Saul and the Medium of En-dor

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

3 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.
4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa.
5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.
6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.
7 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 En-dor.”

Did we not witness the death of Samuel three chapters back? His passing was recorded in 1 Samuel 25:1

Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

The repetition of this fact may be reminding us of the loss of spiritual leadership God’s people were suffering under. The nation had a king who was in rebellion against God, a king who had chased off the hope of the nation, a king that would hold on to the throne at all costs! Things were not looking good!

As an aside, and to set up the story of Saul’s final grasp on his kingdom, we are reminded that king Saul had outlawed mediums and necromancers in the land. It is safe to assume that Saul set the lay down in response to the prophet Samuel, who knew the Word in rejected the practice of contacting the dead.

Samuel sure was a pesky influence on king Saul!

As Saul ventured farther and farther away from the God of Israel, he found the distance he suffered was insurmountable, that the God of Israel had become “deaf” to his cries of help. And Saul needed help!

The Philistines were on his doorstep, and they were looking pretty fearful. Saul, the natural leader of the nation, the man who has led the armies of Israel into battle, was not exhibiting bravery once he saw the Philistines

He was afraid

This fear mentioned of Saul spoke of astonishment, awe, even reverence. The Philistines were bringing their best and it was intimidating Saul to his core.

His heart trembled greatly

Our author describes Saul’s heart as trembling greatly, of being struck with terror, shuddering at the sight of this army in front of him. Saul had brought the entire army of Israel to the battlefield and yet the enemy caused him terror. Saul had no reserves in his army, or in his personal life to deal with such a challenge! Saul was in no shape to face this enemy.

And God was nowhere to be found.

It is to Saul’s credit (minimally) that he sought out the Lord in this time of terror, but no matter his many pleas or much begging, through various methods, he was not heard by the God of Israel.

He had been abandoned by God.

1 Samuel 28:6 And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.

At Saul’s greatest time of need, God was gone. Abandoned by the God who chose him as king. No response to his pleas, in the face of his greatest fears, the heavens were still, the Lord quiet and still.

This surely is a black mark on the faithfulness of God, as many may claim. Yet let us consider the past, for Saul surely had fought against the Lord in his seeking to retain the throne.

He disobeyed in the matter of the Amalekites. He sacrificed that which was against the command of Samuel. He had been informed by the prophet that the kingdom would be taken from him. He actively persecuted the anointed son of Jesse, whom he knew was his successor.

Saul knew it was over years back, when Samuel had clearly informed him of the loss of his kingdom after the fiasco with the Amalekites.

1 Samuel 15:28 And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.

Now we are witnessing the grasping of a man who knows he has been in rebellion, a man looking for help from the very One who has declared his end.

How desperate! How utterly depressing for the former king of Israel, to face such a challenge and have no resource to lean on. He had no spiritual assistance at all.

Maybe.

Well, if one god doesn’t answer, maybe another god will come to his rescue. After all, he is a desperate man, not a discriminating king at this point. He had made his choice years back, and at this point in his life, the early choices he made are simply being acted out in real time before our eyes.

A witch. Get me a witch he says! I’m desperate, and I am driven by fear. I need help and I don’t care where I get it.

My friends, this is the lesson of Saul.

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near

Do not wait. Make your choice today for God and not your self, Do not wait for tomorrow, for the days passed for Saul, and the door was shut. Listen to and obey the One who may be sought, while He is near. Do not reject His leadership today, thinking tomorrow you will still have opportunity.

Now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2 For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

My friends, Saul is an example to us all, that early choices for self make later choices for God impossible. The earlier you make good choices for God and His Son, the greater you will know of His peace and presence, and the confidence gained from walking with the Savior will be invaluable.

Choose you this day whom you will serve. If you do not actively and openly choose God, eventually you may be resorting to the door of a witch! As we will see in our next few posts, this goes from bad to worse for the king of Israel.

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible