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1 Sameul Chapter 28
Saul and the Medium of En-dor
- 1 Samuel 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.
The Philistines decided to make war
with Israel. Saul previously removed those that had familiar
spirits. Having a familiar spirit and
communicating with the dead was forbidden by the law of God that
Moses wrote down and taught Israel. Samuel had
passed away by this time.
Also in Deuteronomy
- Deuteronomy 18:9 When
thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee,
thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those
nations.
- 10 There shall
not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or
an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
- 11 Or a charmer,
or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a
necromancer.
- 12 For all that
do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of
these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from
before thee.
- 13 Thou shalt be
perfect with the LORD thy God.
- 14 For these
nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of
times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath
not suffered thee so to do.
Saul must have forbidden these things
but it is not recorded when or why but it was forbidden by God. We
really don't need these things when we can now communicate directly
to God and be filled with His Holy Spirit. We are to seek Him alone
for guidance in all things.
A necromancer (Verse 11 in Deuteronomy 18) is
a person who attempts to communicate with those that have died.
- 1Samuel 28:4 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.
That is the scariest thing that could
happen to a person. To not be able to hear from God but to resort to
seeking outside of God's Spirit and seek other means is very
dangerous to our souls.
-
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.
Saul knew better than this since he
himself had forbidden the practice but we see here something
many that rule over others do. Many times they place laws on people
that they do not keep themselves. Nevertheless this law was part of
God's law and it is very dangerous to our souls and to those who
follow after us to seek familiar spirits instead of God's Holy
Spirit.
-
1Samuel 28:8 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.
If we have to hide ourselves, we should
know something is wrong in itself. He did it so no one would know he
was breaking his own law but it was dishonest and sneaky. Something
a king should never have to do.
- 1Samuel 28:9 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.
Saul promises her that she will not be
punished if he does this for him.
Samuel has been dead about two years
now and Saul is desperate since the Lord seems to be ignoring him at
least Saul thinks the Lord is ignoring him.
I sometimes wonder if Saul would have
resigned of being king and allowed David to assume the throne, if
all this could have been avoided. Saul refused to believe God was
done with him being king even though it was Samuel that gave him that
word from God previously. Now he is trying to contact Samuel.
-
1Samuel 28:12 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.
This part is very controversial.
Although it is forbidden to do this by the law of God, some scholars
say that God allowed it to be done at this time. It is evident that
this woman was surprised and was not expecting the real Samuel to
appear. For some reason she knew it was Saul that was with her
seeing this. Other commentators say she didn't see the real Samuel
but a familiar spirit pretending to be Samuel. We do know that when
a person dies, their soul and spirit leaves the body and goes
somewhere. God forbids us to try to communicate with them though. It
seems though that God allowed Samuel to appear. This I don't know
for sure. All I know is the word of God forbids this and we as
believers in the Lord need to avoid this and look to the Lord for
answers instead of trying to go around Him to by other means. It
could damage our eternal souls if we mess around with this stuff.
This is what the woman thought she saw,
not necessarily real gods. Perhaps she thought Samuel was a god.
-
1 Samuel 28:14 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.
This got Saul's attention for sure. The
woman was scared showing that in this incident, it was not normally
what she experienced when seeking to communicate with the dead. It
was different. Had it been the same as she always experienced, she
would not have been frightened. This is the way Samuel would appear
if he still lived so it could also be a familiar spirit trying to
appear to be Samuel. I don't know if we would look the same way we
did after death that we looked like when alive. This part is a
mystery. The reader has to discern here. I personally just admit, I
do not know.
- 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.
Since this really happened just like
what is prophesied here, it would seem that this man is really
Samuel. A familiar spirit would also know what Samuel originally
prophesied concerning Saul. Yet we might wonder if a familiar spirit
would have prophesied something good not bad. However that is my own
assumption and not necessarily the right interpretation of this.
Samuel says that Saul and his sons will be with him when they go
fighting in battle against the Philistines. In other words they are
going to be killed in battle and join Samuel in the place where he
abides.
- 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.
The woman had compassion on Saul and
brought him something to eat. Under the circumstances he could not
eat yet though.
- 1Samuel 28:23 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.
Saul and his servants ended up eating
what she prepared and went their way. The end of Saul's life is near
and it is sad because it didn't have to be this way. Genuine
repentance could have avoided all these things but we know the flesh
is weak.
There are two places where the dead go before
Jesus came, died for sins and was raised from the dead taking the
souls of the righteous with Him to a different place in Heaven.
Paradise for the righteous and Hell for the evil ones were places
the dead went before the resurrection of Jesus. After the final
judgment in the last days, the evil ones will be cast into the lake
of fire for eternity. After Jesus was resurrected, the righteous who
died previously was taken to Heaven and that is where believers in Jesus go when they die also.
Luke 16: 19-31 speaks of the where the
dead go before Jesus' resurrection. One place is called Abraham's
bosom which is paradise and the other is a place of torment called
Hell.
- Luke 16:19 There
was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
- 20 And there was
a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full
of sores,
- 21 And desiring
to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table:
moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
- 22 And it came
to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
- 23 And in hell
he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar
off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
- 24 And he cried
and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus,
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my
tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
- 25 But Abraham
said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy
good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is
comforted, and thou art tormented.
- 26 And beside
all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so
that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can
they pass to us, that would come from thence.
- 27 Then he said,
I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my
father's house:
- 28 For I have
five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also
come into this place of torment.
- 29 Abraham saith
unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
- 30 And he said,
Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead,
they will repent.
- 31 And he said
unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
There are many other proofs in
scripture that the wicked go to hell when they leave their bodies at
death. After the resurrection of Jesus those in paradise at that
time and those that die in Christ later are taken to heaven at the
point of death. Ephesians 4:8 and Psalms 68:18
-
Ephesians 4:8 Wherefore
he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.
There are many proofs in scripture. I am
sharing only a few.
- 2Corinthians 5:6
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are
at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
- 7 (For we walk
by faith, not by sight:)
- 8 We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body,
and to be present with the Lord.
Here is another scripture that show
where the dead go when the soul and spirit leave the body.
Revelation chapter 20.
- Revelation 20:11
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was
found no place for them.
- 12 And I saw the
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works.
- 13 And the sea
gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works.
- 14 And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
- 15 And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake
of fire.
Also the end for all believers in Jesus
Christ.
The River of Life
- Revelation 22:1
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as
crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
- 2 In the midst
of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there
the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were
for the healing of the nations.
- 3 And there
shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb
shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
- 4 And they shall
see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.
- 5 And there
shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light
of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall
reign for ever and ever.
- 6 And he said
unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God
of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants
the things which must shortly be done.
- 7 Behold, I come
quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy
of this book.
- 8 And I John saw
these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I
fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed
me these things.
- 9 Then saith he
unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of
thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of
this book: worship God.
- 10 And he saith
unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for
the time is at hand.
- 11 He that is
unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him
be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous
still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
- 12 And, behold,
I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man
according as his work shall be.
- 13 I am Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
- 14 Blessed are
they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
- 15 For without
are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and
idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
- 16 I Jesus have
sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the
bright and morning star.
- 17 And the
Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say,
Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely.
- 18 For I testify
unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto
him the plagues that are written in this book:
- 19 And if any
man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of
the holy city, and from the things which are written in this
book.
- 20 He which
testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even
so, come, Lord Jesus.
- 21 The grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
What wonderful things await those that follow
Jesus. We don't have to be lost but can live forever with Him. DC
1 Samuel Chapter 29
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