Witch

Saul's kingship has been marked by foolishness, rebellion against the will of God. And it's no surprise that it's going to end that way as well.

1 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Understand that you and your men are to go out with me in the army.” 2 David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.” And Achish said to David, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

I could have included that in last week's sermon, and sometimes the chapter breaks don't line up with the story. But this is really a transitional couple of verses here. It's transitioning from the story of David fleeing to the Philistines and away from God and that tragic mistake that David made. Now we're transitioning to the tragic mistake that Saul is going to make. And the key connection here is the Philistines.

David has fled to the Philistines. He's been in Gath he's been serving Achish. But now the five kings of the Philistines, the five major cities, have come together, they've declared war, they're gathering their army, and they're going to come and invade and go up against Israel. And so that's the setting for this chapter.

3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.

And so that's a really strange way to introduce this story, right? So we got the Philistines coming in, and David's being drafted into that because of where he's been. And so Saul and Israel are in trouble. And the way the author of Samuel sets this up for us is to remind us that Samuel is dead and has been buried in Ramah, and that Saul, one of the good things he did in his kingship was follow the law and expel all the mediums and necromancers out of the land.

That might seem like an odd detail to you in the opening of this story. I want to assure you it's not an odd detail in this story. It's actually central to this story because it's central to the story.

We get so caught up in ourselves, the story of man, the story of this world, the story of this earth. The story of Scripture is the story of man and the story of this earth, but it's so much more.

The story starts with God creating the heavens and the earth. Now, I've spent a lot of time over the last few years trying to unpack and understand what this is describing is that there's more to creation than simply that which we can taste and touch and see and smell.

That there is a very real material world that we all inhabit, and we are material beings. We are made from the dust of the earth. But we are so much more than that. We're also made with the very breath of God.

There is a spiritual realm. There is a material realm. And God as creator creates both realms and God fills both realms with inhabitants for that realm.

So when the earth is created, it's filled with birds for the sky and fish for the sea and livestock for the land and man, God's imagers. And in the heavens, God puts his imagers there as well.

We often reduce this to just saying, well, there's angels and God, but the Bible gives us glimpses into this unseen realm, and it's much more creative and diverse and glorious and expansive than I think what we often give it credit for.

The story of the Bible is that those two realms, the heavens and the earth, were meant to be brought together. That God wanted to have his spiritual imagers and God wanted to have his earthly imagers with him as one kingdom, one family, one rule.

Unfortunately, the story of the Bible is that that gets broken right at the beginning. And so the heavens and the earth are separated by God.

Now, part of the story is that God doesn't want those realms transgressed for the moment. Remember the story when Adam and Eve are removed out of the garden? What does God do? He puts a ninja angel. Flaming sword. You're not coming back. You're not coming back right now until the one who makes the way comes.

So when we walk through the storyline of the scripture, we see this separation between the heavens and the earth. And that puts us in a weird place because we're both heavenly and earthly. And we're made for both, but now we're stuck just here. And so there's this tension that's created.

And because of that tension, there's this ongoing temptation for humans, for us, to try to reach across the veil in ways that God has not allowed. That does go the other way. This is what happens in Genesis 6, “when the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, they took them.” That's a realm transgression from the heavenly side to the earthly side. We tend to go the other way.

And honestly, it struck me this week. I've thought about Genesis 3 a lot. I never quite thought about it this way. The temptation of the nachash, the serpent, this heavenly throne guardian divine being, tempts Eve with spiritual information that God has not yet allowed her to have.

This is the heart of the fall. This is at some level the core of the problem. God has given us what God deems to be good and wise for us, and the temptation is to think that God is holding back and that there's something more and something better that we can get through other means than the means that God has laid out for us.

That's Genesis 3. That's the story over and over and over and over again. That's the story of Saul here in 1 Samuel 28.

So it's no surprise that in the law given to Moses to give to Israel that God gave very clear and explicit instructions about not transgressing the realms, not seeking information, contact, power, outside of the earthly realm, in the spiritual realm, outside of the means that God has ordained.

31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.

It uses the covenant name. I am the God that has come into covenant with you. I am your God. You are my people. So you don't go seeking and talking to other gods. You don't need to go looking in the spiritual realm other than to me. Does that make sense?

Clearly God has said this, and I know this language makes us go, mediums and necromancers, like a weird D&D game or something. But our culture, our world is full of modern day necromancers. There are TV shows, literally.

This is not something that's like, oh, the Bible is so antiquated. No, this is like real-time reality because this is at the heart of the human condition. We're faced with all sorts of things that we don't understand and that we don't know.

And I'm giving the end away at the beginning here, but God wants us to walk by faith, and we want to walk by sight. And so when God doesn't give us what we think we need, our temptation to go around God, to go and find other information, it's everywhere. It's in the church. It's everywhere.

It's not just the New Age people out there. It infiltrates subtly because it speaks to a deep frustration and need within the human heart.

Leviticus 20 is even stronger.

6 “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.

27 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.”

God's really serious about the reality of us stepping out of our area and trying to seek something, something spiritual, something powerful outside of that which God has ordained. God's not messing around with it.

So let's give Saul props when we can. Saul had made this policy during his kingship that if anybody was found doing this, they'd be killed or be cast out of the land. Saul actually made an attempt to do that. Now, that's an incredibly hard thing to do. And we'll see as we walk through the text that he didn't get it done. But at least he gave it a shot.

4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa.

So the armies have been mustered. They're beginning to stage. And so you've got the Philistines at Shunem, and you've got Saul and the Israelites at Gilboa, and they're getting ready for battle.

5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.

Not exactly what you want to see in the king that's supposed to lead the army into battle. His heart trembled greatly.

Harad comes from a root meaning to tremble, to quake, or to shake in terror. This is not mild anxiety, but overwhelming fear. And where is it? It's in his heart.

Now, in the Hebrew context, in the ancient Near East way of thinking, the heart is the center of decision-making. It's the seat of the will and reasoning. We would think of that as the mind in our culture. But for the Israelites, it was the heart. The heart was not just where emotions were, but it's where the will was and where reasoning was and intellect.

So to say that his heart trembled greatly is saying that he is not in a position to be making good decisions. At least it's saying that. And it's such a tragic description of Israel's king.

Because God had promised that if Israel would be faithful to him and keep the covenant, they would be blessed. We've seen this the last few years over and over again. The blessings that are promised for covenant keeping. There's also the judgments that are promised for covenant breaking.

But in the blessings promised, one of the great blessings that God promises his people is freedom from fear. Freedom from fear. Listen to what God promised them.

6 I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid. And I will remove harmful beasts from the land, and the sword shall not go through your land.

God says, God makes his promise. If you will keep my covenant, this is what you'll experience.

So the very fact that we've got war happening and the Philistines getting ready to battle is a sign. They're not experiencing covenant blessings. They're experiencing covenant judgment. God is not with Saul. God is not with Israel. And that really should scare Saul.

The story continues.

6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.

So Saul sees this army. He's terrified. And what's he do? He runs to God, prays...and he hears crickets. He asks the priest to get the Urim and the Thummim, the prophetic devices given to ancient Israel. Nothing. He asks the other prophets that are around, have you heard from God? Have you heard from God? Have you heard from God? Silence.

Let's acknowledge for a moment how difficult it is to be in a place where God is silent. Sometimes God's silence is not about a lack of information. It's about God's refusal to bless disobedience with more guidance.

Saul's in covenant judgment. He's not following God. He's going the wrong way. He's doing the wrong thing. And God has expressed this clearly over and over and over again. And yet, when things get bad, he comes to God and he says, help me. Help me continue my sin. Help me continue to walk in rebellion. Help me to do that which you don't want done.

Some of us have prayed those types of prayers. And so the silence of God in that prayer is mercy, frankly.

He looks to God and he's met with silence. So then

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”

So let's talk about what Saul does, and let's talk about Endor.

First of all, those of you that are getting excited because you're Star Wars junkies, it is the exact same word. But there's no direct tie theologically or narratively between the two. I'm sorry. There's no Ewoks in 1 Samuel 28.

But there is some profound symbolism in the fact that Saul goes to Endor. First, in the name itself. Endor means spring of something. I think what it means is spring of generation. Spring of life, okay? So Endor is this place in the rugged, harsh land that has a spring of good, clean, fresh water. And in the wilderness, really anywhere, water is life.

So Endor is named after this spring, this spring of life and generation. And what does Saul go to Endor for? To speak to the dead. The contrast is obvious.

Second, just the very geography of it is interesting to me. So if you remember, Saul and the Israelites are in Gilboa. That's right here. The Philistines are camped at Shunem. That's right here. Endor is right over here.

So the Philistines and this army that have scared Saul are directly in between him and the medium that is at Endor, which necessitates that the king of Israel is going to get a couple of his servants, disguise himself like a thief at night, and skulk either around the Philistines or sneak through the Philistines or whatever so that he can go and meet with the woman that he's been trying to find and either kill or get out of the land so that he can do what God has explicitly told him not to do so that he can get God to bless him.

Do you see how this works? And again, we saw this with David. When we are driven by fear, we make the worst decisions.

Endor's only mentioned here and two other times in the Bible. The first is in Joshua 17. It's just listed as one of the many cities that are allotted to the tribe of Manasseh.

We get this one other reference to Endor in the Psalms. And I like it because of how gross and visceral it is.

9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, 10 who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground.

So biblically, the only other reference to Endor is that it is this place that is associated with death and decay of the enemies of God. And Saul says to himself, that's where I'll find help.

Lastly, this is not explicitly mentioned, but the area around Endor is full of these caves, these basalt rock caves. And in the ancient Near East, mediums, necromancers, witchy women, and there were witchy men too, but they often were in caves. They were in the earth because that's where the dead were, right? And so there's this crazy like geographical and spatial contrast.

It mentions right at the beginning Saul in Ramah. Remember that? Ramah means high place. It's on a mountain, which is often associated with Eden and God, the mountain, the high place. That's where he met Samuel. That's where Samuel was. That's where Samuel was buried.

But now Samuel's buried and dead, and so Saul can't go to the high place to meet him, so he goes into the depths to try to meet with Saul.

So let me recap. He's looking for a spring in a place of dung and death. He's a king slinking through the dark behind enemy lines, seeking a woman whom he and God had ordered killed in order to get wisdom from God. Shockingly, it doesn't go well.

8 So 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?”

Which seems like a wise thing for her to do right she's still there and she's still doing this stuff but she's gotta do a little verification and Saul's response here there's a lot of tragedy in this chapter. This really gripped me this week, broke my heart.

10 But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”

In the Ten Commandments, there's one that says, you shall not take the Lord's name in vain. We often think that's, well, don't swear, don't have a potty mouth, as my wife would say. I don't think that's what that commandment is about.

That commandment is to not ascribe your actions, your intent, your attitude to God and use the name of God as an excuse to do what you want rather than what God wants. This is about as clear a violation of that to me as I've seen in the scriptures.

Saul is using the name of God in a rash vow to try to bind himself and her to an act that is repugnant and repulsive to God himself. It's unbelievably tragic. Hypocritical in the extreme. Religious hypocrisy.

11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”

Which is so interesting to me because he and Samuel did not end well we're gonna see that in a moment but he says bring up Samuel for me.

Samuel was such an important figure in the life of Israel. He was the first prophet since Moses to minister over the entire nation. And he was so in line and in touch with God. Do you remember what it said about him? It said that “no word from his mouth fell to the ground.” (1 Samuel 3)

Which was a great Hebrew expression of saying, he didn't say something and it didn't happen. When he said something, it happened. He had wisdom and insight.

