Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Samuel 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.
15 19. Samuel pronounces Saul’s doom
15. Why hast thou disquieted me ] Disturbed me from my rest in Shel. Samuel utters this complaint, because although he came as God’s messenger, Saul’s sin was the moving cause of so unnatural a mission.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1Sa 28:15
God is departed from me.
Without God in the world
It is not in the power of language to depict a more terrible and hopeless condition for a rational creature to be in than that set forth in these five words of Scripture. And the climax of Pauls description of mans unregenerate state is: Having no hope, and without God in the world. Let us glance at the true meaning and significance of the words.
1. They do not mean that God has absolved them from all obligation–no longer sustains relations with them–has withdrawn His supervision and feels no concern on their account. For He holds them to strict account the same as with other men; He takes cognizance of their daily conduct, the same as if they were on terms of intimacy.
2. But they do mean:
(1) The toss of Gods favour. They are aliens from His love. He has no complacency in them. God is not in all their thoughts. They live only by His sufferance.
(2) They do mean the withdrawal of His special presence, His Holy Spirit, the tokens of His favour, the recognition and inward consciousness that He is a friendly power with whom they have to do. There had been no signs or revelations declaring unto him the awful fact. So every ungodly man knows and feels. He needs no spirit to come up from the grave to herald it.
(3) They do mean that all friendly intercourse between God and themselves has ceased. Saul besought the Lord when disaster and calamity came upon him and his kingdom; but he sought in vain.
3. Glance at the awfulness of such a condition!
(1) To be without God in the world is to be destitute of every element of true happiness.
(2) To possess a character that has in it not one element of moral worth.
(3) To be at the mercy of all the forces of depravity, human and devilish, with no defence, no shield, nothing to mitigate the evil.
(4) To be not only friendless and miserable in the world but without hope for eternity. (J. M. Sherwood, D. D.)
Humanity consciously deserted of God
There are two stages in the history of human depravity.
1. Man deserts God. God calls, and man refuses.
2. God deserts man. The Eternal departs from him, which means a discontinuance of the overtures of His love, and His agencies to restore; it is leaving man to himself, to reap the labour of his own hands; it is the physician giving up the patient; the tender father closing the door against his reprobate child. In the first stage, we find the vast majorities of mankind in every age; in the second, we may find some of earth in every period. This stage is hell. The first stage is probation; the second stage is retribution. This second and final stage Saul had reached. All guiding oracles were hushed to him. The Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. Deep is the necessity he feels for supernatural help. He feels himself deserted by God. This passage presents three considerations concerning mankind in this state.
I. That humanity under a consciousness of Gods desertion will ever be impressed with the need of the forfeited means of Divine communion. There was a time when Saul had communications with his Maker. The prophets were accessible to him. He could consult the Urim on the breast of the high priest; but he had lost all now: he had slain the high priest; Samuel was dead; the Spirit of the Lord forsook him, and the heavens were closed against him. How deep and earnest is the cry, Bring me up Samuel. Oh! for one word from God now. Oh! that I could have but one more message from those sealed heavens. The deep cry of humanity, under a consciousness that God had deserted it, is, Oh! that I knew but where I might, find him. Captives away in Babylon, how did the Jews value the temple which, perhaps, they often neglected when at home? Sinner, value and improve the means of Divine communion now: God is speaking to you, through ministers, the Bible, and other books.
II. That humanity, under a consciousness of Gods desertion, becomes the subject of fearful delusions. Such delusions seem to me to spring naturally from his excited state of mired.
1. It presented a vivid vision of the teacher whose counsels had been neglected. The imagination of a conscience-stricken sinner will bring old reechoes from their graves, give them voice, and make them speak again.
2. It proclaimed the sin and pronounced the doom. (1Sa 28:18-19.) Imagination now gives a voice of thunder to all this whispering of conscience. Imagination is a terrible faculty, when swayed by a guilty conscience. What visions it can unfold! It can create a subjective world, whose firmament is black as sackcloth, whose tenants are fiends, whose stormy atmosphere is rent by lightnings and loaded with shrieks of anguish.
III. That humanity, under a consciousness of Gods desertion, must sink into unmitigated despair. Here is despair prostrating the man. The guilty mind, in despair, loses three elements of power.
1. Hope. What an inspiring element is this! How it sustains under trial! How it stimulates in enterprise!
2. Purpose. Mind is only powerful and happy as it has some purpose to engage its attention and energies: but in despair there is no purpose; the mind looks abroad on the dark universe and finds nothing to do.
3. Sympathy. A God-deserted mind has no sympathy: all hearts recoil from a sin-convicted soul, and it turns in upon itself. (Homilist.)
Abandoned of God
It is the saddest, the most despairing confession that ever fell from human lips. We can sympathise with the bitterness of the more ordinary losses and bereavements of men. But we cannot rise to the full agony of Sauls confession, nor sympathise with the sadness and hopelessness of spirit that wail through it, like the winds through the vaults of the dead.
I. We consider the departure of God. There are two sets of moral forces in the world contending with each other for the possession of the spirit of man, called in Scripture the one, the powers of the world to come; the other, the powers of this present evil world. The former is a holy beneficent order of influences which have their source in the nature and life of God; the latter is a destructive, despoiling, degrading order. Now, just as the laws and forces of the material world build up the external economy of things, so do these two sets of influences mould and form human character. They are obviously diametrically opposed to each other in their aim and tendency; they try to bear and pull the spirit of life in each man in opposite directions. What therefore had happened in the experience of Saul was this: that the set of virtues or holy energies that have their origin in God and that pull men Godward, had ceased to strive for the possession of his spirit; and had left him to the undisputed sovereignty of the powers of this present evil world. And look at what happened in the nature of Saul when God had departed from him in this sense–the only sense in which God ever departs from a man. His once fine and brave and manly nature–manly and brave and fine as long as God stayed to make and keep it so–grew suspicious and bitter and restless, and filled with slavish fear. It is a law which holds for all time, which is as fixed and unalterable as the laws of the physical universe; it is an eternal law that separation from God involves moral disorder, and the tyranny of all the destroying influences that prey upon human hearts. Sauls experience unfolds to us what would happen did God depart from the social life of today, be it village life, or commercial life, or court life; did He depart from any of the spheres of life where men meet and associate and deal with men. Society is impossible without the felt presence of God, warring against sin and keeping it down in the hearts of men. And in the case of the individual, too, every kind of moral disorder and wretchedness is involved in the departure of God. The individual soul is the realm of Gods most holy and blessed activities. Oh, it is fearful when God, as the moral force in the soul, departs from a man; for in this world there is a great conspiracy and confederacy against our truest good, the cunning of which God alone can baffle and God alone can confound. Without Him our very conceptions of righteousness will be unworthy; our consciences will get seared, as though a hot iron had passed over them, deadening their sensitive papillae; our hearts will give birth to bad devices, unholy plans, and thoughts of lawless and forbidden pleasures. Our whole nature will get cankered and corrupted, unless the sweet, refreshing waters of life are ever circulating in us. In short, there is no crime or sin which is not possible to, and likely to happen in, the life of the man from whom God has departed.
II. We have now to consider what Saul had done to compel God to depart. It was Sauls disobedience and perverseness of temper that drove God away. By the requisite devices of overlooking, despising, rejecting, wearying, and tiring out the reproving presence of Gods spirit in him, he bad succeeded in making complete isolation between his soul and the Soul of souls. He determined against his better reason to keep his sins and his bad heart, and to take his own will and way. Never does the great Father of us all send an evil spirit into the hearts and minds of men. Every spirit that cornea from God, comes of holy ministries of love and blessing; comes to strive to bring bad men under the power of goodness; comes to war a noble warfare with the evil which Saul grappled to his soul as though it were his tried and adopted friend. What is it that turns God into a relentless foe? or, rather, what is it that so throws our eyes off the straight line of moral vision that we seem to see the great loving Father and a tyrant? We say, sin. Yes; but what kind of sin? Such sins as those of Noah, David, and Peter–drunkenness, lust and murder, falsehood and profanity–alienate God till the dark hour of anguish Domes, but do not compel an absolute departure. The sin of Saul must have been the unpardonable one–the resolute refusal to surrender the spirit of our life into Gods hands that we may be formed and shaped by Him. (James Forfar.)
