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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, 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. 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. 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 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. 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. 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.