In this gripping episode, we delve into 1 Samuel 28, a chapter that narrates one of the most eerie encounters in the Bible. Saul, the troubled king of Israel, faces an existential crisis as the Philistine army gathers against him. He turns to a medium to summon the spirit of the prophet Samuel. Through the narration, we explore Saul’s desperate search for guidance and unravel the spiritual implications of his actions. Join us as we examine what led Saul to such desperate measures and uncover how these timeless lessons apply to our lives today.
00:00:09 Introduction and Guest Speaker Introduction
00:13:38 Conclusion and Invitation to Bible Reading
SPEAKER 03 :
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. We join Allen J. Huth as he shares Bible passages and comments from over 30 years of his personal Bible reading journals.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today we are in 1 Samuel chapter 28, one of the strange chapters in Scripture. So I’m really glad that our guest reader Morgan Jackson, the Senior Vice President of Faith Comes by Hearing, is going to share this chapter with us.
SPEAKER 01 :
1 Samuel 28 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army. David said to Achish, Very well. You shall know what your servant can do. And Achish said to David, Very well. I will make you my bodyguard for life. Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a medium at Endor. So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night, and he said, Divine for me by a spirit, and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you. The woman said to him, Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death? But Saul swore to her by the Lord, as the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. Then the woman said, whom shall I bring up for you? He said, bring up Samuel for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, why have you deceived me? You are Saul. The king said to her, do not be afraid. What do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a God coming up out of the earth. He said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. Then Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Saul answered, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do. And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek. Therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. Now, therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way. He refused and said, I will not eat. But his servants together with the woman urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it. And she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it. And she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.
SPEAKER 02 :
What is the problem that gets us into this chapter? Well, it’s right here in verse 6. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. Now, why was Saul inquiring of the Lord? Because once again, he was going to go up against the Philistines. And the verse right before it says, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. So in a spirit of fear, Saul acts in a very strange way, doesn’t he? Because he’s not hearing from the Lord, he seeks other ways. Verse 7, Then Saul says to his servants, Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her. The Lord had not answered Saul because he had rejected him. According to my ESV Study Bible footnote, necromancy and other forms of divination were common throughout the ancient Near East, and many divination texts have been discovered. Biblical religion is the only one known to forbid it. The Hebrew word rendered medium in 1 Samuel 28, 3 and 9 can mean the spirit of a dead person. Necromancy means divining by a medium. So, what do we do with this chapter? In 1983, I had one of those one-liners, a bit more serious. Saul calls up Spirit of Samuel for prophecy. Samuel says Saul will die at the hands of the Philistines. In 2002, I wrote Saul has a seance conducted to bring up Samuel. Amazing! Samuel tells him he’s going to die. He is so wishy-washy, two-faced, he casts out mediums and spirits from Israel, but then he wants to use one. He later refused to eat, but then he changes his mind. Saul was double-minded, unstable in all his ways. And in 2007, I kind of take this issue head on. As I wrote in my journal after reading 1 Samuel 28, Saul was afraid of the Philistines. He inquires of the Lord, but God was not answering. He should have feared that more than the Philistines. I don’t understand the rest of this. Can people call up the dead? If so, is it by satanic intervention or God’s intervention? In this case, it appears that God revealed Samuel to Saul. Why would he speak to Saul through a medium or a spiritist rather than by dreams, the Urim, or prophets? It appears Saul really contacted Samuel’s spirit because the message comes true. Why do prayers go unanswered? Because we disobey God, but expect him to answer our prayers. We ask God to show us the future, but do we really want to know? Did Saul, through this medium, really contact the spirit of Samuel? Well, it appears so, doesn’t it? Do I understand it? Absolutely not. Is it a practice that I would support today? No. In fact, in my journal in 2007, after I read what I read to you on this podcast, My prayer was against sorcerers, divinations, spiritists, occult, and for my own obedience, so my prayers can be answered by the one true God. I certainly think that’s a much safer place to be. Lord, help me stay faithful to you so that I don’t end up in a place like Saul where when I inquire of you, you are silent. Lord, may that never happen to me. I pray that you would keep me obedient to you so that my prayers can be heard by you. I’ll give you thanks for that. In Jesus’ name, amen. According to a recent Barna research study entitled Bible Reading, A New Year’s Resolution, most Americans are not satisfied with their current level of Scripture reading. A majority express a desire to read the Bible more than they currently do. Born-again and practicing Christians are the most likely to desire more Bible reading in their day-to-day lives. It should not come as a surprise that the majority of Americans wish they read Scripture more than they do, says Roxanne Stone, editor-in-chief of Barna Group. After all, two-thirds of Americans agree that the Bible contains everything you need to know to live a meaningful life. Why wouldn’t you want to read such a book more often? The study continues. However, like other New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more and eating healthier, Scripture reading is often an aspirational goal. It’s the goal that for most people probably doesn’t feel necessary to survive and so can easily get swamped by the day-to-day demands of a busy life. Scripture reading takes time and focus, two things that feel like scarcities in today’s fast-paced and on-demand culture. Like exercise, like dieting, regular Bible reading does not offer instant payoff. It’s a discipline whose rewards are reaped over the long haul. And the study continues, when people go from feeling they should read the Bible more to needing to read the Bible more, they find the time. Access to the Bible is not the issue in the USA, is it? We all have Bibles. According to another study done a few years ago, 88% of Americans own a Bible. We have 3.5 Bibles in our homes. And this is amazing. 59% of people who have no faith or are atheists even own a Bible, probably just in case. So if you have a smartphone, you have access to the Word of God. My Gideon Bible app has over 2,100 languages. Access to the Bible is not the issue. The issue is changing our beliefs about the Bible to behavior with the Bible. So where are Christians with the Bible today? Christians are well-intentioned when it comes to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. We believe, we just don’t behave. Our belief in the Bible and our behavior with the Bible are inconsistent. The middle ground related to the Bible seems to be disappearing. The decrease of Bible-neutral and Bible-friendly people and the increase of Bible antagonists suggests that more people are picking a side. Which side are you on? Are you a Bible antagonist questioning the Bible? Are you Bible-neutral? I just don’t know. Or are you Bible-friendly? I love the Bible. Wherever you are, pick a side. Because of our neglect of God’s Word, we are becoming biblically illiterate. For example, in a private religious elementary school, kids were asked about the Old and New Testaments. Here are some funny things that they had to say. The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat that apple. Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day but a ball of fire by night. What kind of man was Boaz before he married? So, if we think about Bible literacy or illiteracy, we think about it this way. If God decided to come down from his throne in heaven, become an author here on earth, you’d think his book would be on the bestseller list. And the fact is, the Bible is the number one bestselling book of all time. 2.5 to 5 billion, according to research. It’s also the most read book of all time. Praise the Lord, that alone might be evidence that the Bible, not any other so-called writing, is God’s Word. According to a weekly World News report, here are a few other Bible facts. About 50 Bibles are sold every minute. The Bible is the world’s best-selling book. It’s also the world’s most shoplifted book. That’s interesting. And that doesn’t even count all the Gideon Bibles stolen out of those hotels. So I encourage you to enjoy a portion of God’s Word every day. Make it a daily spiritual habit. And so until next time, I’m Alan J. Huth, and this program is sponsored by The Ezra Project, with support from listeners like you. Visit EzraProject.net to keep AdBible, connecting God’s people to God’s Word, on the air. I know you’re going to enjoy it. And want to share it with others.
