Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends on this Monday,
Have you ever experienced something which you struggle finding words to explain? Today as we bid farewell to Israel’s first king, Saul, we stand by as witness to one of those unexplainable events near the end of Saul’s life, found in 1 Samuel 28.
Saul’s kingship had gone from illustrious when first anointed by Samuel; (1 Samuel 10,11) to dark and troubled when the LORD removed His Spirit from Saul; (1 Samuel 16:14) through many years of tormented living; (1 Samuel 18-28) and finally, at his lowest point of despair, Saul sought the help of a spiritist, a medium in hopes he could somehow make contact with Samuel who had died several years before. (1 Samuel 28)
Now as you read this chapter it may seem like a Hollywood ghostly Halloween movie, but it’s a true Biblical history event in God’s Grand Narrative, thus we can’t ignore it, even if we can’t fully explain it! Yes, down through time, in many places in the world there are people who have dedicated their lives to frequent encounters with the spirit world, particularly the demonic, dark kingdom world.
They go by various names… spiritists, sorcerers, channelers, mediums, witches, witch doctors, shamans, Satanists and more. But is it real? Oh YES, my friends, it’s very real, as real as demonic oppression and demonic possession which we find in several Biblical stories, and as happens in real life here in our world today.
As we look at this 1 Samuel 28 story, we must ask several important questions and seek God’s answers:
1. Was the God honoring prophet Samuel deceased by the time of this 1 Samuel 28 event?
YES, Samuel had died and his body was buried at his hometown of Ramah. (1 Samuel 25:1)
2. Where would the soul/spirit of Samuel have been after his death?
Because Samuel had fully believed in God and been a man faithful to God, as Abraham was, Samuel would have been declared righteous by God and after his death Samuel’s soul/spirit would be in God’s presence, the place Jesus called Paradise. (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:18-25; Luke 23:43)
3. Did God allow (send) the soul/spirit of deceased Samuel to return to earth for this brief encounter with Saul, and if so, why?
I believe YES, this was the soul/spirit of Samuel, sent by God to earth to meet with Saul. Why? To prove that death is not the end of our human existence, Samuel’s soul/spirit was still alive. To also bring a message directly from God to Saul, similar to how several times angels were sent by God to earth to give human beings specific messages from God.
4. Why did God allow the medium to call up Samuel?
NO, I don’t see any Biblical evidence that Holy God would allow Satan or any demonic force to enter God’s Presence and direct the soul/spirit of a deceased man of God to leave Paradise and go to earth. I do not believe it was the medium who brought Samuel’s soul/spirit, rather it was God Himself who did with deceased Samuel’s soul/spirit what God did years later with the souls/spirits of both deceased Moses and Elijah when God sent them to meet with Jesus, Peter, James and John in the Transfiguration of Jesus experience. (Matt. 17:1-9)
5. Could this ghostly appearance have been a demon masquerading as Samuel?
While the dark kingdom, Satan and his demons, do have the deceptive ability to masquerade as ‘angels of light’, (2 Corinthians 11:14,15) I see no evidence that is what happened in 1 Samuel 28.
I believe it was Samuel’s soul/spirit because of the medium’s shock at Samuel’s appearance; and because Samuel’s soul/spirit spoke in the first person, and gave a very clear message from God using God’s name, LORD, which was fully true to the experiences Saul & Samuel had before Samuel’s death; and finally because the prediction was clear, true and did occur as predicted. (1 Samuel 28:16-19)
The fulfillment of this shocking encounter between deceased Samuel and king Saul occurred a short while later as recorded in 1 Samuel 31.
Once again in battle with the vicious Philistines, Israel’s army was being defeated as Samuel’s soul/spirit had predicted in 1 Samuel 28:19. Saul’s 3 sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua were all killed in the battle that day. (1 Samuel 31:2) The Philistines pursued king Saul, and a flurry of arrows were shot at Saul critically wounding him. King Saul, nearly dead, instructed his young armor bearer to run him through with a sword, hurrying the inevitable, but terrified at the thought he refused. King Saul then pushed his sword handle into the ground and intentionally Saul fell on his sword.
The concluding record of Saul’s tumultuous life are these words: “So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer died together that same day.” (1 Samuel 31:6) It was a direct fulfillment of the terrifying words Samuel’s soul/spirit had spoken to Saul: “…tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.” (1 Samuel 28:19)
Does that remind you of another dark day in Israel’s history when the High Priest Eli and his two sons Hophni and Phinehas all died; and the Ark of the Covenant was captured, all by the Philistines, on the same terrible, “Ichabod” day? (1 Samuel 4:17,18)
The concluding words of 1 Samuel describe the horrific defilement of king Saul’s body by the Philistines. His dead body was decapitated and hung on the city wall of Beth Shan as a public display of victory! (1 Samuel 31:8-10) To this day, there is a marker near the city wall of Beth Shan quoting these verses in 1 Samuel 31 as modern day Israel remembers the death of its first human King, Saul, the son of Kish, the Benjamite. (1 Samuel 9:1,2)
Tomorrow we’ll turn the page in God’s Grand Narrative to 2 Samuel as David finally became king over Israel, but for today as we reflect on the tumultuous life of Saul, I wonder what lessons you’ve learned from Saul’s life journey?
More notes are in the Grand Narrative link below and I’ve found a special song to help us reflect on Saul’s life. How often did God extend His glorious grace to Saul?
Today’s Scripture: 1 Samuel 28 & 31.
Choose below to read or listen.
1 Samuel 28
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1 Samuel 31
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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