The First Book Of Samuel. Day 82, Saul Asks The Medium To Call Up The Spirit Of Samuel

King Saul, who strayed far from the Lord long ago and has remained estranged from Him, is terrified by the approaching Philistine army. Without humbling himself before the Lord or being sorry for his sins, he asked prophets and priests to consult the Lord regarding how to handle this invasion. But the Lord remained silent. I think probably He remained silent because the only words the Lord wanted to hear from Saul were words of repentance. Now that's a prayer He would have answered immediately! But since Saul is living in rebellion toward God, the Lord answers him with silence, and we've noted before that it's often easier to get someone's attention with silence than with words. For example, those who find it easy to ignore our advice or our concern for their wellbeing will sometimes pay no attention to us until we stop trying to reason with them. If Saul had responded appropriately to the Lord's silence, he would have sought Him diligently and wholeheartedly. He would have recognized and acknowledged his sin and repented of it. He would have come to a saving knowledge of the Lord and would have had his heart and his character changed by Him.

Instead of seeking the God of his fathers, Saul seeks counsel from someone else who went silent on him: the prophet Samuel. For a number of years prior to Samuel's death, these two men who were formerly friends were estranged from each other because of Saul's repeated rebellion against the Lord. The prophet Samuel is dead but Saul thinks that will be no barrier if he can find a medium able to call Samuel up from the dead. Upon being informed by his servants that there is a medium at Endor capable of doing just such a thing, he makes a visit to her under cover of darkness. 

"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 that I name.'" (1 Samuel 28:8) In my background study for this passage I saw the question asked several times: In spite of the disguise, how did this woman not know this is the king of Israel whom we were told was a head and shoulders taller than any other man in the country? Some scholars have concluded that she just wasn't very bright but I'm not sure how successful she would have been as a medium if she were of low intelligence. At the very least she would have had to have been rather crafty because most mediums are charlatans. They are in the occult field of business to fleece people out of their money. There is a case in the Bible where a young lady truly was communicating with the unseen realm but that's because she was inhabited by a demon (see Acts 16:16-18), but the vast majority of mediums, psychics, and fortune tellers are frauds who prey on the bereaved or the gullible. So if the psychic Saul visits is as shrewd as we would expect her to be, how does she not know this is the king? I think, based on what she says next, that she suspects he is the king and thinks he's come undercover to her as a setup to catch her doing something against the law.

"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?'" (1 Samuel 28:9) We were told in verse 3 of our current chapter that at some time in the past, Saul had "expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land". This is why he had some difficulty in locating one when he wanted one and it's why he had to travel to Endor to see one, which was risky considering how close Endor was to the current location of the Philistine army. The woman doesn't deny that she's ever acted as a medium; she just tries to decline performing this service for him, saying something like, "Oh no, I couldn't possibly consult the spirit world for you! His Majesty the king has forbidden any medium or spiritist to practice their trade within the borders of Israel. I could not possibly go against his edict. Breaking this law is a capital offense. Why would you ask me to perform a service that might mean my death? No, I cannot do it!"

Saul guarantees the woman's safety and underscores this guarantee by making an oath to her in the name of the Lord. "Saul swore to her by the Lord, 'As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.'" (1 Samuel 28:10) On Saul's lips, an oath made in the name of the Lord is probably no more reliable than an oath made in any other name, but the woman is convinced by the emotion in his voice that he genuinely and desperately wants her to call up a spirit for him and that he is not there to entrap her into breaking the law. "Then the woman asked, 'Whom shall I bring up for you?' 'Bring up Samuel,' he said." (1 Samuel 28:11)

In tomorrow's passage, someone will indeed appear to the woman from the spirit world, or so she says. This person will be Samuel, or so her description of him indicates. Saul himself will see and hear no one, so we need to take some time tomorrow discussing whether or not this is a true appearance of the prophet Samuel and, if so, why he would answer the summons of someone who deals in occult practices. It does not seem likely that the soul of a child of the Lord could be compelled to answer the call of a medium; therefore we must consider whether or not the woman sees anyone at all or, if she really does see someone, whether it's the prophet Samuel or, if it's really the prophet Samuel, why he sends a message to Saul from beyond the grave. The message will not be one that Saul wants to hear, not from Samuel or from anyone else.