28 Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armies together for war, to fight with Israel. And Achish said to David, “You assuredly know that you will go out with me to battle, you and your men.”

² So David said to Achish, “Surely you know what your servant can do.”

And Achish said to David, “Therefore I will make you one of my chief guardians forever.”

³ Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land.

⁴ Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 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.

⁷ 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 séance for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.”

⁹ Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”

¹⁰ And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “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?”

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.

¹⁵ Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

¹⁶ Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ¹⁸ Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

²⁰ Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, and was dreadfully afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night.

²¹ And the woman came to Saul and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have put my life in my hands and heeded the words which you spoke to me. ²² Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.”

²³ But he refused and said, “I will not eat.”

So his servants, together with the woman, urged him; and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. ²⁴ Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread from it. ²⁵ So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

1 Samuel 28

Dear God, according the the statement back when Saul was crowned king over Israel that he was 30 at the time and would live to reign 42 years, Saul was 72 in this story. So I’m trying to picture 72-year-old Saul in absolute panic mode. David had been gone and out of the picture for 16 months. Saul had nothing to do but focus on the Philistines, and, again, I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like for Saul if he had had David as his ally leading the men into battle. And I suppose I’ll get to this later when I talk about Saul’s death in chapter 31, but where was Abner? How did he survive? He had to have been pretty old too at this time. Did the Philistines not pursue him as hard as they did Saul?

But I digress. Let’s stay on the scared old man who is grasping onto everything he can. I think that’s the picture I see of Saul right now. A man grasping onto everything he can, and it is slipping through his fingers. He wants to be a success. He wants to live forever. He wants to reign forever. He wants his family to reign forever. That’s all he wants. He doesn’t seem to be worried at all about the fate of Israel as much as he is about himself. A wise king who sought Israel’s best would have talked with Jonathan and had Jonathan work something out with David to come back. A wise king would have seen his limitations and let go of the situation. A wise king would have cared more about your glory than his own. But that’s not what kings do, is it? Power really does corrupt. It will corrupt David. It was already corrupting David. If David had been a judge I feel like he would have approached life completely differently. But as a king-elect he would have to do this weird dance of power with Saul and ultimately take over the kingdom. But again, I’ve gotten distracted away from Saul and the pain of this moment.

I think this passage is the key to this chapter for me:

⁴ Then the Philistines gathered together, and came and encamped at Shunem. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. 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.

Saul had choices when he was afraid. He could have just gone home and hid, retreating with his army and restrategizing, including maybe going and finding David. He could have just gone out and fought with his men regardless of his fear or the odds. His decision to inquire of you was a good one, but it was too little too late. He had abandoned the relationship with you a long time ago. His whole being at this point was about living for himself.

Father, I am sorry for the times I walk away from you and my only goal is to do things for myself. I am sorry for my selfishness. I am sorry for my self-pity. I am sorry for my pride. Help me to live Paul’s words in Acts 20:24. Help me to consider my life worth nothing to me. Help me to care about my neighbor more than myself. Help me to care about your kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven more than myself and what I perceive to be good for me. Help me to care about your will being done in all areas of our society, but through persuasion and not compulsion. Help my life to be a life that draws others to be closer to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen