Saul and the Witch

Saul was in trouble. He was terrified of the Philistine army and desperately needed some guidance from the Lord. However, he drew a blank. He could not seem to get anything from the Lord no matter how hard he tried. The Lord just did not seem to be talking.

1 Sam 28:5-6

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 the prophets.

There was no answer from the Lord. Saul, however, knew that he needed advice; He needed the Lord to counsel him as to what he should do. So he decided to try to get a message from someone he’d personally known and trusted before his death, someone who in life was a true prophet of God. He wanted to talk to Samuel. He wasn’t interested in anyone else. He knew Samuel would tell him the truth, tell him what to do. He wanted counsel. Isn’t that the same reason we want to hear from the Lord today, whether directly or, as the Family does, via one of the departed saints? Unfortunately, Samuel had died and was not available for a discussion. So off he went to find someone who was a good channel, someone who was experienced at getting ‘messages from beyond’, someone who could bring up Samuel that Saul might have a nice chat with him.

1 Sam 28:7,8 Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at En Dor.”

8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him; and they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Please conduct a seance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

After receiving a personal guarantee of safety, the woman was obliging.

1 Sam 28:11-14

11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”

13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”

14 So he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming 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 down.

Was this actually Samuel? Opinion is divided on this point, but for the purposes of this study, let’s assume that this really was Samuel who arrived in the spirit.

Samuel was not happy.

1 Sam 28:16 Then Samuel said: “Why then do you ask me, seeing the LORD has departed from you and has become your enemy?

Samuel proceeded to terrify Saul with a stinging rebuke of condemnation and judgement. The prophesied battle loss and the death of Saul was fulfilled the very next day.

What did the Lord think of Saul’s action in consulting Samuel? This is the crucial question regarding 1 Samuel 28. It is pointless to argue about whether or not this was Samuel, or about the mechanics of consulting the dead, without first getting the Lord’s mind on what happened. After we know God’s point of view, we can then begin to interpret the chapter.

The book of 1 Chronicles lists the reasons for Saul’s death.

1 Chr 10:13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance.

So, he died because:

He was unfaithful against the Lord
He disobeyed the Word
He went to the woman who could hear from ‘departed saints’.

When Saul attempted to get a message from Samuel, that was the final nail in his coffin. Perhaps the judgement was so harsh due to Saul’s public influence as the king, or perhaps this was the sin that finally sealed his fate. Regardless of God’s reasoning in delivering the death penalty, the fact is inescapable: Saul’s action was sin. God allowed him to be mortally wounded because he went to the medium. This action so angered God that He instantly judged Saul guilty and pronounced the death penalty. Contacting the dead sealed Saul’s fate. It was a sin from which there could have been no repentance. When Saul went out to battle, he was a dead man walking, he was on death row, and he knew it.

So, is there anything in this story to condone Saul’s action? No, what Saul did was sin. Does the Lord condemn Saul’s action? Most definitely − and the punishment was death.

Did Saul die because he went to a ‘bad’ witch instead of a ‘good’ channel? No, the Bible makes no judgement on her character, in fact the chapter takes pains to point out that she showed kindness to Saul after he received the message. (1 Samuel 28:20-25) Saul died because he tried to contact the dead, not because he went to the wrong person.

Did Saul die because he consulted an evil spirit guide, a demon? Of course not, Samuel had been a true prophet of God. Saul was not trying to participate in witchcraft, all he wanted to do was to hear from the Lord via Samuel.

The sin had nothing to do with the character of the witch or of Samuel. Saul’s action was the sin.

Is there anything in this story to condone hearing directly or indirectly from departed saints ourselves? No, the condemnation of Saul’s action was instant and severe. There is not the slightest hint that the same action might have been permitted in a different context or in a different way. What Saul did was wrong, and it is just as wrong today to emulate in any way what he did. Is there anything whatsoever in this story that can be used to justify the Family’s practice of receiving prophecies from spirit helpers or departed saints? Absolutely not! This passage cannot be used to give any support to this Family doctrine.

Are we prepared to risk the Lord’s anger by consulting the dead? This passage should give us such a fear of the Lord that we become desperate to learn the truth. Now, if the Lord is silent on a certain matter about which that we are asking Him, as He was silent before Saul’s pleas, what should we do? Should we attempt to extract the information from the heavens in any other way or from any other source apart from the Lord Himself? In Daniel chapter ten, there was a delay of 21 days before the answer arrived. Daniel just had to wait. Sometimes we also need to wait for the answer or perhaps accept the Lord’s denial of our request. Sometimes His silence can mean no.

Deut 29:29 The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law. (NIV)

Some things God reveals to us in order that we may follow, but we have no right to insist on knowledge at all cost, especially when the cost is disobedience to the Lord. Secret things belong to Him, and He does not tell us all His secrets no matter how much we admire ourselves as prophets. Even Jesus Christ Himself said He didn’t know the time of the end. No one knew it except the Father, not even the angels could figure it out..

Mark 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

There are just some things that won’t be revealed until we get to heaven. One thing is clear, though: attempting to get information out of God by contacting the dead is not the way to do it.

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