Saul God forsaken
What a complication of calamities! What a deluge of distress and misery!
I. Reflect a moment on the language of his complaint. The Philistines are come upon me. However disproportionate the forces of a defending army, a Christian king and a Christian people are secure. A thousand shall fall at their side, and ten thousand at their right hand, but it shall not Dome nigh them. But when a man forsakes the Lord until the season of distress, who can wonder if his repentance is destitute of the character of sincerity, and he is left to perish. If ye walk contrary to me, I will walk contrary to you, is the threatening of that God who has justice as well as mercy.
1. But still, listen to his cry, The Lord hath forsaken me. This is indescribably dreadful! Better that all the world should leave us, better that we lose our health, our strength, our property, our friends, than be forsaken of Him whose smile is Heaven, whose frown is hell. What a state of abandonment, what a state of orphanage! With no eye to pity, with no arm to save. But what follows from such withdrawment of the greatest and the best of Beings? Penal blindness of mind, hardness of heart, the uncontrolled sway of evil passions, left a prey to the tempter, and to the influence and associations of wicked men. But this is not all; hear him yet again: And the Lord answers me not, neither by prophets nor by dreams. This, if possible, is still more distressing and dreadful than before. What a privilege is prayer! What must it be to have our prayers rejected.
II. The method which he adopted to obtain relief. What a wretched expedient for soothing the anguish of a guilty conscience! And yet how often do we see subterfuges, equally untenable and unsafe, resorted to by transgressors to stifle conviction, to prevent reflection, to silence the accusations of a guilty mind, and to obtain a little temporary relief.
III. Let us now contemplate his overthrow–his monitory death. What does this subject suggest for our mutual improvement?
1. How possible it is to live and die without hope in the world though surrounded by religious advantages.
2. We learn the awful consequences of rebellion against God. (B. Leach.)
Reprobation
I desire to set before you the end to which in this world allowed sin brings finally the impenitent man. Now that state is spoken of in Gods Word under various awful descriptions. It is described as one in which the heart is hardened; as one in which a man is given over to a reprobate mind; in which he is to every good work reprobate; in which men have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. They are spoken of as reprobate concerning the faith; as having treasured up for themselves wrath against the day of wrath; as having grieved,–yea, and quenched,–the Holy Spirit of God. Now these passages of Gods Word suffice of themselves to show that there is here in this world such a state as that of final impenitence: and what can be added to those words to describe its misery and horror! Yet it may be well for us, instead of simply resting in them, to examine more in detail wherein their fearfulness consists; that so, of Gods mercy, we may be driven by the sight to cry to Him with greater earnestness to save us from all danger of failing ourselves into this most deadly state.
1. Now, in entering on this subject, we must remember what is involved in that certain truth which is set before us from one end of the Bible to the other, namely, that we, in this world, are really in a state of probation.
2. Now, mark how that probation is accomplished:
(1) We are placed amongst a multitude of outward things, which perpetually force us to choose whether we will act in this way or in that; and every one of these choices must agree with the holy and perfect Will of God, or be opposed to it.
(2) But then, further: the especial trial of us Christians consists in our being placed amongst these temptations under the personal influence of God the Holy Ghost; so that in every such distinct act of choice, there is either a direct yielding or a direct opposition to His secret suggestions. Moreover, these secret influences of His are described as the Power which does effectually mould those who yield to them. Thus it is said that He guides them into all truth. So that evermore He is with us; touching the inmost springs of our being; upholding and renewing our life in its highest fountainhead of existence; acting on us by restraint, by solicitation, by suggestion, by assistance in every choice.
(3) This, then, being our moral and spiritual probation, not only is every voluntary acting of our spirit in contradiction to Gods Will a fixing of our will in opposition to His Will; but, further, it is in us a direct personal resistance to the action upon our souls of God the Holy Ghost. And the necessary consequence of every such act of resistance must, by a twofold process, carry us on towards final impenitence. For first, by our own moral constitution, the breaking through any restraint from evil, or the resisting any suggestion of good, carries us by an inevitable reaction somewhat farther than we were before in the opposite direction. This first; and then, and far beyond this, by thus resisting the Holy Spirit we cause Him to withdraw from us those influences for good in which is alone for us the spring and possibility of amendment. This is the awful truth contained in such exhortations as that of the Apostle.
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. Now the effect of such conduct on an earthly friend would be that it would lead him to withdraw himself from the intimate relationship of an undisturbed affection; and so we are taught that from the heart so resisting Him the Holy One withdraws Himself. Now as a necessary consequence of such a withdrawal, the progress of the forsaken soul towards final hardness is inevitable. The injured quality of the soil makes it need more urgently than before, if it is to yield any good upgrowth, the refreshment of cooling showers, and at that very time the decree has gone forth to the clouds of heaven that they rain no rain upon it.
3. What the downward process of such a soul must be we may see at once by recalling what we saw to be the Spirits gracious influences upon one whom He was sanctifying, and so estimating the consequences of their withdrawal. For reproofs for sin would in such a heart sink first into a whisper, and then die out in silence. And as they expired the conscience would be struck with dumbness, and the first cause therefore of a saving penitence would be removed. Next, the secret voice teaching the heart, and reminding it of the words of Christ, would cease to speak; and with this would fail also those first drawings of the affections towards God, which are as the tender bud of a future penitence, and which can awaken only beneath the Cross of Christ, and within the sound of His words of love, as the Blessed Spirit reveals them to the soul. So that there would be in such a heart nothing to begin that work of true repentance, which without the aid of the good Spirit cannot originate in fallen man. Nor is even this all. For in this heart there would be no shedding abroad the sweet reviving influences of love; there would be no sealing it by the pressure of a moulding hand to the day of redemption. So that such a heart must harden daily. The law of evil must daily pervade it more thoroughly, until it comes to choose sin as sin: whilst from such a state there is nothing to awaken it. And this is the awful, hopeless, rayless, outer darkness of the full and final impenitence of a reasonable soul which has failed utterly in its moral probation. Here, then, we reach the consummation of this course. It leads down to an impenitent despair. At this point, then, let us for a moment pause, and see the conclusion we have reached. It is, that this state of final, hopeless impenitence is the natural conclusion of a life spent under the influences of Gods Blessed Spirit by a reasonable moral agent, who by his neglect of or resistance to them, makes them turn into his uttermost condemnation. For as death can come to no man by chance, as the time of closing his day of trial must be exactly and certainly fixed for every man by Gods sovereign Will, does it not necessarily follow from the fact of God having placed him in this probation, that no man is taken from his life of trial with the trial incomplete? that no branch in the living Vine is taken away until it is indeed certain that it will bear no fruit. In fine, instead of its being a rare and uncommon thing for men to reach a state of final impenitence, it is the real and most awful secret of every hopeless death. And if this be so, with what a dreadful character does this truth invest every allowance of wilful sin in us Christians! That probation differs, of course, necessarily in every different man. The same act of sin may embody in itself, in the case of two different men, utterly different degrees of resistance to the Holy Spirit. Such is the lesson taught us by the examples set before us in Gods Word. Yet two such examples at least there are set before us in its pages–that of Saul in the Old Testament, and that of Judas in the New. In the history of Saul are traced with minuteness of detail the gifts of grace against which his sins of self-will and rebellion against Gad had been committed, until the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. Thenceforward the features of one whose heart was hardening look ever out upon us from his life. And to what an end does all this bring him! Who can read unmoved the record of those wild throbbings of despair which drove him, who in his better day had cut off those that had familiar spirits and the wizards from the land, to the sorceress at Endor; or the history of all that there awaited him? The deceitful tempter, now turned into the merciless accuser, took up the fierce utterance of that still hard though broken heart–I am sore distressed, etc. Here is no mingling of mercy with judgment, no call to repentance, no sweet whisper of pardon. These, then, are our lessons from this fearful subject. First, that we strive diligently to maintain such a temper of watchful observance for the motions of the Blessed Spirit as that we may never unawares resist or neglect any of His lightest intimations. Without this watchful observance we are sure to interrupt His work. For if the soul be heated with worldliness, or covered with the dust of the earth, how shall it receive those heavenly colours with which He would brighten and adorn it? if it be perpetually distracted by ten thousand cares, how shall it be ready to entertain His presence? Lastly, if through our exceeding feebleness we have fallen, let us learn to look straight to the cross of Christ, and strive diligently in His strength to arise again; that we fly to Him as for our lives, crying only to Him out of our low estate, Forsake not, O Lord, the work of Thine own hands: Cast me not away from Thy presence; and take not Thy Holy Spirit, from me. (Bishop Wilberforce.)