12a When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice…

Some commentators think that she didn't expect anything to happen. Like maybe she was just trying to scam him. I think there's more going on. I think that when we see what Samuel has to say, I don't think he was coming with a happy face. Right? If you follow me. She cries out.

12b And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.”

So there's something about when she begins to see Samuel coming, she realizes what's going on and that she's standing right there with 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.”

Well, that's weird. Remember, if it's weird, it's important.

So the Hebrew word here for a god is the word elohim, which is a word that describes in the biblical narrative those that inhabit the heavenly realm, those that don't inhabit the earthly realm.

Now Samuel, when he was a man and alive, where was he? He was on the earthly realm. When he died, he went to, in the Hebrew understanding, Sheol, the land of the dead. And that is within the heavenly realm. Right? You with me?

So now when she sees a being coming out of the heavenly realm, she calls him a being of the heavenly realm. Make sense? Yes.

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.

Some see this as Samuel. I do. I think it's literally Samuel. Others think it might just be a divine council member. Others see it as maybe some sort of demonic apparition coming to scare. I think it's genuinely Samuel.

The text gives every indication that it is and no real indication that it isn't. But regardless of how you want to interpret this, what you have is very real contact between the heavens and the earth. Illicit contact, forbidden contact, but real contact. Something real happening here.

Realm transgression was possible then, and it's possible now, which means you and I have got to be careful. Careful.

Sometimes I think, especially in the Protestant evangelical world, we've so minimized the supernatural and the spiritual, and we're so indoctrinated by our cultural materialism that we just think it's all hooey.

Like we drive up to Sedona, right? And you get into Sedona and you see all the psychic readers and the crystals and the tarot cards and the mediums. And we see all that and we go, oh, it's all just a scam. And yeah, a lot of it is.

Because there's a sucker born every moment, right? People are so desperate for information. It's not that difficult sometimes to scam the gullible.

We've got to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater because there are real powers out there. And when we knock on those doors, sometimes something answers. And that's not a position we want to put ourselves in.

Some of you or some of us, we've messed with stuff in the past that we shouldn't have messed with. Oh, what's the harm of a tarot card reading? Oh, what's the harm of the Ouija board? Oh, that might be fun. Until it's not.

I know some stories in this room where it's not fun. Think it's harmless to open up our paper and, oh, what's the horoscope tell me for today?

All of these activities are fundamentally looking to find hidden or special or important information from the spiritual realm apart from God. You with me here this morning? That's the heart of this issue. That's what Saul is doing.

God, I want you to tell me something. God's like, no. He's like, fine, I'll go somewhere else. There are real powers out there that God has clearly expressed. We are not to partner with. We are to stand against God.

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.”

I thought a lot this week about what should Saul have done? Why did God come to Saul and say, I reject you as king, but not forcibly remove him from the throne? And then go to David and say, David, I choose you to be king, but not forcibly put him on the throne. I don't know. I don't know.

It really struck me this week that this is actually an act of grace from God to Saul, to give Saul a chance to do the right thing. What should have Saul done? Incredibly hard, incredibly painful to the pride, destructive to the ego, but Saul should have said, all right, God, we're yours. I'm yours. The land is yours. The people are yours. We are your people.

You decide who's king. You don't want me to be king anymore? I step off the throne. You want David to be throne? He's on the throne. How can I serve him? How can I serve you?

That's what Saul should have done. Well, that's not what he does. No, no, no, God, there's got to be another way. God, there's got to be something else. God, you won't tell me what to do? I'll get Samuel to tell me what to 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.

I bet David wished many times that God wouldn't have communicated that so clearly to Saul. Samuel pulls no punches. You fool, you've returned to your vomit. What are you doing? You rejected God, and so he rejected you, and now you're doing it again.

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.”

Which is ominous. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines. Be careful what you ask for.

