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Mighty to Save: Sharing the Truth in the Strength of the Lord
I Peter 3:15 - ”but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”
Saul Consults a Medium
We have come to one of the strangest chapters in the whole Bible in which King Saul goes to medium (witch/necromancer) to make contact with Samuel, who was dead.
The theme of I Samuel is that Israel needs a leader. Saul was chosen as the first king and had been rejected by the LORD because of his disobedience. David was chosen and anointed to replace Saul.
The ending section of I Samuel records the final decline and death of Saul, along with the rise of David who will be elevated to the throne in II Samuel. In chapters 27-31, the author goes back and forth between Saul, who is desperate, forsaken, and defeated; and David who turns to the LORD and receives deliverance (in spite of his own failures). These chapters are not in strict chronological order. The action in chapter 28 takes place after the events of chapter 29 and simultaneously with chapter 30. We know this because in 28:4 the Philistines have moved north beyond Aphek (where they were when they sent David away 29:1) to Shunem which is near where the battle in chapter 31 takes place.
In chapter 28, Saul finds himself surrounded by the Philistines. He doesn’t want to go into battle without divine guidance, but the LORD will not answer him. The silence of the LORD is judgment for Saul’s disobedience. Saul then turns to a medium (witch) at Endor (a name used in the Star Wars movies) through whom he seeks to speak with (dead) Samuel. To our surprise (and that of the medium) Samuel appears only to rebuke Saul and to pronounce judgment upon him. Israel will be defeated in battle and Saul and his sons will die – tomorrow.
Because this ‘séance’ scene is unique in the Bible, many are very interested in knowing more about how this medium made contact with dead Samuel. That however, is not the point of the text. God’s people are forbidden to delve into the occultic supernatural (Deut. 18:9ff). The fact that God permitted it this one time is not mean to encourage others to imitate or delve into such things. Furthermore, even though Saul succeeds in making contact with Samuel, he didn’t gain from the experience. The knowledge of impending judgment only heightens his misery and fear.
Consider the following questions as we examine this text:
- Where do we see Christ? He, like Saul, was forsaken by God because of sin (but not His own), so that we would never experience what Saul experienced.
- How can we overcome our own tendencies to be like Saul? Where do we turn in distress? When push comes to shove do we do the right thing or do we do the expedient thing?
- Are there some among us who have been hardening themselves as Saul did? Would that they would seek the LORD while He may be found!
The Living Word
In this sermon Dr. Hywel Jones of Westminster Seminary California examines Psalm 119:97-104.
Recent Sermons
Consecrated to God
This week I am diverting from our studies in 2 Samuel and will be expounding Romans 12:1-2.
I plan, on certain Sundays over the next few months, to preach through Romans 12 with a special emphasis on our love and devotion for one another in the body of Christ.
Because our love for one another springs from our devotion to the Lord, Paul starts Romans 12 by exhorting us to be living sacrifices who are not to be conformed to the world.
Of course the foundation of our devotion to the Lord is the sovereign mercy which He has shown us in Christ — which was the subject of the first 11 chapters of Romans and forms the basis of Paul’s exhortation in Romans 12:1.
Portrait of a Godless Culture: An Appeal to Repent of Sinful Boasting
We will be doing a fairly rapid overview of the first nine chapters and then drawing some application from near the end of chapter nine, where Jeremiah writes, “Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.” (9:23-24).
Jeremiah’s theme leading to these texts is that of judgment: A judgment precipitated by the sinful lifestyle and arrogant living of the kingdom of Judah. The modern day parallels to our own day are truly amazing: Truly there is “nothing new under the sun.”