Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And Saul said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
— First Samuel 28:11
The Philistines had come against Israel, and Saul brought his army up against them (1 Sam. 28:1, 4). Saul’s heart “trembled greatly” when he faced their army. Samuel, the person he depended upon to contact God, had passed away (v. 3). So what did Saul do? He sought the help of a witch to bring Samuel back from the dead!
Saul simply did not know God, even though it was God who had made him king. He knew enough to order that all such spiritualists should be done away with in Israel, but when he found himself in this situation, he himself used one of them!
Apparently he was surrounded by people who were familiar with such evil things, for one of his servants knew of a woman in En Dor who was a medium or witch. Saul disguised himself and journeyed in the night with two others to consult this medium.
How low Saul had fallen! When he met her, she was not easily
persuaded to do what he wanted her to do, because he himself had commanded that all those who practiced such things should be put to death. How did she know that they were not spies of Saul?
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 38.
Tomorrow: “When Religion is Exposed” (2)