Seeking Spiritual Guidance 1 Samuel 28:3-25

When a group were asked, ‘’Where do modern people obtain spiritual guidance?’ their replies were interesting,

1. Google search

2. Friends

3. Counsellors

4. Psychic events

What was striking was that no-one mentioned the Bible as a source of God’s guidance.

A recent article in ‘The New Yorker’ reported,

“Almost a third of Americans say they have communicated with someone who had died and they collectively spend more than two billion dollars a year fro psychic services on platforms old and new, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and television.”

It appears that whatever the medium there is a medium!

Today spiritual healers and clairvoyants can fill auditoriums, lecture halls and retreats. People are fascinated with any contact with the supernatural. In the United Kingdom there are over three hundred spiritualist ‘churches’ that offer seances and healing. Many famous people have been involved in these practices. Mark Twain and Queen Victoria attended seances. Scientists such as Marie and Pierre Curie were also spiritualists. Abraham Lincoln’s wife, Mary, lost three of her four children and she visited mediums and had her own seances in the Red Room of the White House.

Necromancy is a fancy name for any communication with spirits of the dead. This was very common in the ancient world, being widely practised in ancient Egypt, Babylon, Greece, Rome and China. It is described in Homer’s ‘Odyssey’.

God’s grace made Saul – but then God was rejected

Saul had originally been a rather insignificant young man, belonging to the smallest tribe in Israel, Benjamin. Yet God chose him to be king and then introduced him to a group of his prophets that he joined. Samuel said of him,

“The Spirit of the LORD will come powerfully upon you and you will prophesy with them and you will be changed into a different person.” 1 Samuel 10:6

This change did not last and he came to think that he was sovereign over all and would not tolerate any opposition or criticism. He became rather like the Vladimir Putin of today, a vicious dictator and David was his Alexei Navalny! Lord Acton recognised this to be a common trait in powerful leaders, saying,

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

With time the problems that Saul faced increased. There was the growing problem of the popular young David, who had earlier been in his court as a musician, who had killed Goliath and who now led a powerful and growing band of outlaws. There was also the growing threat of the Philistines.

Instead of following God’s commands, he began to do whatever seemed expedient to his rule. This meant that he rejected the rule of the Lord and as a consequence the Lord rejected him from being king. God arranged for David, a young shepherd, to be anointed as the new future king of Israel.

Instead of repenting and turning back to God Saul decided to have David murdered and much of the book of 1 Samuel describes the tension between God’s chosen man, David and King Saul; it all became very nasty. When the priests of Nob helped David to escape from Saul’s clutches, Saul tried to have the whole city destroyed and all the inhabitants killed. He wanted to ensure that no-one ever helped David again.

Saul tried everything he could to make the future into what he wanted it to be. He thought everything depended on him and his decisions. He exemplified the spirit of so many in every age who say,

“I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my destiny.”

This line comes from the poem ‘Invictus’ written by William Henley (1849-1903). When young, Henley developed a tuberculous infection in a leg and had to have this amputated. Later he developed a similar infection in the other leg and it was again recommended that he should have this leg amputated. Instead, he decided to go up and consult Lord Lister, the famous surgeon in Edinburgh, and he was able to save the leg. Henley attributed this outcome to his wise decision. This raises interesting questions. How far are we to be responsible for what happens to us? Obviously we are each key players, when we make poor decisions and we will face the consequences, but it is our relationship with God that enables us to make the decisions that will please him and help us turn to the right people who can help. Ultimately God is always in control.

When a person decides to face the uncertainty of the future without God, eventually a day of reckoning will come; he will face a problem he cannot solve. This is what happened to Saul. The Philistines, together with David’s army were about to attack. I Samuel chapter 29 tells us that at the last minute David’s army were sent back which turned out to be good news for the city of Ziglag but Saul still faced an overwhelming Philistine army. Saul became desperate,

“When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart.” 1 Samuel 28:5

There, at Gilboa, Saul came to realise that there are some situations that no-one can control, not even a king. Some things cannot be fixed however much money is spent on doctors, lawyers, insurance policies or mercenary armies.

