Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And Saul said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
— First Samuel 28:11
Saul swore to the witch by the Lord that no harm would come to her if she did what he asked. In the name of the Lord, he, the king of God’s people, made a pact with a witch who worked with God’s enemy! So the woman did what he asked and summoned up Samuel. When Samuel actually appeared, she was shocked, for at that moment she realized that the person asking her to do this could be none other than Saul himself.
When Saul asked what she saw, she replied that she saw a spirit coming up out of the earth. It must have been something to cause wonder. She described its appearance as an old man wrapped in a mantle. Saul perceived that it must be Samuel and bowed himself to the ground.
Samuel, however, rebuked Saul, saying, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” (v. 15). Saul replied that he was distressed because of the Philistines, and needed Samuel’s help. Saul was in a hopeless and helpless state—he had an enemy, but he had no God, and no one who could communicate with God for him. Therefore, he felt compelled to seek out a ghost!
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 39.
Tomorrow: “When Religion is Exposed” (3)