in the devotional life or some coldness in the public worship life, That's not good. Repent. Seek God's favor.
Seek his help. Seek his assistance. Seek to, you know, read something that'll fire up your heart and all that sort of thing. But do not put yourself in the category of Saul.
Again, 1 Samuel 13. Samuel tells Saul to stay here and wait. You need to wait for me. You need to wait for my return.
Well, Samuel is late by, I think, a day. So Saul undertakes to offer up sacrifices to God on his own. Samuel doesn't come back and award him. Samuel doesn't come back and praise him.
Samuel doesn't come back and say, good on you Saul that you undertook to do that. Samuel reproves him. You were supposed to listen to me. You were supposed to obey me.
It's there the announcement is given that the kingdom is going to go from Saul. Jonathan is not going to be the heir recipient of the throne. And then again in 1 Samuel chapter 15, we've already seen it. God tells him, God says, I'm going to tear the kingdom away.
I'm going to give it to your neighbor, the one that is better than you. 1 Samuel 16, we have that account where the sons of Jesse are being surveyed in terms of kingship with reference to Israel. And remember that bit where God does not look upon the man the way man does. Man only looks at the outward, but God looks at the inward. That's when David is selected.
That's when the Spirit of God comes upon David in 1 Samuel 16. But you know what else happens in 1 Samuel 16? The Spirit departs from Saul. So when we get to 1 Samuel 28, This is the fruit of, this is the consequence of His having already been rejected by the living and the true God.
So, if you are a struggling saint, that is a different category than being a hardened reprobate. Now, having said that, we need, by the grace of God, to realize that if we persistently refuse, reject, or distance ourselves from the voice of God, we are putting ourselves in harm's way. Do not neglect your Bibles. Do not neglect public worship.
Do not neglect the means that God has ordained for your good. The Lord can come to you in a powerful way when you shimmy up Mount Shem, but He hasn't promised to come to you in a powerful way when you climb Mount Shem. He has promised His special presence in the New Covenant community in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, according to Ephesians chapter 2. As well, you can have fond thoughts of God when you're engaged in your daily work, to be sure, but it ought to be centered upon the Word of the living God.
It is the Word, the means by which we come into contact with that God. And Saul had rejected, Saul had refused. Again, verse 16 is terrifying in this passage. The Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy.
That makes the Philistine threat look like chump change. That makes the Philistine threat look like no threat whatsoever. Remember what Paul asks in Romans chapter 8. If God is for us, who can be against us?
Well, there's an alternative or a contrast to that. If God is against us, who can be for us? If the Lord Most High is our enemy, there is no friend that will ever deliver us from that turmoil. As well, the professing Christian must not ever turn to the occult, must not ever turn to magic, must not ever turn to sorcery, and must not ever turn to these alternate means to seek guidance.
It's not that it doesn't work, it's that it's abominable to God. And finally, the believer who senses silence from God should continue to plead with God. You see that pattern in the Psalms. You see it, for instance, in Psalm 13.
You definitely see it in Psalms 42 and 43. You hear it from our Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. What does he say? Ask, seek, knock.
Do not give up, brethren. If you have sensed a coldness, if you have sensed a distance, make no peace with that. But by God's grace, renew repentance. By God's grace, broach the gap.
And by God's grace, have communion and fellowship and union with Him. Do not, like Saul, reject the voice of God, because it may turn out that God rejects you and shows that you were never a believer to begin with. You were never one truly saved. Well, let us close in a word of prayer.
Closing Prayer
Father in heaven, this is a sober chapter of Holy Scripture, a scary chapter with reference to the absence of God in the life of King Saul. I pray that we would learn these lessons, that we would learn them well, and that we would be those who maintain communion by your grace with you through prayer, through the scriptures, through the worship of God. Help us, Lord, not to be at peace with any distance or with any coldness, but help us by your grace to humble ourselves under your mighty hand, knowing that in due time you will lift us up. We thank You for the Word of God.
We thank You that it speaks to all matters of faith and practice, even those things that are forbidden and prohibited. You give us information. You show us what You are talking about. And I pray that we would all take heed and that we would never seek guidance in these alternate means that are condemned by Your Word.
We pray that you would go with us now, help us to glorify you in this coming week, and may you keep and preserve and watch over your people here. And we pray these things through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief time of meditation.