1 Samuel 28

CHAPTER 28

Saul and the Witch of Endor (28:1–25)

1–2 While David and his men were “serving” Achish king of Gath, the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish reminded David that he and his men would be expected to fight on the side of the Philistines; those who accepted sanctuary in a foreign country were obligated to fight for that country. David pretended to agree.

3–7 In verse 3, the writer gives us some important background information. He reminds us that Samuel had died (see 1 Samuel 25:1). He further states that Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.¹⁰³ According to the law, mediums and spiritists were to be put to death (Leviticus 20:27), and anyone who consulted them was to be cut off from his people (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6). Saul had at least partly upheld this law.

When Saul saw the size of the Philistine army, he was afraid (verse 5). He badly needed military advice. So he inquired of the LORD. Usually this was done using the Urim and Thummim kept with the high priest’s ephod and breastpiece (Exodus 28:28–30). However, the ephod was with Abiathar and David (1 Samuel 23:6,9). Samuel the prophet was dead. How was Saul to inquire of the Lord?¹⁰⁴

We do not know how sincerely Saul sought the Lord’s guidance or by what means. But when no answer came, he was clearly desperate. So he decided to consult a woman who was a medium (verse 7). In doing so, Saul was violating his own decree; therefore he went to her in disguise, taking just two men with him.

8–11 The woman was at first afraid to carry out Saul’s request to bring up a spirit (verse 8); she was sure that if Saul found out she would lose her life. But Saul swore in the Lord’s name that she would not be punished (verse 10). The woman then agreed, and Saul asked her to “bring up” Samuel (verse 11).

12–14 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out . . . (verse 12). What did the woman actually “see”? Was it Samuel’s spirit, or was it an apparition, a vision, something in the woman’s own mind? Bible scholars have different opinions on this question, and we cannot know the answer with certainty.

What we can know is that the woman “saw” something and that she cried out. It would seem that what she saw was beyond her ordinary experience, something beyond her control. At the same time, she was given the ability to recognize Saul (verse 12).

However, Saul did not see what the woman saw, because he kept asking: “What do you see . . . What does he look like?” (verses 13–14). When she said she saw an old man wearing a robe, then Saul knew it was Samuel¹⁰⁵ and he bowed down with his face to the ground.

15–19 Then “Samuel” spoke. Again, we cannot know whether the one speaking was Samuel’s true spirit that God had raised up, or whether this was an evil spirit, or perhaps only a vision. The fact is, this “spirit” spoke words that Samuel might well have spoken had he been alive. God clearly used this “spirit” to remind Saul why the kingdom had been torn out of his hands and given to another (1 Samuel 15:28)—to David¹⁰⁶ (verse 17). In addition, through this spirit, God revealed to Saul what was about to happen: namely, that Israel would fall to the Philistines and that Saul and his sons would soon be dead—“they will be with me,” said the spirit (verse 19). All of this came true the very next day (see 1 Samuel 31:1–6).

20–25 Saul was filled with fear because of Samuel’s words (verse 20). He was also weak from hunger. Finally the woman and Saul’s two men succeeded in getting him to eat; Saul and his men then left that same night.

What are we to learn from this strange episode? First, the mighty Saul, who once had access to God through Samuel and who once was a gifted leader, had now sunk to the level of consulting with mediums. Why had Saul sunk so low? The simple answer is that he had disobeyed God. But there is a deeper reason than that: Saul had put his own will ahead of God’s will. The basic cause of Saul’s decline was his own self-will. Saul’s greatest enemy was not the army of the Philistines; it was himself.

A second thing to learn concerns the seeking of God’s will by unscriptural means. The events related in this chapter in no way justify the use of horoscopes, fortune telling, tarot cards, witchcraft, or any other kind of modern-day “mediums” in an attempt to gain access to spiritual guidance and power. All of these means are detestable to God (Deuteronomy 18:9–13) and therefore forbidden to Christians. God Himself, through His Holy Spirit, will give us all the guidance, all the power, all the blessings that we could ever need-or even imagine (Ephesians 3:20–21).