1Samuel 28 comments

 

1Samuel 28:1 ¶  And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men. 2  And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever. 3  Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land. 4  And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa. 5  And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. 6  And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

 

The Philistines are gathering together for a campaign against King Saul and Israel. Achish wants David to accompany him to fight against David’s own people who have, he thinks, rejected him. Achish is so convinced that David is a traitor to the Israelites and trusts him so much that he wants to make him the captain of his own personal bodyguard. David has done a good job of convincing this leader of the five kings of the Philistines that he has completely turned.

 

Samuel had died and Saul had created strict rules against the occultic priests and practitioners. Saul was terrified, as well, by the might of the Philistines against him. So, he will do what any hypocritical leader will do, and look for someone he has declared forbidden who he believes can help him. Saul will violate his own rules and the law given to Moses. Why? Because he feels abandoned by God.

 

Leviticus 20:27  A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

 

Just imagine a politician who rails against abortion assisting his own daughter with getting one or a politician who rants against social media’s pernicious influence having a profile on one of those sites which he uses when he likes. Saul is desperate as we are about to see.

 

1Samuel 28:7 ¶  Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 8  And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee. 9  And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10  And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing. 11  Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12  And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul. 13  And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14  And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

 

In a bizarre twist Saul seeks out someone whose life he has condemned. Strangely, also, his servants are quick to refer someone to him. It seems that perhaps in spite of his draconian decree that his people are not on board.

When Saul asks for Samuel to be contacted, Samuel who is dead, the woman realizes that it is King Saul, the one who has condemned her and her kind who is asking. Here follows an important point. Abraham is said to be eminent in Paradise, the garden of God, when it was in the heart of the earth, separated from Hell, and called Abraham’s bosom (see Luke 16.) Paradise comes from a Persian word meaning a walled garden or a hunting preserve. The garden of God, called Eden, was once on the earth but, after Adam’s fall, was hidden by cherubim (see Genesis chapters 2&3, Ezekiel 28:13, 14; 31:8,9). Jesus went to the heart of the earth, to Paradise, Abraham’s bosom, the garden of God, to preach after the Cross. (see Luke 23:43; Matthew 12:40; 1Peter 3:19; 4:6). Paradise was separated from Hell and is now taken up into Heaven because of Christ (Revelation 2:7) which we can see because Paul went “up” there as stated in 2Corinthians 12:4.

Why is Paradise called Abraham’s bosom? Because Abraham represents all of those who believe God. Salvation is predicated upon believing what God said. It is as clear as a bell.

The Greeks, flowering as an intellectual culture much later around the 5^th century BC, had great contact with the Ancient Near East as mercenaries, traders, and settlers before that and derived their concept of Hades from the Hebrews. Greek philosophers stated that they did not know the origin of their mythology but the first mention of Hades is in Homer, writing perhaps in the 9^th century BC, nearly a thousand years after Abraham’s life and three hundred to four hundred after Moses’ put the account in writing. The 9^th century BC is also the time when most scholars believe that the Greeks derived their alphabet from the Phoenicians whom we have seen derived it from the Hebrews who got it from God at Mount Sinai. Before then, picture writing was used by the cultures of the world, from the Sumerians on the plain of Shinar, called Cuneiform, to the Egyptians, called Hieroglyphics, to China, and even down to the civilizations of South and Central America over two thousand years later.

As an example of Greek involvement in the Near East, when Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh Necho’s armies fought at Carchemish (Jeremiah 46) both sides used Greek mercenaries extensively.  In addition, a prophet lamented how Hebrew children had been taken as slaves to Greece (Joel 3:6). There were Greek cultural influences in the Near East and Greek language influences as well. However, the Greeks who wrote about Hades wrote after this period of time and were influenced by what they learned from the Hebrews as they were by what they learned about other cultures’ practices and beliefs. The Greeks themselves even admitted they learned a great deal in Egypt and the Near East. In the later Greek myth, Hades was a place for not only the wicked but the good persons’ souls to abide after death while Tartarus was where their supreme god, Zeus, cast the Titans, giants, and there were different places for enjoyment and punishment based on a person’s behavior in life as well as their relationship to the gods. In the Ancient world, then, it was understood that the abode of the dead, good or bad, was in one location.

This is why Samuel can be called UP. Saul then bows himself in reverence to Samuel. To a mortal human the appearance of one dead is like gods, lowercase g, coming up out of the earth. It must have been a terrifying sight to behold.

 

1Samuel 28:15 ¶  And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16  Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17  And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18  Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day.

19  Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

 

No one would want to leave Paradise, a place of rest and peace from the difficulties and pain of mortal existence, a place that would one day be removed to Heaven itself. Samuel objected to being disturbed. Clearly this was God’s will as we know no so-called witch actually has the power, even today, to bring God’s blessed dead back from their eternity with God without His direct will involved.

 

Saul is asking for Samuel’s wisdom as God seems to have abandoned him. Samuel gives Saul the worst sort of news. The Philistines will win and tomorrow Saul’s dynasty will end with him. This is what Saul feared anyway, losing the kingdom. But now he will also lose his life for his disobedience to God.

 

1Samuel 28:20 ¶  Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. 21  And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. 22  Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. 23  But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. 24  And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: 25  And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

 

So, King Saul’s “séance” ends. The dread that hangs over him must be heavy as he knows that not only has he lost his kingdom and not only is his dynasty going to be destroyed, but he himself and his sons are going to die. I am sure he went away from this encounter with the supernatural with a heavy heart.