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The Medium of Endor - 1 Samuel 28
The Medium of Endor - 1 Samuel 28
God had put all such ‘mediums’ under penalty of death: “As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people” (Leviticus 20:6). [further scriptures concerning such are below].
Upon seeing the size of the Philistine army, Saul “was afraid; terror filled his heart” (v. 5). It was common for the leader of Israel to consult the LORD before battles. The problem for Saul is that the spiritual leader, Samuel, has died and thus is unavailable. Saul inquired of the Lord through other means, but the LORD did not answer him. None of the normal channels of consulting the LORD were working for Saul. So, even though he KNEW it was wrong and a capital offence against God, he seeks the service of the ‘witch (medium) of Endor’.
Could she really commune with the dead? Had she ever done this before? There is no real indication of such success in these endeavors. Further, when Samuel DOES appear, she is utterly shocked and afraid. I take it that she was, like all other such mediums, a charlatan and a fraud.
Samuel rebukes Saul for ‘disturbing him’ (I think that indicates that for Samuel, hades was peaceful, like for Abraham and Lazarus in Luke 16). He reminds Saul that God had already rejected him as king because of his disobedience. Saul’s present sin would swiftly come: both he and Jonathan would die.
There are lots of things about this passage that not only are strange, but they are difficult to wrap our heads around. Yet, God has provided the way of revealing Himself to people, and mediums and such are NOT it! In the NT, we know that God has revealed his will to us through the writings of the apostles and prophets, let us be content with what He has revealed. Recall John’s warning: “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son”( 2 John 1:9). Remember also Paul’s statement: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Hugh DeLong
Further references to mediums and channeling the dead include: Exod 22:18; Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deut 18:10–11.