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Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 15. Why hast thou disquieted me] The complaint is not directed against the woman but against Saul. Indeed, her incantations had no influence in the business, and it does not appear that she had commenced her operations before the angels had prepared the way of the prophet, and before the prophet himself had made his appearance.
That thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.] In his former difficulties, and when pressed by his enemies, he was in the habit of consulting Samuel; and now he applies to him as his former preceptor. God, he knew, might answer by such a man as Samuel, when he would answer by no other means.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Samuel said to Saul; as the devil appeared in Samuels shape and garb, so also he speaketh in his person, that he might insnare Saul, and encourage others to seek to him in this wicked way. And God permits him to do so for Sauls greater condemnation and punishment.
Neither by prophets, nor by dreams; he omitteth the Urim here, because he neither did nor could inquire by that, because Abiathar had carried it away to David, and so he expected no answer that way.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Samuel said to Saul, why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?…. This makes it a clear case that this was not the true Samuel; his soul was at rest in Abraham’s bosom, in the state of bliss and happiness in heaven, and it was not in the power of men and devils to disquiet it; nor would he have talked of his being brought up, but rather of his coming down, had it been really he; much less would he have acknowledged that he was brought up by Saul, by means of a witch, and through the help of the devil:
and Saul answered, I am sore distressed; in mind, being in great straits and difficulties, pressed hard upon by men, and forsaken of God, as follows:
for the Philistines make war against me; so they had many times, and he had been victorious, and had no reason to be so much distressed, if that was all: but he adds,
and God is departed from me: and therefore he feared he should be left to fall into their hands; and that he had forsaken him he concluded from hence,
and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams:
[See comments on 1Sa 28:6]; he makes no mention of Urim, either because they were not with him to inquire by, being carried away by Abiathar when he fled to David, 1Sa 23:9; or, as the Jews say h, through shame, he said nothing of the Urim before Samuel, as he took this appearance to be, because he had slain the priests at Nob, and because of this shame, they say, his sin was forgiven him:
therefore have I called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do; which was downright madness and folly to imagine, that since God had forsaken him, and would give him no answer, that a prophet of his should take his part; or when he could get no answer from a prophet of God on earth, that he could expect an agreeable one from one fetched down from heaven: one would be tempted to think that he himself believed it was the devil he was talking to, and whom he had called for under the name of Samuel, and expected to see; for from whom else could he expect advice, when he was forsaken of God, and his prophets?
h T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 12. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
| Saul’s Death Foretold. | B. C. 1055. |
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.
We have here the conference between Saul and Satan. Saul came in disguise (v. 8), but Satan soon discovered him, v. 12. Satan comes in disguise, in the disguise of Samuel’s mantle, and Saul cannot discover him. Such is the disadvantage we labour under, in wrestling with the rulers of the darkness of this world, that they know us, while we are ignorant of their wiles and devices.
I. The spectre, or apparition, personating Samuel, asks why he is sent for (v. 15): Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? To us this discovers that it was an evil spirit that personated Samuel; for (as bishop Patrick observes) it is not in the power of witches to disturb the rest of good men and to bring them back into the world when they please; nor would the true Samuel have acknowledged such a power in magical arts: but to Saul this was a proper device of Satan’s, to draw veneration from him, to possess him with an opinion of the power of divination, and so to rivet him in the devil’s interests.
II. Saul makes his complaint to this counterfeit Samuel, mistaking him for the true; and a most doleful complaint it is: “I am sorely distressed, and know not what to do, for the Philistines make war against me; yet I should do well enough with them if I had but the tokens of God’s presence with me; but, alas! God has departed from me.” He complained not of God’s withdrawings till he fell into trouble, till the Philistines made war against him, and then he began to lament God’s departure. He that in his prosperity enquired not after God in his adversity thought it hard that God answered him not, nor took any notice of his enquiries, either by dreams or prophets, neither gave answers immediately himself nor sent them by any of his messengers. He does not, like a penitent, own the righteousness of God in this; but, like a man enraged, flies out against God as unkind and flies off from him: Therefore I have called thee; as if Samuel, a servant of God, would favour those whom God frowned upon, or as if a dead prophet could do him more service than the living ones. One would think, from this, that he really desired to meet with the devil, and expected no other (though under the covert of Samuel’s name), for he desires advice otherwise than from God, therefore from the devil, who is a rival with God. “God denies me, therefore I come to thee. Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.” —If I fail with heaven, I will move hell.
III. It is cold comfort which this evil spirit in Samuel’s mantle gives to Saul, and is manifestly intended to drive him to despair and self-murder. Had it been the true Samuel, when Saul desired to be told what he should do he would have told him to repent and make his peace with God, and recall David from his banishment, and would then have told him that he might hope in this way to find mercy with God; but, instead of that, he represents his case as helpless and hopeless, serving him as he did Judas, to whom he was first a tempter and then a tormentor, persuading him first to sell his master and then to hang himself. 1. He upbraids him with his present distress (v. 16), tells him, not only that God had departed from him, but that he had become his enemy, and therefore he must expect no comfortable answer from him: “Wherefore dost thou ask me? How can I be thy friend when God is thy enemy, or thy counsellor when he has left thee?” 2. He upbraids him with the anointing of David to the kingdom, v. 17. He could not have touched upon a string that sounded more unpleasant in the ear of Saul than this. Nothing is said to reconcile him to David, but all tends rather to exasperate him against David and widen the breach. Yet, to make him believe that he was Samuel, the apparition affirmed that it was God who spoke by him. The devil knows how to speak with an air of religion, and can teach false apostles to transform themselves into the apostles of Christ and imitate their language. Those who use spells and charms, and plead, in defence of them, that they find nothing in them but what is good, may remember what good words the devil here spoke, and yet with what a malicious design. 3. He upbraids him with his disobedience to the command of God in not destroying the Amalekites, v. 18. Satan had helped him to palliate and excuse that sin when Samuel was dealing with him to bring him to repentance, but now he aggravates it, to make him despair of God’s mercy. See what those get that hearken to Satan’s temptations. He himself will be their accuser, and insult over them. And see whom those resemble that allure others to that which is evil and reproach them for it when they have done. 4. He foretels his approaching ruin, v. 19. (1.) That his army should be routed by the Philistines. This is twice mentioned: The Lord shall deliver Israel into the hand of the Philistines. This he might foresee, by considering the superior strength and number of the Philistines, the weakness of the armies of Israel, Saul’s terror, and especially God’s departure from them. Yet, to personate a prophet, he very gravely ascribes it once and again to God: The Lord shall do it. (2.) That he and his sons should be slain in the battle: To-morrow, that is, in a little time (and, supposing that it was now after midnight, I see not but it may be taken strictly for the very next day after that which had now begun), thou and thy sons shall be with me, that is, in the state of the dead, separate from the body. Had this been the true Samuel, he could not have foretold the event unless God had revealed it to him; and, though it were an evil spirit, God might by him foretel it; as we read of an evil spirit that foresaw Ahab’s fall at Ramoth-Gilead and was instrumental in it (1 Kings xxii. 20, c.), as perhaps this evil spirit was, by the divine permission, in Saul’s destruction. That evil spirit flattered Ahab, this frightened Saul, and both that they might fall so miserable are those that are under the power of Satan; for, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest, Prov. xxix. 9.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
The Message from the Seance, vs. 15-25
There is a constant debate about the reality of the appearance of Samuel to Saul. There are arguments both pro and con on the question. It is to be noted that throughout the account, whatever the subject of the appearance was, it is called Samuel. On the evidence of the language and dialogue one would have to conclude that Samuel spoke to Saul. It is certain that Saul thought he was conversing with the prophet, recalled from the dead. It is also true that the prediction was accurate and true, entirely within the will of the Lord with reference to Saul and the end of his kingdom.
