The king, the witch, and the word of god
1 Samuel 28
Main Idea: In our moments of desperation and fear, we must look to God’s Son and listen to God’s Word.
I. Searching in Desperation (28:1-10)
Saul’s desperation comes from a 3-fold reality in this text (28:3-5):
Samuel’s Death (cf. 25:1)
Philistine Threat
The Lord’s Silence: the typical channels of revelation from God have been closed off to Saul (dreams received by kings, Urim used by priests, the word from prophets)
Saul here is presented as all on his own, and his desperation leads to great fear (6x in this chapter). Rather than trusting the Lord and obeying his voice (cf. Ps. 112:6-8a), Saul’s reality is “having no hope and without God in the world” (cf. Eph. 2:12).
Saul’s desperation drives him to a sinful, misguided place. Though the Law clearly forbids consulting mediums, necromancers, magicines, fortune-tellers, etc. (Lev. 19:31, 20:6-7, Deut. 18:10-12), Saul swears an oath by the Lord to do something the Lord forbids.
Saul seems to have two motivating desires in this action. He is:
desperate for guidance and a word from the Lord
desperate for companionship and the presence of the Lord
II. Looking Among the Dead (28:11-25)
To the medium’s surprise, Samuel appears; whether she typically operates as “fake” or uses deception does not matter, as the Lord shows his sovereignty and power over the “unseen” realm in bringing Samuel (cf. Col. 1:16). Samuel is wearing the same robe as his last encounter with Saul in ch. 15.
Luke 16:27-31: And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’ ”
Isaiah 8:19-22: And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.
The problem is not that God has not spoken to us, but that often we do not want to hear what God has to say. We do not want to admit our need of God, and we do not want to submit our lives to God. We want comfort without demands. We walk away from the God who loves us and into the hands of people who exploit us or, worse still, into the hands of demons who deceive us. It is not just those who consult mediums who do this. We are all doing it… You may not be tempted to consult a medium, but you may try to predict the future and control your world through technology in a way that replaces trust in God. Christians are not immune from ignoring and replacing God. We may not consult a medium. But often we want some extra message. The Bible is not enough for us.
~ Tim Chester, 1 Samuel for You
Saul’s final meal is a tragic but fitting end to the arc of his life; his rule and reign begins by eating with Samuel in the house of the prophet, but now he is served a fattened calf in the house of a witch, with his death imminent (28:19). “It was a meal fit for a king. The trouble was, it was eaten by a man not fit to be king” (John Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader)
III. Listening to the Voice Beyond the Grave
The good news of the gospel tells us that there is one who has gone beyond the grave who answers the deepest longings of our desperation and fears:
The resurrected Jesus has given us his all-sufficient word (cf. Deut. 18:15-18, Heb. 1:1-2, 2 Pet. 1:16-19a)
The resurrected Jesus has promised us his presence through life’s fears and trials (Mt. 28:20)
Isaiah 55:6-7:
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