2. Saul turns to spiritual powers

This resort is a common phenomenon. When a child, wife or husband is seriously ill, most people will pray, even atheists. Some years ago I picked up a hitch-hiker who had fought in the Battle of Tumbledown Hill in the Falklands War. As his company were descending down the hill towards Port Stanley they came under heavy machine gun fire from Argentinian defences. They rapidly lay on the ground and dug in as best they could. He told me that his mate next to him was shot in the head and was instantly killed.

“What did you do?” I asked.

“We all prayed.”

“Even the atheists?”

“Oh, yes, every one of us prayed.”

“Do you pray now?”

“No, I don’t need to now.”

He had an experience but was not converted back to having the Lord control his life. Saul tried praying but it was now too late.

“He enquired of the LORD but the LORD didn’t answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.” 1 Samuel 28:6

Notice what is omitted in this list – the Scriptures. When Moses had given God’s people the first five books we have in our Bible, that the Jews call the Torah, this was meant to be the guide for God’s people. There is a section specifically written for a future king and there can be no doubt that Samuel, a true man of God, would have insisted that young Saul, the first king of Israel followed what the Scriptures teach:

“When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and may follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.” Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Saul had clearly turned his back on the Word of God. The ‘Urim and Thummin’ were part of the breast plate, the ‘ephod’ of the High Priest and somehow this was used to obtain the Lord’s guidance over decisions. Saul did not have control of the ephod, this was now with David. He had used this to decide whether to attack the Philistines who were besieging Keilah (1 Samuel 23:1). We read earlier,

“Now Abiathar, son of Abimelech, had brought the ephod down when he fled to David at Keilah.” 1 Samuel 23:6

Furthermore, Saul had no prophet in his retinue since he had alienated himself from Samuel,

“Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the LORD was grieved that he had made Saul king over Israel.” 1 Samuel 15:35

In contrast David had a wise prophet in his group, a man called Gad (1 Samuel 22:5).

Why did God refuse to answer Saul’s desperate prayer? Surely it was because Saul had rejected God and his word for so long that now God had rejected him. Now he was in deep trouble, to whom could he turn for help?

Poor Saul, he desperately needed spiritual food. He was in the dark as to what he should do next. He didn’t know which door to go through. He needed a guide to show him the right thing to do. He was spiritually parched.

In John’s gospel there are seven ‘I am’s’. These are each metaphors that describe the character of God as seen in Jesus. These ‘I am’s’ are based on the name of God that God used when he introduced himself to Moses at the burning bush, ‘I am who I am’ (Exodus 3:14).

In John’s gospel Jesus said,

1. “I am the bread of life.” Jesus is our sustenance, all we need for life. John 6:35

2. “I am the light of the world.” Without Jesus we will walk in darkness. John 8:12

3. “I am the door.” Jesus is the only way to eternal security. John 10:7

4. “I am the good shepherd.” Jesus is the protecting guide through life. John 10:11,14

5. “I am the resurrection and the life.” In Jesus, our eternal future is secure. John 11:25

6. “I am the way, the truth and the life.” Jesus is the only way to salvation John 14:6

7. “I am the true vine.” In Jesus’ family our spiritual thirst is satisfied. John 15:1

How many people face such crises today yet forget that the answer lies with God?

What should Saul have done? The Bible is clear. He should have turned back to he Lord as a helpless sinner, acknowledging that he had left God’s path, he should have repented and started agin with God. This is what the godless Ninevites and their king did when the prophet Jonah went to warn them about God’s coming judgment, they repented and God changed his mind. So many today are facing hard times, just like Saul did, but like him refuse to turn back to God, to Jesus who claims,

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Jesus remains the door to life, the good shepherd. However Saul, instead of admitting all he had been doing was wrong and putting his future back into the hands of the powerful and merciful God, he made the opposite decision, he went even further along the wrong path.

Saul turns to necromancy

The Lord had repeatedly and clearly forbidden his chosen people to seek guidance other than from himself. Approaching other gods and spirits were absolutely forbidden. What the witch at Endor was involved with, everybody knew to to wrong. Saul knew the following Scriptures but by now had turned his back on obeying God.

