FRAMEWORKS:
1 Samuel 28: Saul & the Witch of Endor
v.1,2
David finds he has to accompany the Philistine king, Achish
v.3-6
Saul seeks guidance from God but gets none
v.7-10
Saul seeks out the medium of Endor
v.11-14
She calls up the ghost of Samuel
v.15-19
‘Samuel' pronounces judgment on Saul
v.20-25
Saul is devastated and needs help to recover
v.1,2
David finds he has to accompany the Philistine king, Achish
v.1
In
those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against
Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and
your men will accompany me in the army.”
v.2
David
said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”
Achish
replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”
[Notes:
Davis
is being put in the tricky position of having to fight against
his own people – see next chapter for the outcome]
v.3-6
Saul seeks guidance from God but gets none
v.3
Now
Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried
him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and
spiritists from the land.
v.4 The
Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while
Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa.
v.5
When
Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his
heart.
v.6
He
inquired of the Lord,
but the Lord
did not answer
him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
[Notes:
Meanwhile
as the Philistines gather to come against Israel, Saul is fearful
and only now turns to the Lord. However the Lord has given up
on him and remains silent – how terrible.]
v.7-10
Saul seeks out the medium of Endor
v.7
Saul
then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,
so I may go and inquire of her.”
“There
is one in Endor,” they said.
v.8
So
Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night
he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he
said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”
v.9
But
the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He
has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have
you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
v.10
Saul
swore to her by the Lord
, “As surely
as the Lord
lives, you
will not be punished for this.”
[Notes:
Instead
of truly repenting and seeking the Lord, Saul foolishly turns
to the occult and finds a witch or medium at Endor in the north,
near the Sea of Galilee. He asks her to call up a spirit [presumably
for guidance] but she knows that all mediums have been banned
from the land [see v.3] and knows this is illegal. He promises
her she will be all right.]
v.11-14
She calls up the ghost of Samuel
v.11
Then
the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
“Bring
up Samuel,” he said.
v.12
When
the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and
said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
v.13
The
king said to her, “Don't be afraid. What do you see?”
The
woman said, “I see a ghostly figure coming up out of the earth.”
v.14
“What
does he look like?” he asked.
“An
old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
Then
Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself
with his face to the ground.
[Notes:
He
asks her to call up Samuel. When an image of Samuel actually appears
to her she is terrified and instinctively knows that he is Saul.
The fact that she is so surprised suggests that this was not normal
in her experiences. She describes what she sees and Saul identifies
it as Samuel.]
v.15-19
‘Samuel' pronounces judgment on Saul
v.15
Samuel
said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I
am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting
against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers
me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to
tell me what to do.”
v.16
Samuel
said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord
has departed
from you and become your enemy?
v.17 The
Lord
has done what he predicted through me. The Lord
has torn the
kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to
David.
v.18
Because
you did not obey the Lord
or carry out
his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord
has done this
to you today.
v.19
The
Lord
will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines,
and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord
will also
give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
[Notes:
The
figure addresses Saul and rebukes him because the Lord has left
him. Now from what else we know in Scripture – that such things
are banned – we must suggest that all that is happening is that
Saul is seeing what he already knows is the truth, because Samuel
had already told him these things while he was alive. There is
no fresh revelation here. As he has confessed to David already,
Saul already knows he is going to die leaving David as king. The
deception here in the occult is that this is knowledge from the
grave, but that is clearly untrue because of what we have seen
before this.]
v.20-25
Saul is devastated and needs help to recover
v.20
Immediately
Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because
of Samuel's words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing
all that day and all that night.
v.21
When
the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she
said, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my
hands and did what you told me to do.
v.22
Now
please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so
you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”
v.23
He
refused and said, “I will not eat.”
But
his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them.
He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
v.24
The
woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at
once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without
yeast.
v.25
Then
she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night
they got up and left.
[Notes:
As
the occult so often does, it leaves Saul in fear. The women and
his men with him, eventually persuade Saul to eat to rebuild his
strength. To all his other failures, Saul has now added gross
disobedience, for the Law expressly forbade contacting and using
mediums – Lev 19:31, 20:6]
CONTINUE
TO CHAPTER 29