Samuel inquires why Saul has disquieted him, and Saul frankly responds. He is very distressed by the Philistine war, God has refused to communicate with him in any of the common means by which He made His will known, and Saul in desperation has sought to the occult, to contact Samuel. In his final act with reference to godly relationship Saul has miserably failed again. He had never sought the Lord aright, and in the end he commits perhaps the worst error of all his career, by calling on Satanic powers. But God intervened and Saul is given a message of truth.
Samuel inquired then of Saul why he would call on Samuel, the prophet and spokesman of the Lord, when the Lord had left him and was his avowed enemy. He then proceeded to foretell what was in store for Saul and Israel. He is told that, 1) the Lord has taken the kingdom from him and given it to his neighbor, David, because of Saul’s disobedience with reference to the destruction of Amalek; 2) Israel will lose the imminent battle with the Philistines, and on the next day haul and all his sons will join Samuel in death; 3) the whole army of Israel will fall into the hand of the Philistines and the country will be subjugated to them.
Hearing this terrible news Saul fainted and fell prostrate on the ground. This was due to his awful terror and to the fact that he had been so distraught he had eaten nothing for a day and a night. The woman came to Saul imploring him to heed her advice and allow her to prepare food for him that he might be strengthened to continue on his way. Saul refused, but at the importunity of the woman and the two servants he consented at last. She then slaughtered a calf and prepared unleavened bread, and they ate and went on their way.
Probably both the woman and the servants feared the king might die and they be held accountable for it. It is not clear what they thought of the revelations of the seance. It would seem that if Saul was slated to die, by the word of the Lord, on the next day, it mattered little whether or not he ate. If the woman had perpetrated a hoax, which some seem to think she did, she would not have believed the prophecy. Yet it is hard to believe she could have made the exact predictions of the Lord by demonic powers.
Lessons from chapter twenty-eight: 1) When consorting with the world one will be eventually called on to participate in its worldly programs; 2) it is a terrible thing when one goes so far from the Lord that he cannot get back to Him; 3) to seek revelation through the devil’s ministers is to fall deeper into his clutches; 4) the devil and his followers cannot frustrate the truth of God; 5) in the end the Lord will compel the wicked to acknowledge his faithfulness; 6) the judgment of the unrepentant disbeliever is inescapable at last.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
Samuels Appearance. 1Sa. 28:15-25
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 neighbor, 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 this day,
19 Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
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.
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.
16.
In what way was Samuel disquieted? 1Sa. 28:15
The actions of the woman imply most unquestionably that she saw an apparition which she did not anticipate. This leads us to believe that she was not really able to conjure up departed spirits or persons who had died, but that she might merely pretend to do so. Even if it is concluded that the woman had a certain demoniacal background, the appearance of Samuel differed essentially from everything that she had experienced and effected before, and therefore filled her with alarm and horror. The very fact, however, that she recognized Saul as soon as Samuel appeared, precludes us from declaring that all this was nothing more than jugglery and deception. Her recognition of Saul when Samuel appeared may be explained from their close association during Samuels lifetime and the womans knowledge of this, or from Gods granting her clairvoyant power even as He had granted the appearance of Samuel himself.
17.
Why did Samuel reveal David as the next king? 1Sa. 28:17
The purpose of God had already been formed and was about to be fulfilled. Samuel thus announced it definitely to Saul. Saul had taken very extreme measures. Although he explained that he was sore distressed, he did not have reason to ask God to disquiet Samuel. The Philistines were oppressing Israel. God had indeed departed from Saul. Saul was unable to get any revelation of the will of God from the prophets or by dreams. All of this was not reason enough to resort to illegal measures. Saul should have known that if the Lord was departed from him, he was helpless. This final and irrevocable revelation of Gods utter rejection of Saul was in keeping with the drastic steps which Saul had taken. If Saul had any doubt about the outcome of his own kingdom it was removed by this revelation from the prophet who had been returned from the dead.
18.
What was the basic reason for Sauls being rejected? 1Sa. 28:18
A two-fold reason is given for Sauls being rejected. Samuel said it was because he had not obeyed the voice of the Lord. This was probably a reference to his failing to wait for seven days as he was ordered by Samuel before the two were to sacrifice. Samuel also said that it was because he had not executed Gods fierce wrath on Amalek, On both these occasions Samuel had rebuked Saul while he was alive, Coming back from the dead he summarized the rejection of Saul as being on account of these two failures.
19.
How would Saul be with Samuel? 1Sa. 28:19
Samuel told Saul that he would die in the battle the next day. The two men would thus be together in the world of the departed spirits. Here is another indication of the deep conviction held by the Old Testament people with regard to life after death. Such expressions as ones being gathered to his people (Gen. 25:8), this statement of Samuels with regard to Saul, and Davids statement that his dead boy could not be brought back but that he would go to him (2Sa. 12:23) all verify the faith of the Israelite people in life after death.
20.
Why did Saul fast? 1Sa. 28:20
Saul was mentally perturbed and excited of body and soul. His deep mental anguish left him without appetite. Hannahs deep distress left her in a similar condition (1Sa. 1:7) as did the apostle Pauls repentant spirit (Act. 9:9). In addition, he may have fasted as an outward sign of his attempt to be holy, hoping in this way to win favor with God.
21.
Why was the woman concerned for Saul? 1Sa. 20:21
The witch had a sincere respect for her sovereign, and she did not want to see him expire because of lack of nourishment. She also knew that he would need every ounce of his strength as he made his way back to his camp and entered into the final battle with the Philistines. Her reasoning was good. She reminded Saul that she had listened to his request and cooperated with him in the practice of her necromancy, and she felt that it was only fair that Saul in turn listen to her appeal on his behalf. The womans request was not enough in itself: but as his servants continued to insist that he eat something, he finally arose from lying prone on the ground and did eat as he sat on the edge of the bed. This final ministration to Sauls physical needs on behalf of his loyal subject is a touching picture of life in Palestine in the eleventh century before Christ. She performed all the menial tasks necessary in the preparation of the meal and served it with loyal devotion. Thus strengthened, Saul and his servants returned to their camp and prepared for the final battle.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(15) And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?Erd-manu, in Lange, argues from this that the incantation of the witch of En-dor had brought about the result, viz., the calling up of the shade of Samuel, and that hence the appearance of the prophet was not due to the command of God. Keil, however, rightly concludes that these words by themselves do not decide the question as to what power called up the spirit. They simply assert that Samuel had been disturbed from his rest by Saul, and ask the reason why. In the Babylonian Talmud there is a remarkable comment on these words of the shade of the departed prophet. Rabbi Elazar said, when he read this Scripture text, Why hast thou disquieted me? If Samuel the righteous was afraid of the Judgment (to which he thought he was summoned when thus called up), how much more ought we to be afraid of the Judgment? And whence do we infer that Samuel was afraid? Because it is written, And the woman said unto Saul, I saw mighty ones [or perhaps judges]Elohimascending out of the earth: olim, ascending (a plural form), implies at least two, and one of them was Samuel; who, then, was the other? Samuel went and brought Moses with him, and said unto him, Peradventure I am summoned to Judgment-God forbid! O stand thou by me; lo! there is not a thing which is written in thy Law that I have not fulfilled.Treatise Chaggigah, fol. 4, b.
