March 14, 2023 - 1 Samuel 28-31

The Bible is full of great stories (Did I really need to type that? 😊). God, through his writers does not hesitate to give us the unvarnished truth about so many people and situations. We already know that Saul proved himself to be unworthy of being king and, so, he is denied a family dynasty on the throne in Jerusalem. This story about Saul and the witch at Endor, though, just seems “to take the cake,” as we sometimes put it.

Able to rely upon his trusted advisor, Samuel, “Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land” (28:3). But, now, