David Bahn – Reflections

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These devotions are part of the Follow the Word Bible reading program at St. John Lutheran Church in Cypress, Texas. This year we are reading through the Scriptures together, listening for how God speaks through his Word day by day. I hope you will join me on this journey.

Today’s readings are 1 Samuel 26-28, Psalm 114.

1 Samuel 28:8-19

Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” ⁹ The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” ¹⁶ And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? ¹⁷ The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. ¹⁸ Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

More than one question is brought to mind by today’s reading – especially around this encounter with the Witch of Endor. Why had Saul put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land, and yet, now consulting one of them? What would have been better for him to do in light of the fact that the LORD had been silent to him since Samuel had died? And what’s with Samuel’s appearing, scolding, and message? Was that a hallucination, an evil spirit speaking as though it was Samuel, or some contrivance by the Witch of Endor?

I have no questions about the advisability by Saul of seeking the input of the Witch of Endor: It was a bad idea. I have no questions about whether it was a good idea to have banished the necromancers and mediums: it was a good idea. I have no question about how far Saul had wandered from the LORD’s ways. I do wonder a bit about the implications of Samuel speaking from the dead. What does that say about life after death?

So let’s consider that just a bit. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Yet the souls of the martyrs under the altar in Revelation cry out, “How long, O Lord…?” Scripture also says, “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” And yet Lazarus had been in the tomb four days when Jesus called him to come out.

What are we to make of all this?

The Scriptures speak with a kind of clarity and restraint at the same time. When a believer dies, he is with the Lord. That much is sure. And yet that is not the end of the story. The body is laid in the grave, awaiting the resurrection of the dead on the Great Last Day. The life to come is not a disembodied existence, but the full restoration of the person – body and soul – raised by the power of God.

Which means that whatever we see in Saul’s encounter with Samuel, we are not being invited to explore or explain the mechanics of death and the dead. We are being shown how far Saul has drifted from trusting the LORD’s word, and how desperate he has become to hear any voice at all.

And in contrast to Saul, we are given something far better than a forbidden voice from the dead. We are given the living voice of Christ, who has entered death, overcome it, and who will raise us up on the Last Day. His word to us is, “Believe in God. Believe also in me. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” And so – by the power of the Spirit – we believe in him and come to him, drawn by his Good News of forgiveness, grace, and salvation to eternal life.

Click on the graphic below to watch the Bible Project video summary of the book of 1 Samuel.