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, is the main contributor to this book, 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.

8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”
9 The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
10 But Saul swore to her by the LORD, “As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.”
13 The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.”
14 He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

Let’s remember the situation.

Saul is scared, really frightened by the massive force of Philistines coming to make war with Israel. He has no resources to rely upon beyond his army. Given his reaction to the battlefield, his army must have been significantly less than the army he is facing. He may also have heard rumors of a certain Israelite in the camp of the Philistines by the name of David. That, I imagine, was very troubling.

On top of this, the location had a history. Shunem, where the Philistines had encamped, belonged to the tribe of Issachar and was south of the valley of Jezreel. This indicates that the Philistines had entered Israeli territory and were itching to take more land.

A previous battle with the Philistines in this same locale, under the leadership of Eli the judge, did not go well, with Eli’s sons dying, the Israeli army being defeated and the Ark of the Covenant being taken from the people of God.

Things were not stacking up good for Saul.

As mentioned in the passage, he started looking for a witch, a medium, one who could channel dead spirits. As luck would have it, Sauls servants found a medium at En-dor, a location that was just beyond the Philistine encampment at Shunem. His encampment was south, the witch was north, and the Philistines were just to the west.

So off with the royal garb and crown, and on with other garments, Saul and two of his men headed north, past the Philistines and under cover of darkness, knocked on the mediums door.

After reassuring the medium of the safety of the situation, she brought up Samuel, or at least a spirit that mimicked Samuel. (When you are dealing with a medium, what can you trust?) Also note that she was willing to trust this “stranger” regarding the safety of the action. She just seems real sketchy at this point, but then again, when you deal with the dead, verification of truth claims probably are low on the priority scale. She just trusted this stranger, not knowing this stranger was Saul until after “Samuel” came out of the earth.

The witch spoke of an old man wrapped in a mantle. Saul made the claim it was Samuel.

A question to my reader. Was it Samuel or a deceiving spirit? Let me know your thoughts.

No matter what, this passage literally yells at me that when the Lord is not in the middle of the situation, you just don’t know who you can trust.

Trust is such a fragile commodity for if you provide it to everyone, you will be burned and not able to exercise it due to the disappointments of previous trusting.

A wife that can be trusted is a beautiful thing. I have been blessed with a wonderful lady who I trust wholeheartedly.

My children – I don’t deserve them, for they are trustworthy, loving young men and women who have proven themselves over and over again.

A Christian brother or sister that can be trusted is a precious find, and though believers are a family, conflicts and priorities may produce times when trust is broken. Communication to restore relationship, and then to eventually able to exercise trust is critical.

The passage above brings two people together that have never met, that in the past were on opposite sides of an issue, and due to special circumstance are forced together by a man’s desperate and trembling heart. It is a bad situation ripe for defeat, disappointment and deception.

And they both trusted each other! How desperate of a situation, and how unnecessary for them to be in such a situation. But that is not true! It was necessary for Saul to trust the medium, and for the medium to trust Saul, for they had both rejected the only One who can be trusted fully.

Only due to rejecting the living God is such a situation forced on a person. Trust God, or you will be forced to trust someone or something else at a time that is forced upon you.

May God give us wisdom and strength for a daily decisions.

---

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