Saul Consults a Medium (Part 2)
Read the entire chapter.
Don’t miss the point of this story by getting hung up on something that you don’t understand.
This is certainly not a “satanic” séance that it started out to be.
1 Samuel 28:12-25 NLT
Saul Consults a Medium (Part 2)
From the previous lesson:
11 Finally, the woman said, “Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?”
“Call up Samuel,” Saul replied.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she screamed, “You’ve deceived me! You are Saul!”
13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What do you see?”
“I see a god coming up out of the earth,” she said.
14 “What does he look like?” Saul asked.
“He is an old man wrapped in a robe,” she replied. Saul realized it was Samuel, and he fell to the ground before him.
15 “Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?” Samuel asked Saul.
“Because I am in deep trouble,” Saul replied. “The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.”
16 But Samuel replied, “Why ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. 18 The Lord has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. 19 What’s more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me. The Lord will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat.”
20 Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel’s words. He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
21 When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, “Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. 22 Now do what I say, and let me give you a little something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back.”
23 But Saul refused to eat anything. Then his advisers joined the woman in urging him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread. 25 She brought the meal to Saul and his advisers, and they ate it. Then they went out into the night.
Examine the Scriptures
Saul Consults a Medium (Part 2)
1 Samuel 28:12-25 NLT
From the previous lesson:
11 Finally, the woman said, “Well, whose spirit do you want me to call up?”
“Call up Samuel,” Saul replied.
12 When the woman saw Samuel,
More than 50 translations say, “… when the woman saw Samuel …”.
- We cannot say with certainty who or what the woman saw when she called up the spirit of Samuel.
She may have seen Samuel. (A literal translation of verse 12.)
She may have seen the “spirit of Samuel”. (See verse 13.)
She may have seen an apparition (a ghostlike image of a person) of Samuel.
This does not seem to be a good fit for this passage. It is more likely to be true in a “satanic” séance.
she screamed, “You’ve deceived me! You are Saul!”
It appears that this was an extraordinary event for the woman, one in which she was not in control.
Things were happening that were far beyond the expectations of the medium.
By whatever means, the medium became aware of the fact she was dealing with Saul.
The medium understood her inability to raise the dead in this manner and she must have known that it must have happened by the power of God and that her disguised inquirer must be Saul.
Mediums and spiritists do not have access to the dead but communicate with evil spirits posing as people who have died, not the people themselves.
- Recognizing Saul for who he really was meant that the life of the medium was in danger.
- God was allowing things to happen in this séance that would be out of the control of any medium.
The medium would have expected to contact a demon who was impersonating Samuel.
Whatever the explanation of this séance, the medium was used in some way to communicate to Saul the impending battle that would bring about his death, would dash his hopes for a dynasty, and would conclude his reign with a devastating defeat of Israel that would leave the nation at the mercy of the Philistines. All this would come, as Samuel had previously announced. (NIV notes)
Note: God revealed Moses and Elijah to Peter, James, and John at Jesus’ Transfiguration.
(Mark 9:1-13 and Matthew 17:1-9)
13 “Don’t be afraid!” the king told her. “What do you see?”
“I see a god coming up out of the earth,” she said.
“A God” is a term used to describe a spirit of the dead in ancient Near Eastern texts.
At this time in history, pagans believed that a person becomes a god – a spirit possessing supernatural abilities – after death. (NLT notes)
- The medium saw something that she perceived to be a “spirit” of a former living person.
The medium and Saul were seeing either Samuel or a likeness of Samuel.
14 “What does he look like?” Saul asked.
“He is an old man wrapped in a robe,” she replied. Saul realized it was Samuel,
- Saul’s response makes us think that he believed he was seeing Samuel.
God made Saul believed that he was seeing Samuel, or the spirit of Samuel.
An old man wrapped in a robe would have been as Saul remembers Saul.
1 Samuel 15:27 NLT
27 As Samuel turned to go, Saul tried to hold him back and tore the hem of his robe.
and he fell to the ground before him.
Saul recognized Samuel and bowed before him out of respect. This was hypocritical since Saul had not previously obeyed Samuel.
15 “Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?” Samuel asked Saul.
Samuel had good reasons to feel disturbed.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 NLT (previous lesson)
A Call to Holy Living
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
Leviticus 20:6 NLT
6 “I will also turn against those who commit spiritual prostitution by putting their trust in mediums or in those who consult the spirits of the dead. I will cut them off from the community.
- “Calling forth the spirits of the dead” is detestable to the Lord.
God told the Israelites not to consult the Spirit world. He promised to reveal to them what they needed to know through the prophets.
Deuteronomy 18:18
I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.
Note:
Mediums are successful, at times, communicating with evil (Satanic) spirits posing as people who have died, not the people themselves.
Samuel may have felt that he was involved in an activity that was detestable to the Lord.
Or Samuel just didn’t want to be bothered by someone who didn’t listen to him while he was still alive. (My thoughts)
“Because I am in deep trouble,” Saul replied. “The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.”
- Saul’s response makes us think that he believed he was talking to Samuel.
Saul was desperate for divine guidance.
Samuel’s appearance here could be explained as the intervention of the Lord who graciously permitted Saul one last encounter with the prophet whom he had first so long ago in pursuit of his father’s lost donkeys (1 Samuel 9:6-9). (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
16 But Samuel replied, “Why ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy?
Saul’s real enemy is not the Philistines or the Amalekites (v. 18), it is God himself.
God had ceased speaking to Saul because Saul had stopped listening to God.
17 The Lord has done just as he said he would. He has torn the kingdom from you and given it to your rival, David. 18 The Lord has done this to you today because you refused to carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites. 19 What’s more, the Lord will hand you and the army of Israel over to the Philistines tomorrow, and you and your sons will be here with me.
The “spirit” raised up by the medium speaks much as Samuel had spoken to Saul during his lifetime.
1 Samuel 16:14 NLT
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and the Lord sent a tormenting spirit that filled him with depression and fear.
1 Samuel 15:28 NLT
And Samuel said to him, “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.
1 Samuel 16:13 NLT
13 So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.
1 Samuel 15:17-19 & 23 NLT
17 And Samuel told him, “Although you may think little of yourself, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel? The Lord has anointed you king of Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, until they are all dead.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed the Lord? Why did you rush for the plunder and do what was evil in the Lord’s sight?”
23 Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the Lord,
he has rejected you as king.”
1 Samuel 31:6 NLT
6 So Saul, his three sons, his armor bearer, and his troops all died together that same day.
and you and your sons will be here with me.
Saul and his sons will be dead and will be with those who died before him (Samuel).
The Lord will bring down the entire army of Israel in defeat.”
- Verses 1-19 appear to be a divine revelation from God to Saul, not a message from demonic spirits.
The Israelites were told not to consult the spirit world. God promised to tell them everything he wants them to know.
Deuteronomy 18:9-18 NLT
A Call to Holy Living
9 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. 10 For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, 11 or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. 13 But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
True and False Prophets
15 Moses continued, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you yourselves requested of the Lord your God when you were assembled at Mount Sinai. You said, ‘Don’t let us hear the voice of the Lord our God anymore or see this blazing fire, for we will die.’
17 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘What they have said is right. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell the people everything I command him.
An evil spirit would not deliver a true prophecy. Whatever the limits on a medium’s power normally were, in this case it appears that the Lord let her raise the spirit of Samuel himself.
20 Saul fell full length on the ground, paralyzed with fright because of Samuel’s words.
Saul was already “frantic with fear” before meeting with this medium.
1 Samuel 28:5 NLT
5 When Saul saw the vast Philistine army, he became frantic with fear.
Samuel’s words to Saul now left him completely “paralyzed with fright”.
- Saul was already “frantic with fear” before meeting with this medium. Samuel’s words to Saul now left him completely “paralyzed with fright”.
He was also faint with hunger, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.
21 When the woman saw how distraught he was, she said, “Sir, I obeyed your command at the risk of my life. 22 Now do what I say, and let me give you a little something to eat so you can regain your strength for the trip back.”
23 But Saul refused to eat anything. Then his advisers joined the woman in urging him to eat, so he finally yielded and got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
24 The woman had been fattening a calf, so she hurried out and killed it. She took some flour, kneaded it into dough and baked unleavened bread. 25 She brought the meal to Saul and his advisers, and they ate it.
Saul had a similar meal with Samuel just before his being anointed as king.
1 Samuel 9:22-24 NLT
22 Then Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall and placed them at the head of the table, honoring them above the thirty special guests. 23 Samuel then instructed the cook to bring Saul the finest cut of meat, the piece that had been set aside for the guest of honor. 24 So the cook brought in the meat and placed it before Saul. “Go ahead and eat it,” Samuel said. “I was saving it for you even before I invited these others!” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
- This meal with an outlawed medium came shortly before Saul’s death.
Then they went out into the night.
- After reluctantly accepting refreshment from the medium, Saul and his advisors arose and walked out into the night.
