There is really no worse place to be than to be the king of God’s chosen nation, but also to be an enemy of God! That was the world where King Saul found himself. He had continually disobeyed God and sought to make a name for himself. God was not amused. So God stripped Saul of His spirit and leadership and anointed David to be king. Saul became more and more obsessed with killing David and with running things his way. Then, the day arrived when Saul was at the end of himself. He knew his kingdom was in danger. He had no direction from God and he really felt alone. So Saul sought out a medium to call Samuel, his last friend from God, up from the grave. In short, Saul sought to find God by his own means–Samuel appeared and told Saul the truth. He was done! He and his Sons would die at the hands of the Philistines and David would take the kingdom.
When one strays so far from God that he can no longer hear his voice, the truth of God is rarely a comfort. Saul, hoped somehow that Samuel could give him a happy message–so such message would come. In short, the only answer is to repent and return to God. In our lives, Christ died for our sin. His atonement gives us the opportunity to repent and return even after we have sinned against God. If we will repent and return–God will never leave nor will he forsake us. We still have to face the consequence of our choices, but we do so with God at our side and confident that he will love and protect us through the difficult times. Saul needed to repent to God and return to God’s authority. He should have turned the Kingdome to David and followed quietly. He refused and fought God–now he had to face the consequence of that choice. Thank You, Lord, that we can repent and return to you and you will not leave or forsake us.
God Bless You
But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”
11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
“Bring up Samuel,” he said.
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure[a] coming up out of the earth.”
14 “What does he look like?” he asked.
“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has tornthe kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
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