1 SAMUEL 28

Key people in this chapter: Saul, the woman, Sauls servants and Samuel.

1Sa 28:1 ¶ And it came to pass in those days (during the 16 months that David was with Achish), that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly (of course you understand), that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.

·      To accept sanctuary in enemy territory necessitated service in the military.

2 And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.

• David is destined to be the future king of Israel. See what troubles David caused himself by making a decision out of fear instead of faith? How could he fight against his own people?
• Keeper of my head; captain of his body-guard. We will see next week how the sovereignty of God, as spoken of in Prov 21.1 comes into play to deliver David out of this seemingly impossible situation.

1Sa 28:3 Now Samuel was dead (1 Sam 25.1), and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away (expelled) those that had familiar spirits (necromancer), and the wizards (conjurer), out of the land.

• It is not mentioned when Saul cut off the familiar spirits and wizards, but it probably was done early on in his reign. This was a right thing to do according to Scripture.
• In spite of the objection from liberal churches and the New Age Movement (which is not new), the Scriptures are very clear about where God stands regarding these other mediums as sources of revelation and guidance.
• Deut 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, 11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. 12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13 Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. 14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.
• Lev 19:31 Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.
• Mediums and spiritists were to be put to death by stoning. Lev 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

If a person turned to familiar spirits, it would constitute spiritual whoredom that would result in severe consequences from God.

• Lev 20:6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
• I have said it many times before, and I will say it again. When a person rejects the True and Living God, any other religious “ism”, experience or encounter with the spirit world becomes open game.
• 1Cor 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him.
• In an age of compromise and liberalism, it is vital that you and I lovingly and earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3) and proclaim without shame and without fear the gospel of Jesus Christ that is the power of God unto salvation to all that believe (Rom 1.16). 

4 And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.

• Shunem was situated SW of the hill of Moreh and 16 mi. SW of the Sea of Galilee; the Philistines designated it as their camp site. Gilboa. The mountain range beginning 5 mi. S of Shunem and extending southward along the eastern edge of the plain of Jezreel.
• Sauls army was greatly outnumbered in manpower and technology, and the gently rolling terrain around Jezreel would do little to deter the effectiveness of the Philistine chariot force. Moody Bible Atlas note

1Sa 28:5 And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.

• This full-scale, all-out attack by the Philistines has all the signs of a devastating defeat for Saul and his army, so the author informs us that Saul is scared to death. He is sensing ipemding disaster.

• When a person is walking in darkness instead of the fear of God, it will cause them to be filled with fear instead of faith. And as we will see tonight, if a person is not in an abiding, living fellowship with Jesus Christ, they will justify turning to anything for guidance and direction. All to their own destruction.

6 And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim (meaning the high priest; Ex 28.30), nor by prophets.

• John MacArthur writes this: These were the 3 basic ways through which God revealed His Word and His will. Dreams and visions were the common manner through which the Lord revealed Himself and His will during the time of Moses (Num. 12:6). The Urim was used by the priest as a means of inquiring of the Lord (Num. 27:21). It was originally put in the breastpiece of judgment with the Thummim and worn over Aaron’s heart when he went in before the Lord. Somehow, unknown to us, God revealed His will by it. Prophets were formerly called seers and were used as a reference for inquiring of the Lord.
• Why The Lord answered him not will be explained in a few verses.

7 ¶ Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.

• Saul is so desperate that even though he knows what the Scriptures say about the consequences of seeking familiar spirits, he does it anyways.
• If these servants were God fearing men, they would have stood up to Saul when he asked them to seek out this woman. People who will allow you to walk in sin and not say anything to you or seek to do anything about it do not fear God and do not love you.
• En Dor. Located about 3.5 mi. NW of Shunem between Mt. Tabor and the Hill of Moreh. Endor was located in the territory of Issachar (Jos 17:11) near the scene of the great victory which was gained by Deborah and Barak over Sisera and Jabin (comp. Ps 83:9,10).
• This journey to Endor was a perilous journey of seven or eight miles, part of which skirted the Philistine encampment. This is a bona fide violation of the Scripture, thou shalt not tempt The Lord Thy God.

8 And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

• Saul disguised himself – His disguise was with his clothing, but in reality, he was actually revealing his true self! Beloved , what we really believe will manifested most when it is being tried and tested, not when the sun is shining, the bills are paid and our health is great.
• Know this beloved, the core message of the hope of the gospel is contains the power of God that will gird us up with strength and grace even in the most difficult times.
• Saul disguised himself. Saul is so reprobate now, that he really thinks that he is able to hide himself from the woman and more importantly God!

• Instead of repenting of his sin and seeking God, Saul turns to the world of demons and the occult. Many seem enemies to sin in others, while they indulge it in themselves. Saul will drive the devil out of his kingdom, and yet harbour him in his heart. Matthew Henry

9 And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?

• It was the very providence of God that this woman told Saul to his face of his edict against witches, at this very time when he was consulting one. Never despise the unlikely people that God may use to warn you about errant or sinful behavior.
• The woman was more concerned about what Saul had done than what God had said about trafficking in demons.