I am sore distressed.O, the wild wail of this dark misery! There is a deep pathos and a weird awesomeness in this despairing cry, but there is no confession of sin, no beseeching for mercynothing but the overmastering ambition to preserve himself.Dr. W. M. Taylor, of New York: David.
For the gallant warrior Saul thus to despair was indeed strange, but his gloomy foreboding before the fatal field of Gilboa, where he was to lose his crown and life, were sadly verified by the sequel. Shakespeare thus describes Richard III. heavy and spiritless, with an unknown dread, before the fatal Bosworth field:
I have not that alacrity of spirit
Nor cheer of mind that I was went to have.
King Richard III.
So Macbeth is full of a restless, shapeless terror at Dunsinane before the battle:
There is no flying hence, no tarrying here;
I gin to be aweary of the sun.Macbeth.
Neither by prophets, nor by dreams.Why does Saul omit to mention here the silence of the Urim, especially mentioned in 1Sa. 27:6, and which seems also in these days to have been the more usual way of enquiry after the will of the Eternal King; of Israel? The Talmud, treatise Berachoth, xii. 2, gives the probable answer. Saul knew the Urim was no longer in his kingdom. It had been worn by one whom he had foully murderedAhimelech, the high priest. Deep shame at the thought of the massacre of Ahimelech, and afterwards of the priests at Nob, stayed him from uttering the word Urim before Samuel.
Therefore I have called thee.The Hebrew word here is a very unusual form, which apparently was used to strengthen the original idea, I have had thee called ; in other words, Hence this pressing urgent call to thee from thy rest.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Samuel said to Saul Did, then, Samuel actually speak? We understand that as the witch did all the seeing for Saul, so also she did all the speaking to him. She was the medium both of sight and sound. The Septuagint version calls her a ventriloquist; and she may have caused her voice to sound from some dark corner, so that Saul and his attendants believed it to be the voice of Samuel. But it is not necessary to suppose this. Any one who sought unto the dead in this way, even though he saw and heard the necromancer utter the words with her own lips, if he believed that the communication came from the person sought, would naturally speak of it in this way. So when Saul’s servants afterwards reported this affair, they would naturally say, “Samuel said to Saul,” not “the woman said;” for though they may have known that the woman was the medium of the sound, they doubtless believed that the communication itself came from Samuel.
It should here be observed how perfectly noncommittal the sacred historian is in recording this mysterious transaction. He records the whole matter precisely as it was reported by the two eye-witnesses, and these witnesses reported it precisely as it appeared to them. They believed that Samuel had spoken to their king; but the sacred historian expresses no opinion in the case. He may have believed their report, as they did, but he does not say so. And it is noticeable that none of the sacred writers commit themselves to any explanation of the mysteries which they record. The magicians of Egypt are represented as working actual miracles in opposition to Moses; but no attempt is made to explain the nature of those miracles. So here the sacred writer records a mysterious event just as it was currently reported and believed, but attempts no explanation.
Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up This utterance is unworthy of a holy prophet sent on a mission of God from heaven. He charges Saul with forcing him up from the grave against his will. The common interpretation affirms that Samuel rose from the dead by special permission and express command of God; but how absurd, in the light of Christian truth, to imagine the sainted Samuel coming thus from the world of spirits, and angrily complaining to Saul that he had disturbed him! Can it be aught but a pleasure for any of the saints in light to obey Jehovah’s orders? Or, if the order involve a painful duty, would it not be rebellion for the servant to complain? The words are rationally explicable only when regarded as a device of the witch to awe and terrify the soul of the king. They strongly savour of witchcraft.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Answer Received by Saul
v. 15. And Samuel, v. 16. Then said Samuel, Wherefore, then, dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee and is become thine enemy? v. 17. And the Lord bath done to Him, v. 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, v. 19. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, v. 20. Then Saul, v. 21. And the woman came unto Saul, v. 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, v. 23. But he, v. 24. And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted and killed it, and took fiour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof, v. 25. and she brought it before Saul and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up and went away that night.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
1Sa 28:15. Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me Houbigant observes very justly, that Samuel complains not of the woman, but of Saul, for disquieting him; whence it appears clear, that Samuel was not raised up by her magic arts, but by the will of God. Samuel’s disquiet plainly arose from Saul’s hardened impenitence in the way of religion. It was this that grieved and provoked him; and so it should be translated: Why hast thou provoked me, to make me rise up?Why dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee? But is it probable, say some, that God, who had refused to answer Saul by all the accustomed methods, would, to satisfy him, raise up Samuel to apprize him of his destiny? We answer, I. That Saul had not consulted God by Urim, or by prophets; for the Urim was with David; and there was probably no prophet then alive, to whom God communicated himself either by vision, or by his prophet; and that in the methods which he had employed, he had conducted himself hypocritically, and without any right impression of religion. II. We answer, that Saul, in danger, and anxious about the event of it, applies to a Pythoness, to assist him by her incantations, and to call up the spirit of Samuel; but before she articulates one word of her spells or charms, the prophet interposes, frightens her, and pronounces Saul’s doom; and she herself witnesses the truth of his appearance. God is not so tied down to his own institutions, that he cannot at any time depart from them. That God should manifest himself by his prophets, to encourage or countenance what he himself had forbidden, is indeed very unlikely, or, to speak more justly, very absurd to suppose. But that he should interpose to reprove that practice, is perfectly compatible with all our ideas of his perfections.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 308
THE WITCH OF ENDOR
1Sa 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.
THAT such a thing as witchcraft has existed, we cannot doubt: but what were the incantations used, or what power Satan had to work with and by them, we know not. Certain it is, that in the days of our Lord, Satan appears to have had a greater influence over the bodies of men than he possesses at this time: and as that was permitted of God for the more abundant display of Christs power, so it is probable that an extraordinary influence over the minds of men may, through the divine permission, have been sometimes exerted by Satan, that the evil tendency of that influence might be the more clearly seen, and the excellence of the divine government be more justly appreciated. As for the various instances of witchcraft recorded in uninspired books, we can place no dependence whatever upon them; because there is often an undue degree of credulity even in great and good men, and a readiness to receive any report that is marvellous, without sufficiently examining the grounds on which it stands. But what is recorded in the Scriptures we may well believe; because it is revealed by One who cannot err. The account given us of the witch of Endor is one of the most remarkable in the Scriptures; though there are in it some difficulties, which have occasioned a diversity of opinions among the learned respecting it. That, however, we may place it before you in an easy and instructive point of view, we shall consider the history of Saul connected with it; and particularly,
I.
The state to which he was reduced
This he himself specifies in the words of our text
[Long and obstinately had he continued to sin against the convictions of his own conscience; till at last he had provoked God to depart from him. Whilst he was forsaken of his God, the Philistines made war against him, and invaded the land. Then he felt the need of an Almighty Protector, and sought to obtain direction and help from has offended God. But now God would not be found of him, or take any notice of his supplications. In various ways had God been wont to communicate his mind; but now he would return no answer, either by Urim, or by a prophet, or by a dream.]
Such, alas! is but too frequently the state of ungodly men
[Many there are who violate habitually the dictates of their own conscience, till they vex, and grieve the Holy Spirit, and utterly quench his sacred motions. No wonder if at such times trouble come upon them: for indeed the whole creation are ready to avenge the quarrel of Gods covenant, whensoever he shall withdraw from us his protecting hand: and whatever our trials be, or from whatever quarter they come, they will be incomparably heavier, from the consciousness that God himself is become our enemy. Under their trials the most hardened of men will begin to relent, and will pour out a prayer when Gods chastening is upon them When God slays them, then they will seek him, as the Psalmist says. But at such seasons they are often made to feel what an evil and bitter thing it is to forsake the Lord. They call upon God, but he will not hear them, because their hands are full of sin [Note: Isa 1:15.]: yea, he even laughs at their calamity, and mocks when their fear cometh [Note: Pro 1:26-28.]. He has repeatedly declared, that thus he would treat all who should set up idols in their hearts [Note: Eze 14:1-7; Eze 20:1-3 with Psa 66:18.]: and melancholy indeed is their state, who have no access to God in their troubles, nor any communications from him for their supports. Yet we can have but little acquaintance with the house of mourning, if we have not met with many such cases in the world.]
Such was the unhappy state of Saul. Let us next proceed to notice,
II.
The expedient to which he resorted
Now he wished for the counsel of that minister, whom when living he neglected and despised;and,
To obtain an interview with Samuel, he had recourse to a witch
[In former days Saul had exerted himself, agreeably to Gods command [Note: Lev 20:27.], to banish witchcraft from the land; and now could not prevail on this woman to use her enchantments, till he had profanely sworn that no punishment should be inflicted on her. At his earnest entreaty, she prevailed to bring up Samuel before him. Many learned men have thought that Samuel himself did not appear, but that Satan assumed his shape and garb. But there is no intimation in the history that this was the case; on the contrary, every expression has directly the opposite aspect: and it seems that even the witch herself was beyond measure astonished at the unexpected success of her incantation. It is urged on the other hand, that a witch could never prevail to bring Samuel from the grave, or his soul from the mansions of the blessed. True; but God might see fit to send Samuel on this occasion, to confirm all the threatenings which he had denounced when living: nor is there any weight in the objection, that he speaks of being disquieted, and brought up, because this was only popular language suited to the prevailing notions of the day: and when he speaks of Saul and his sons being with him on the morrow, he can only mean, that they should be removed into the invisible world by death It seems clear, that, as God afterwards sent a living prophet to reprove Amaziahs application to the heathen idol, so now he sent a departed prophet to reprove in Saul a similar offence [Note: Compare 2Ki 1:1-6 where the cases, and the issue of them, are much alike.].
But what availed this interview with Samuel? Samuel himself put the question to Saul, Wherefore dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? Vain indeed was that hope which sought in a broken cistern what the fountain alone could supply.]
And equally vain are those refuges to which sinners flee, when they are forsaken by their God
[Men in a time of trouble will catch at any thing for comfort. Some will endeavour to drown reflection in the cares or pleasures of the world; whilst others take refuge in infidelity: but not even Sauls expedient was more vain than these: for what is there either in business or pleasure to satisfy a guilty conscience? or what can infidelity adduce to disprove the truths which it would set aside? In uttering error against the Lord, we only make empty the soul of the hungry, and cause the drink of the thirsty to fail [Note: Isa 32:6.] Such are the expedients, whatever they may be, whereby we labour to supply the place of an offended God ]
From the close of the history we learn,
III.
The misery he brought upon his own soul
Great indeed were his disappointment and distress
[Behold the melancholy train; dejection, desperation, suicide! He fainted and fell as soon as ever he heard the fate that awaited him: and was with great difficulty persuaded to take such refreshment as was necessary for his support. But no humiliation of soul did he manifest; nor, as far as we see, did he present to God one single petition. He sank down in sullen desperation, determining to meet his fate, but using no effort to obtain mercy at the hands of God. The battle terminated according to the word of Samuel; and Saul himself, to prevent the mortification of falling alive into the hands of his enemies, fell upon his own sword, and put a period to his own existence [Note: 1Sa 31:4.].]
But such are generally the effects of seeking in the creature what can be found in God alone
[Many are oppressed with great dejection of mind: but if they would search out the causes of their trouble, they would find it generally to spring from lusts unmortified, and iniquities unrepented of. And how often does dejection lead to despair! Strange as it may seem, it is easier to abandon oneself to an hopeless despondency, than to renounce beloved sins, and persevere in an earnest inquiry after God. Yes; the heart, instead of relenting, is more generally hardened through the deceitfulness of sin; and when we begin to say, There is no hope, then we add, I have loved idols, and after them will I go. The close of all is, in too many cases, suicide: men finding no relief in God, fly to death itself as the only remedy for the troubles of life. Ah! unhappy men, who venture thus to rush into the presence of that God, who has hid his face from them!]
Let us learn then to beware,
1.
Of impenitence in sin
[Many who, like Saul, have been hopeful in their beginnings, fall from one sin to another, till they set both God and conscience at defiance. But however sweet sin may be in the mouth, it will prove as gall in the stomach. It will destroy all peace of mind, all hope in God, all prospect in eternity. O let it not be harboured in our hearts! Whatever our besetting sin be, let us never rest till we have repented of it, and washed it away in the Redeemers blood, and obtained the victory over it through the power and grace of God. If not purged out, it will defile and destroy our whole souls.]
2.
Of seeking help in the creature
[God is the only refuge of sinful man: wherever we may look, there is no help for us in any other. Not only are men and devils unable to assist us; even all the angels in heaven would be incapable of affording us any effectual help. Whatever creature we rest upon, it will prove only as a broken reed, which will pierce the hand that rests upon it. We must learn in every difficulty to say with Jehoshaphat, Lord, I have no power against this great company that cometh against me, neither know I what to do; but mine eyes are upon Thee [Note: 2Ch 20:12.].]
3.
Of giving way to despondency
[To despair, is to seal our own condemnation. We must never conclude, that, because God has forsaken us, he will be no more entreated. Had Saul himself truly and unfeignedly implored mercy at his hands, God would not have utterly cast him off. God never did, nor ever will, say to any, Seek ye my face in vain [Note: Jdg 10:10-16.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
1Sa 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.
Ver. 15. Why hast thou disguieted me? ] This the true Samuel would never have said; sed ut specie Samuelem ita verbis mentiebatur diabolus, but as the devil had personated Samuel in his form, so now he doth in his words.
And God is departed from me.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1 Samuel
SAUL
1Sa 28:15
Among all the persons of Scripture who are represented as having fallen away from God and wrecked their lives, perhaps there is none so impressive as the giant form of the first king of Israel. Huge and black, seamed and scarred with lightning marks of passions, moody and suspicious, devil-ridden and lonely, doubting his truest friends, and even his son, striking blindly in his fury at the gracious, sunny poet-warrior who shows so bright, so full of resource, so nimble, so generous, by contrast with the heavy strength of the moody giant, and ever escapes the javelin that quivers harmlessly in the wall, with an inevitable destiny hanging over his head, and at last creeping to ‘wizards that peep and mutter,’ and dying a suicide, with his army in full flight and his son dead at his feet-what a course and what an end for the chosen of the Lord, on whom the Spirit of the Lord came with the anointing oil, and gave him a new heart for his kingly office.
I know not anywhere a sadder story: and I know not where human lips ever poured out a more awful wail-like a Titan in his rage of pain- than these words of our text. Bright hopes and fair promise, and much that was good and true in performance-all came to this. A few hours more and the ‘battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was greatly distressed by reason of the archers.’ Madness, despair, defeat, death, all were the sequel of, ‘Because thou hast rejected the commandment of the Lord, the Lord hath also rejected thee from being king.’ A true soul’s tragedy! Let us look together at its course, and gather the lessons that lie on the surface. We have neither space nor wish here to enter upon the many points of minute interest and curiosity which are in the story. We have to be contented with large outlines.
Look then
I. At the bright dawn.
How many a man finds that sudden elevation ruins him! But often it evokes what is good, brings an entire change of disposition, as with ‘Harry of Mon-mouth.’ But it was not only his new responsibility which brought into action powers that had previously been dormant. New circumstances, no doubt, did something, but Saul’s ‘new’ heart was God’s gift.
The story of the beginning of his reign reveals a very noble and lovable character. We can but mention his modesty in hiding among the stuff, his disregard of the murmurs of those who would not do homage ‘made as though he had been deaf’, his return, as it would seem, to his home-life and farm-work, his chivalrous boldness and warlike energy, which sprung at once to activity on the call of a great exigency in Jabesh-Gilead, his humane and sweet repression of the people’s desire, in their first flush of pride in their soldier king, to slay his enemies, and his devout acknowledgment that not he but God has wrought this salvation.
So for the first year of his reign all went well.
How much of divine influence a man may have and yet fling it all away! How unreliable a thing mere natural goodness is! How much apparent goodness may coexist with deep-seated evil! How bright a beginning may darken into a tempestuous day! How seeds of evil may lurk in the fairest character! How little one can be judged by part of his life! How it is not the possession, but the retention, of goodness and devout impressions that makes a man good.
II. The gathering clouds.
Putting all these acts together, we have the sad picture of a character steadily deteriorating. He is growing daily more self-willed and impatient of the restraint of God’s commanding will. He is chafing at his position as a viceroy, not an absolute sovereign. He is becoming tyrannical, careless of his subjects’ lives, intolerant of opposition, remonstrance, or advice. The tragedy of his decadence is summed up in Samuel’s stern word: ‘Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king.’
Trivial acts may show great and deep-seated evil. A small swelling under the arm-pit is the sign of the plague and the precursor of swift death.
The master-sin is disobedience, self-willed departure from God. That disobedience may be as virulently active in a trifle as in a deed that men call great. Self-will is the tap root of all sin, however labyrinthine the outgrowth from it.
Disobedience honeycombs a soul. The attractive early traits in Saul’s character slowly perhaps but steadily, disappeared. The fair morning sky was heavy with thunder-clouds by midday, and they all began with a light fleecy film that none noticed at first.
III. The long eclipse.
Modern psychologists would call Saul’s case an instance of insanity brought about by indulgence in passion and self-will. Is there any reason why the deeper, more religious explanation should not be united with the scientific one? Does not God work in the working of ‘natural’ phenomena?
What we nowadays call insanity is not very far off from a man who habitually indulges in passionate self will, and spurns God from any authority over his life. What were Saul’s characteristics now? The story tells of bursts of ungovernable fury, of unslumbering and universal suspicions, of utter misery, seeing enemies everywhere and complaining, ‘None of you hath pity upon me,’ of ferocious cruelty and gloomy despair, of paroxysms of agonising but transient remorse.
It is an awful picture, and it grimly teaches lessons that we shall be wise to write deeply on our hearts.
What a ruin a man makes of himself!
How hideous a godless soul is!
What unhappiness is certain if we dismiss God from ruling our lives!
How useless remorse is unless it leads to repentance!
IV. The stormy sunset.
It matters very little-nothing at all in fact-either for the dramatic force or for the religious impressiveness of the scene, whether the woman ‘brought up’ Samuel, or whether she was as much awed as Saul was, by the coming up of ‘an old man’ covered with the well-known ‘mantle.’ The boding prophecy of to-morrow’s defeat and death filled yet fuller the cup that had seemed to be already full of all misery. And that collapse of strength in the huddled figure, prostrate in the witch’s den, may well stand for a prophecy of what will be the upshot at the last of a self-will that boasts of its own power, and tries to shake off dependence on God.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
Samuel said: i.e. the spirit personating Samuel said. Just as it is done in the present day by the medium: never directly.
disquieted. If Samuel, then it shows he was “quiet” before.
me. Not my spirit.
God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.
no more. Therefore certainly not by means which He had expressly forbidden. See Lev 19:31; Lev 20:6, Lev 20:27. Deu 18:10, Deu 18:13, &c.
by prophets. Saul omits the reference to “Urim” because it would remind him of the murder of the priests (1Sa 22:18, 1Sa 22:19). See note on 1Sa 28:6.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Listening to His Own Doom
1Sa 28:15-25
That there should be an apparition of Samuel occasions no difficulty, for as Moses and Elijah were permitted to speak with our Lord of the decease to be accomplished at Jerusalem, so God may have specially permitted the prophet to speak with Saul. We may believe that these sentences passed between them, without any aid on the part of the medium. From the lips of the prophet came no words of comfort nor hope. Nothing could avert the descending avalanche of destruction. As Saul had sown, so must he reap; as he had fallen, so must he lie.
While the king sat on that divan, what memories must have passed through his mind! The first happy days of his reign, Jabesh-gilead, the loyalty of his people. Then he saw how, step by step, that cursed jealousy of David had dragged him down into the turbid current that was now bearing him to a suicides end. It is one of the most pitiful spectacles in history. But let us be warned; let us watch and pray; let us guard against the first tiny rift within the lute of life!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Why hast: 1Sa 28:8, 1Sa 28:11
I am sore: Pro 5:11-13, Pro 14:14, Jer 2:17, Jer 2:18
the Philistines: 1Sa 28:4
God: 1Sa 16:13, 1Sa 16:14, 1Sa 18:12, Jdg 16:20, Psa 51:11, Hos 9:12, Mat 25:41
answereth: 1Sa 28:6, 1Sa 23:2, 1Sa 23:4, 1Sa 23:9, 1Sa 23:10
prophets: Heb. the hand of prophets
therefore: Luk 16:23-26
Reciprocal: Jdg 10:9 – distressed 1Sa 30:8 – he answered him 1Sa 31:1 – the Philistines Psa 27:3 – war Jer 21:2 – Inquire Amo 8:11 – but Mic 3:7 – no 2Co 4:8 – yet
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
IN THE WITCHS CAVE
God is departed from me.
1Sa 28:15
I. There were three courses open to Saul: he might sit down in quiet hopelessness, and let the evil come; or he might in faith and penitent submission commit the whole matter to God, even amid the awful silence; or he might betake himself to hell for counsel, since heaven was deaf. He chooses the last! God has cast me off; I will betake myself to Satan. Heavens door is shut; I will see if hells be open. Aindur, as the home of Sauls far-famed witch is now called, is a wretched-looking place, and yet the position at the north-east corner of Little Hermon, facing Tabor, and overlooking the valley between them, is really beautiful. The declivity of the mountain is everywhere perforated with caves, and most of the habitations are merely walls built around the entrance to these caverns. The witch doubtless occupied one of these caves.
II. As the journey was very dangerous, Saul disguised himself, and went by night, accompanied only by two men; and nothing could more plainly set before us his mental anguish, and also his intense desire to pry into the secrets of futurity, than this strange journey. All faith and hope was gone, and a feverish excitement, ready to catch at any aid, however lawless and untrustworthy, had taken their place.
