1 Samuel 28:3-25 (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)
Hi GAMErs,
Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 28:3-25. As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first. See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below. Let’s go!
1 Samuel 28:3-5 (NIV)
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.
4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all the Israelites and set up camp at Gilboa.
5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart.
On verses 3-5: Saul had been so preoccupied fighting a member of his own household (David) that when his real enemy, the Philistines, showed up, he was completely caught off guard, afraid and ill prepared to fight.
What can we learn from this? Sometimes we can be so preoccupied fighting our own family members that when Satan, our real enemy, attacks, we’re caught off guard and unprepared to fight. Don’t be so preoccupied fighting your own family that you lose sight of who your real enemy is.
1 Samuel 28:6-7 (NIV)
6 He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
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.
On verses 6-7: In for the fight of his life, Saul inquires of the Lord — the first and only time he is ever recorded as doing so — but the Lord does not answer. There is way too much blocking Saul’s heart and mind such that he can’t hear from God. Yet rather than pressing into God by repenting of sin and humbling himself in God’s presence, Saul immediately looks to divination and the occult for guidance instead.
What can we learn from this? When you’re desperate for an answer, press into God. Don’t just pray once, wait ten seconds for an answer, and then move on when you don’t hear anything. Rather, take the time to humble yourself before God, call on Him for help and wait in His presence. He will hear you when you call; the question is will you be still enough and wait long enough for His answer.
1 Samuel 28:8-11 (NIV)
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.”
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?”
10 Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As surely as the LORD lives, you will not be punished for this.”
11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” “Bring up Samuel,” he said.
On verses 8-11: Since his former spiritual mentor Samuel is dead, Saul, desperate to talk to someone he trusts, seeks out a medium to contact Samuel. Saul was aware that God didn’t approve of divination and occult practices. Saul himself had even banned divination and occult practices from Israel (v9). But now Saul disguises himself so as to engage in the very practices he had banned (v8).
1 Samuel 28:12-20 (NIV)
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!”
13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?” The woman said, “I see a spirit coming up out of the ground.”
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.
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 turned away 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.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy?
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.
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.
19 The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines.”
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 night.
On verses 12-20: It appears from these verses that the medium was able to call up Samuel’s spirit (or something like it) and that Saul would hear words which would turn out to be true. If that is the case, why is divination so wrong? What is so dangerous about consulting a medium or engaging in divination or occult, especially if there may be some real power to it in some cases? Here’s why: those who practice divination and the occult open themselves up to demonic activity in their lives. Whereas God’s Holy Spirit gives us peace and hope, we see from Saul’s experience that the fruit of divination is fear and hopelessness (v20). Whereas Jesus sets us free, divination puts us in spiritual bondage. It’s no wonder the Bible repeatedly warns against engaging in such practices (Deuteronomy 18:10; Galatians 5:19-21)
1 Samuel 28:21-25 (NIV)
21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do.
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.”
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.
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.
25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.
On verses 21-25: What can we take from the fact that the witch of Endor cooked an elaborate meal for Saul, including butchering a fattened calf and making bread from scratch? It meant that Saul had time — time to think, time to pray, time to humble himself before God and cry out to Him for help. But apparently he didn’t do those things. This in the end is the biggest difference between David and Saul. Whereas both made big mistakes that cost people their lives, whereas both intentionally and repeatedly sinned against God, David would eventually always come back to God whereas Saul would remain unrepentant and hard-hearted. Because David and Saul used the time and opportunities given to them in opposite ways, their destinies became opposite as well. That’s why here in verses 21-25 we see Saul taking what would be his last recorded meal — his last supper — while David is just about to ascend to the throne.
What can we learn from this? A man or woman after God’s own heart is not someone who never makes mistakes. Rather, he or she is someone who keeps coming back to God and relying on His mercy every time they fail.
Father, thank You that I don’t need to resort to divination or occult practices, because You have given me something — or better yet, Someone — much greater: Your Son Jesus and Your Holy Spirit. Thank You that Your calling on my life was never conditional upon my perfect performance, that You knew every way that I would fall before I fell. Yet Your mercy has never left me. Thank You! I run back into Your arms of mercy today! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