“Let no-one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, who is a medium or a spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out these nations before you.” Deuteronomy 18:10-12

“Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19:31

“I will set my face against anyone who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute themselves by following them, and I will cast them off from their people.” Leviticus 20:6

Saul would have known this clear teaching because he had written out the Torah for himself. The evidence for this is that in the early years of his reign he had ordered that those who practised these dark arts should be driven out of Israel. The witch of Endor acknowledged this,

“Saul has expelled the spiritists and mediums from the land.” 1 Samuel 28:3

“Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land.” 1 Samuel 28:9

In spite of all these warnings Saul sought out a medium. He goes to her in disguise, he doesn’t want what he is doing to be known about. How often when we sin we want to do it in the dark, as if the Lord doesn’t know what we are thinking and doing!

Saul wanted to seek the guidance of Samuel, the late man of God but he was refusing to live as God wants. This still happens today., many are happy to seek the advice from pastors, who they recognise as being people of God with integrity, but are not interested in hearing God’s word.

Saul’s desperate search for guidance was no help to him. Samuel did appear and Saul said to him,

“I am in great distress. God has turned away from me. Tell me what to do.” 1 Samuel 28:15

Note the uncompromising reply that Saul is given by Samuel,

“Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has torn the kingdom from out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbours – to David. Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.” 1 Samuel 28:16

It is significant that even in those days they knew that death was not the end and that the dead come face to face with the Lord. Samuel lived on after he had died physically.

So Saul’s last desperate hope was shattered. No-one can oppose God and win! His army and his sons were killed in the ensuing battle of Gilboa. Saul himself was critically injured by an arrow and he subsequently committed suicide by falling on his sword – the final act of an unbeliever.

There is little point in discussing whether this appearance of Samuel was real or whether the witch pretended to see Samuel. Her scream suggests that she also was terrified to see him. Was the apparition demonic or was it real? After all, Moses and Elijah did meet with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. In this instance the living Jesus met with two me who had died centuries before. Furthermore, what Samuel said soon came to be true, the mark of a true prophet (Deuteronomy 18:22). Whatever, Samuel’s message here is almost identical to the final words that Samuel said to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:22-33 where he stresses that religious observance is no substitute for godly obedience.
God later warned his people that spiritualists and mediums were acting as false prophets, and that their comfortable message must be rejected because it is not of God. This theme keeps being repeated, for example:

“When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people enqyire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living. To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of their own.” Isaiah 8:19-20

Guidance and help should come from the word of God.

“So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’” Jeremiah 27:9

A longing for the spirit to speak directly to people in any religious meeting can be dangerously close to spiritism, but using a different name.

Conclusion

We are all going to face big problems. Someone close to you dies, you are made redundant, there is a crisis in relationships. We feel bereft and lonely. What should we do, where should we turn to?

1. We must never resort to seeking the help of spirits. We should never talk with the supposed spirits of the departed. Necromancy is much more common today than people realise, yet it is done secretly.

2. We must not make the same mistake as Saul but must turn back to the Lord himself and trust him.

3. We must keep living according to God’s word. If necessary seek the help of someone who knows God’s word.

4. Spiritualism is forbidden by God because it is seeking a false god and is very dangerous to us.

5. Involvement in spiritualism makes people resistant to the Christian gospel.

I well remember spending a weekend in a Borstal with members of a previous church, taking a mission to the young men there who were all under 18 years of age. At one lunch the question of God came up but none of the inmates were even sure there was a real God. However when the question of the devil was discussed there were no doubts in any of the inmates, they were sure he existed. They had been involved in using Ouija boards and had held seances and were scared of the power they had seen.

We are all living in a spiritual world and there are angels and demons fighting for our souls. Involvement with the spirits can cause mental health problems and those involved find it very hard to turn to Christ. Dr P. Randall was a spiritualist but has now denounced its practice as very dangerous. He said,

“For seven years I held daily intercourse with what was purported to be my blessed mother, but I am now clearly persuaded that it was nothing in this world but an evil spirit – a demon – who, in that guise, gained my souls confidence and led me to the very brink of ruin. Five of my own personal friends have destroyed themselves as a result of spirit control.”

Let us finish with what should be our priority as we live in a world in which evil spirits are certainly active. Paul wrote about the spiritual battle we are all in and concluded,

“Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes.” Ephesians 6:11

BVP

November 2022