Back in 1 Samuel 15, when Saul, you know, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, when he refused to follow the Lord's clear instruction against Amalek and he spared some of the people and some of the things and took them for himself and blamed it on everybody else, Samuel came to him and said,

22 And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king.”

You see the foreshadowing here? That's such an interesting connection. Rebellion is as the sin of divination. Why is rebellion, why is disobedience to God like the sin of divination, because that's fundamentally what divination is.

I don't want to do what you say, so I'm going to try to go around you, God, to get that which I think I need, wisdom, information, power, whatever, from some other source.

Saul did not learn his lesson, but he will.

20 Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

The king who would not stand on God's word collapses under it.

It's interesting here because I want you to notice what happens in the next few verses around obedience. The whole thing is about Saul's refusal to obey God. Watch what happens next.

21 And the woman came to Saul, and when she saw that he was terrified, she said to him, “Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. 22 Now therefore, you also obey your servant. Let me set a morsel of bread before you; and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way.” 23 He refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed.

The king who would not obey God will obey the witchy woman of Endor. It's in your face - an obvious contrast.

24 Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, 25 and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.

It's the beginning of the end for Saul. That ending there is what's interesting to me for sure.

I wouldn't call it a strict type biblically, but it's certainly an echo. What do we have here at the end? We have a fattened calf slaughtered, unleavened bread made, a meal eaten in haste at night under the threat of judgment. Does that sound like anything?

This is an echo at least of the Passover in Exodus 12, right? Of course there's differences. This is a fattened calf instead of a lamb. But these threads that run through the story, you're supposed to catch them. You're supposed to see this.

Here's Saul eating this mimicry of a Passover meal, but he's not going to be protected by Yahweh. He's actually going to walk into judgment.

Since it echoes back to the Passover meal, it also echoes forward to Jesus, doesn't it? Because Jesus celebrated the Passover meal right before he goes into judgment. A meal eaten in haste at night under the threat of judgment.

It struck me that Gethsemane, that well-known moment in Jesus' life as he goes into the garden at Gethsemane and he prays so profoundly, prays and experiences silence. "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." Nothing.

Jesus' response isn't to go find another way. "Not my will, but yours be done."

Listen to it. I think Gethsemane is a beautiful reversal of Saul at Endor. Saul shows us what the false king does. Jesus shows us what the true king does.

39 And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. 40 And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” 41 And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”

Saul is afraid, seeks God, is met with silence, so chooses to seek a forbidden mediator, and what he receives is confirmation of his judgment, and then he's strengthened to go to his death without hope.

Jesus is in anguish, seeks God, is met with silence, is given an angel to mediate and strengthen him, and he's strengthened to enter into judgment that he might bring hope to all.

Y'all, be like Jesus, not like Saul.

The temptation to seek wisdom, to seek insight, to seek knowledge or power apart from God is a very real and powerful temptation. Might be dark powers, tarot cards, seances. Might look more benign like astrology or charts or self-help books. Sometimes it even looks spiritual. Spiritual.Have you talked to your guardian angel yet this week?

See, this temptation to not accept what God has given us as his wise and sovereign and best for us choice and instead go and look for it somewhere else? We're just as vulnerable to that kind of reality as Saul was.

Let's not be like Saul, let's be like Jesus.

I gave this away at the beginning already, but Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7: for we walk by faith, not by sight.

The part of you that doesn't like that is the part of you that still needs to be sanctified and redeemed and sacrificed unto God.

I get it. Man, it drives me crazy. I don't want to walk by sight as much as anybody does. I've got to remember. You've got to remember. His ways are not our ways. And his thoughts are not our thoughts.As far as the heavens are from the earth, so are his ways from ours. He knows better than we do.

So we can walk by faith and not by sight. Witchcraft, divination, all these things are rebellion to the Lord because they attempt to violate this reality. God really wants us to trust him. He really calls us to walk by faith.

So church, may our prayer be, "We believe, Lord; help our unbelief."

Amen.