Two hundred years before the battle in which Saul was slain, another leader of Israel had stood upon that same battle-range of Gilboa. A like innumerable hostile array was encamped below, or upon the opposite slope of Little Hermon. But Gideon, to meet the enemy, had only three hundred men; Saul had all Israel. Yet Gideon made ready for the onset, hopeful and stout-hearted, while Saul greatly trembled, because Gideons sword was also the sword of the Lord, while from Saul the Spirit of God had long since departed. Within twenty-four hours preceding either battle, both these chieftains had taken brief excursions from their camps. Both were attended by only one or two retainers. Both stole away by night clandestinely. Both went where it was peril to go: Gideon within the enemys lines, Saul into a witchs den. Yet Gideon returned exultant, while Saul fell all along on the earth, sore afraid, because Gideon went where God had sent him; Saul, against Gods express statute.
III. With unendurable remorse within, and a vague premonition of doom blackening the very night which overhung his secret, silent steps, Saul sought from the woman at Endor that knowledge of the future which he could no longer receive from a rejected God.And, strangely enough, too, it is Samuel, Gods prophet, that he would see and heara fact which shows where his inmost belief has rested all through his evil careera fact which includes confession with conviction of guilt, but the confession of remorse, like that of Judas, leading only to self-murder. All human history has failed to record a despair deeper or more tragic than his, who having forsaken God and being of God forsaken, is now seeking to move hell, since Heaven is inexorable to him; and, infinitely guilty as he is, assuredly there is something unutterably pathetic in that yearning of the disanointed king, now in his utter desolation, to change words once more with the friend and counsellor of his youth, and if he must hear his doom, to hear it from no other lips but his.
IV. We hear the wail of a perturbed spiritI am sore distressed: but no confession of sin, no accent of repentance.Saul never fairly faces the question of his own misconduct, always palliates his sin, always evades self-judgment and self-reproach. What shall I do? The silence of God and the words of Samuel show that practically this was a question for which no answer was possible. The day for doing was in the past, when Samuel delivered instructions in the name of God. Years of persistent impenitence for disobedience, and of self-willed warring against the purposes of God, had brought the unhappy man to a time and position in which no action on his part could reverse the judgment impending. Too late! So is it in human life still. Men may persist in evil ways till ruin is inevitable, and no course is open for retrieval. The time for doing was now past. In quick succession it comes, like thunderbolt on thunderbolt: Jehovah thine enemy; Jehovah hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to David; thy sins have overtaken thee! All this Saul knew long ago, although he had never realised it as now. And then as to his fate: to-morrowdefeat, death, slaughter, to Saul, to his sons, to Israel!
Illustrations
(1) The most terrible fact of all is the total absence of all penitence on the part of Saul. He was clear of offences which make some pages in Davids history nothing better than one huge blot. But oh! how much better it would have been to have sinned like David, if only he had repented like David; if a temper resembling at all the temper which dictated the fifty-first Psalm had found place in him. But all this was far from him. Darkness is closing round him; anguish has taken hold of him; but the broken and the contrite heart, there is no remotest sign or token of this; no reaching out after the blood of sprinkling. We listen, but no voice reaches us like his who exclaimed, Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow; but dark and defiant and unbelieving, he who had inspired such high hopes, he who for a while seemed about to justify them all, goes forward to meet his doom.
(2) The spirits of the departed live in the region that God hath given themout of the body we know; but whether by knowledge and sympathy in any close connection with the living, we cannot tell. But across the gulf that divides us and them, one utterance of theirs falls upon our listening earTo-morrow,they say to usa few more daysa few more years it may be to usto-morrow to them,thou, too, shalt be with us. Let us drink the message in; and as we know that the passage into the world of spirits is so near, and shall bring with it such solemn issues, so let this short day of life be spent by each of us humbly, watchfully, prayerfully, dutifully, that when that morrow cometh, instead of lost spirits rising to mock our advent with the scornful question, Art thou also become one of us? happy spirits with outstretched arms may welcome us to the sunbright shores of an unshadowed eternity.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
1Sa 28:15. Why hast thou disquieted me? Houbigant observes very justly, that Samuel complains not of the woman, but of Saul, for disquieting him; from whence it follows that Samuel was not raised up by her magic arts, but by the will of God. Samuels disquiet plainly arose from Sauls hardened impenitence. It was this that grieved and provoked him; and so it should be translated; Why hast thou provoked me, to make me rise up? Why dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee? But is it probable, say some, that God, who had refused to answer Saul by all the accustomed methods, would, as it were, submit himself to the superstition of this prince, and, to satisfy him, raise up Samuel to apprize him of his destiny? We answer, 1st, That Saul had not consulted God either by Urim or by prophets; for the Urim was with David; and there was probably no prophet then alive to whom God communicated himself either by vision or in any other way; and that in the methods he had employed he had conducted himself hypocritically and without any right impression of religion. 2d, We answer, that Saul, in danger, and anxious about the event of it, applies to a pythoness to assist him by her incantations, and to call up the spirit of Samuel; but before she begins one word of her spells or charms the prophet interposes, frightens her, and pronounces Sauls doom; and she herself witnesses the truth of his appearance. If the thing is singular, if the event is extraordinary, it does not follow that it is false, much less that it is impossible. God is not so tied down to his own institutions that he cannot at any time depart from them. That God should manifest himself by his prophets, to encourage or countenance what he himself had forbidden, is indeed very unlikely, or, to speak more justly, very absurd to suppose. But that he should interpose to reprove that practice, which was the case at present, is doubtless no way incredible or improbable. Delaney and Dodd.
Saul answered and said, I am sore distressed, &c. Finding that God would give no answer to him, and being almost in despair, he seems to have foolishly flattered himself that he might be able to obtain some answer to his petitions by means of that holy prophet, whom he knew to have had a sincere regard for him in his life-time. But the prophet, in his answer in the next verse, gives him to know how incapable he was of doing him any service, seeing that the Lord was departed from him and become his enemy. From hence we may see the vanity and absurdity of invoking saints, &c., as their intercession can no way avail us, when by our wickedness we have made God our enemy. One would think this reply of Samuel would be sufficient to convince any Christian of the folly of any such application. Therefore I have called thee, &c. Happy had it been for him if he had called Samuel sooner, or, rather, the God of Samuel. It was now too late; destruction was at hand, and God had determined it should not be stayed.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Saul’s conversation with Samuel 28:15-19
Samuel’s soul had been at peace in the place of departed spirits, but now Saul had disturbed that rest. Saul described his reason for doing so. He wanted to obtain divine guidance concerning the Philistines from Samuel, since he could not get it from the Lord through other means. Samuel replied that Saul was wrong in thinking that Samuel would tell him what strategy to use since the Lord would not. The prophet was, after all, simply the mouthpiece of God. The Lord had become Saul’s real adversary, more so than the Philistines, since the king had refused to obey Yahweh. Samuel repeated God’s judgment on Saul: ". . . the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David" (1Sa 28:17; cf. 1Sa 15:27-28).
Samuel also explained that the Lord had ceased speaking to Saul because Saul had stopped listening to God. Specifically, he had failed to obey the Lord by slaying Amalek (ch. 15). Samuel’s final revelation was that Yahweh would hand His people over to the Philistines tomorrow, and Saul and his sons would die in the battle. They would soon be with Samuel in Sheol, the place of departed spirits. Yahweh was still the true king of Israel and would control the destiny of His people, even His king, though Saul always wanted to be the ultimate authority in Israel and to control his own destiny.
The reason God told the Israelites not to consult the spirit world was that He promised to reveal what was best for them to know about the future through prophets (Deu 18:9-22). There are some things concerning the future about which we are better off ignorant. Samuel had knowledge of Saul’s future, but he was a prophet. Nothing in Scripture indicates that demons know any more about the future than what God has revealed to people. In this case Saul would probably have been better off not knowing he would die the next day. Yet knowing this, he still went into battle evidently convinced that he could alter the will of God, as he had tried to do so many other times in his life. He still had not learned that Yahweh was his sovereign master.