1Samuel 28
Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 28
Saul is in a terrible position.
Israel was threatened by the Philistines and his courage has failed him. He perceived the Philistine army to be stronger and numerous, which made him afraid.
His heart greatly trembled.
In his distress he inquired of the Lord. Yet God was silent when he sought Him.
Had he kept close to God, he need not be afraid at the sight of the enemy.
Unfortunately for him, God took no notice of his petitions, gave him no directions, nor any encouragement.
Doesn’t God answer to everyone who cries out to Him? Isn’t God a merciful and loving God full of forgiveness and grace?
Saul has rejected God and does not care to obey Him. He knew that God wanted him to stop hunting down David, hoping to kill him.
He disregarded what he knew to be God’s will.
By the time he enquired of the Lord, it was too late. Since God was not on speaking terms with Saul, he consulted a witch.
If Saul had humbled himself and repented and persevered in seeking God, who knows he could be forgiven.
Unfortunately he went on to knock on the gates of hell instead.
Can we see a little bit(or big bit) of Saul in each of us?
We continue to pursue after things that we know goes against God’s will… we know what we do will displease the Lord yet we continue to do it.
As I read this part of today’s chapter I thought of one occasion in which I relentlessly pursued after something which I know will displease God greatly.
During one particular week a few months ago, both the Tuesday and Friday services touched on this and even a sister pointed out that these were warnings from God.
Up till now I am still struggling with this issue and I am aware that this is causing me to drift away.
Indeed sin creates a barrier between us and God. Even in my prayers it is difficult to draw near to Him.
Disobedience is caused by distrust in God. To be disobedient is to yield to desires of our flesh instead of surrendering to God’s will. (1 Samuel 15:22)
If we continue to be so disobedient or defiant, one day God may also be silent towards us, as He was to Saul.
Let us pray for God to have mercy on our weaknesses. May the Holy Spirit continue to move our hearts, and that our hearts are willing to be moved by Him.
May we seek the Lord while He may be found, for there will come a time when He will not be found.
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Is that really Samuel or just the work of the devil in this chapter?
biblereadingcompanion
(: What do you think?
Read through the passage carefully again and work out the happenings in the spiritual realm.
Saul was no longer heard by God and in his desperation, he went to do something forbidden by God to seek a medium (Lev 19:31; 26:6; Deut 18:11-12).
The ‘Samuel” called out by the medium was in fact an evil spirit pretending to be Samuel. Evil spirits can often disguise themselves as dead people to cheat and mislead man. Here are some clues for us in this passage:
a) He was called out by a medium (whom God does not like)
b) He came out from the earth (v 13)
c) He said, “Tomorrow you and your son shall be with me” (v 19). Do you think that Saul who had committed a grave sin could be saved along with Samuel?
InHisTime has rightly pointed out that we must seek God while He still can be found.
Lest we all fall into further sin by resorting to unholy methods in an attempt to ‘gain’ God’s favour and think we have His blessings.
PS
Haha, a medium frightened by a spirit (1 Sam 28:12).
On a solemn note, it is a tragedy that Saul, an anointed king/servant, heard God’s judgment on him again through a way which was an abomination to God.
Was the message of sth new?
No, the real Samuel had already delivered a similar message to Saul in 1 Sam 15:17-19, 26-28).
1 Sam 28:13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.” In the chinese bible, the words of the woman are “我看见有神从地里上来。” The woman did not know what had come up from the earth. Thus out of her ignorant respect for the unknown she called it a god(神). Quite sure it was not Samuel.
1 Sam 28:20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words…
Saul was afraid of death.
Hebrews 2:15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
This is the gist of our faith, we are not afraid of death. Through it, we are going home to meet Lord Jesus Christ, our God.