10 And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

• Saul swore that no punishment would come upon her when the Levitical law required her to be stoned to death (Lev. 20:27).
• How tragic it is to hear Saul promising protection to this woman by the very God that he was disobeying. Even while engaging in a seance, Saul promises this woman in The Name of The Lord that she will not be harmed. Holy language means nothing when it comes from an unholy vessel.

11 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.

• Bring me up Samuel. It is interesting to me that while Samuel was living at Ramah, not far from Gibeah of Saul, we never read of Saul's going to him to consult him in any of the difficulties he was in.

12 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

• Talk about calling the kettle black. Here is a woman whose profession is spiritual deception asking Saul why he deceived her about who he was! Because she understood her inability to raise the dead in this manner, she immediately knew 1) that it must have been by the power of God and 2) that her disguised inquirer must be Saul.

13 And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.

14 And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh 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 himself.

• Did this woman really conjure up the spirit of Samuel?
• Clinton Lockhart (Principles of Interpretation, 1915) has a simple rule for determining what is literal and what is figurative language in the Bible...If the literal meaning of any word or expression makes good sense in its connections, it is literal; but if the literal meaning does not make good sense, it is figurative....Since the literal is the most usual signification of a word, and therefore occurs much more frequently than the figurative, any term should be regarded as literal until there is good reason for a different understanding.
• The more modern orthodox commentators are almost unanimous in the opinion that the departed prophet did really appear and announce the coming destruction of Saul and his army. They hold, however, that Samuel was brought up not by the magical arts of the witch, but through a miracle wrought by the omnipotence of God. —Wycliffe Bible Commentary, The
• The ancient rabbis held that it was indeed Samuel who was brought up. The Greek Septuagint (OT translation of Hebrew into Greek) translates 1 Chron 10.13b, and Samuel the prophet made answer to him.  
• What form is he of? Obviously age and clothing do not exist in the realm of the spirits of those who have died, but God miraculously gave such appearances so that Saul was able to perceive that the spirit was Samuel. John MacArthur
• It must be noted that this is a unique event that we are reading about tonight. Samuel is allowed by God to appear for reasons that only He knows.
• It needs to be made very clear tonight that when a person is engaged in witchcraft or a séance or praying to the dead, that what is actually happening is that the seeker is being put in contact with demons impersonating those who are being sought, since the dead person cannot ordinarily be contacted, except in this unique case.
• Remember beloved that when it comes to communion with the Living God, there is only One Mediator between God and man, and that is The Lord Jesus Christ.

God miraculously permitted the actual spirit of Samuel to speak (vv. 15–19).

15 ¶ And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?

17 And the LORD hath done to him (done for Himself), as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:

18 Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.

• Note why God was not speaking to Saul...disobedience to a clear command in the past.
• 1Sam 15:9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
• It was that sin against God that led to the now famous passage of Scripture, 1Sam 15:22 And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king. 24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.
• Please listen to these words from the prophet of God, to obey is better than sacrifice. The importance of walking in Spirit dependent, deliberate obedience to the will of God for your life. The sacrifices of God are a broken and contrite spirit (Isa 57.15; Psalm 34.18).
• The tragedy of Saul’s life is that he never repented of his sin concerning Amalek, and as we will see, he ends up getting killed by an Amalekite. Saul blamed the people and even Samuel for his sin. Beloved, until you or I take full ownership for our sin, we have yet to repent. 2 Cor 7.9,10

19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

• Saul’s failure to repent of his sin is going to result in the death of his sons. Never believe that any of us sin unto ourselves. All sin has consequences that spread far beyond our personal life.

20 ¶ Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.

• Not once does Saul show any contrition or sorrow for his sin of engaging this woman with the familiar spirit. Saul is a man to be most pitied.

21 And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me.

22 Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.

23 But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed.

24 And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:

25 And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

• This is Saul’s last night to live.....he is told that he will be dead tomorrow. Wouldn’t you think that he would buckle under the weight of conviction and one last time cry out to God for His mercy? No such thing is found in the Scripture.
• Saul's legacy? I played the fool. Beloved, anytime we disobey God and fail to repent, we are playing the fool. We will see Saul killed in a battle on Mt Gilboa in chapter 31. But the reason for his death is given to us in 1Chron 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it.

Practical Application

Read the word of God for transformation, not just information. Allow The Word of God to change the way that you think and live.

Avoid all appearance of spiritual deception and evil. Ouija boards, tarot cards, daily horoscopes, praying to saints are an abomination in the sight of God.

Surround yourself with people who will hold you accountable and will rebuke you openly if you are walking in sin.

Learn to own your own sin. Remember, confession of sin that includes and excuse is not repentance. Also remember that confessing your sin after you get caught falls far short of what biblical repentance is all about.

Keep short accounts with God. That is what it means to walk in the light as He is in the light. God is not expecting perfection from you, but He is expecting honesty and brokenness.

Do not rely on yesterdays victories or manna, draw near to God every day and night.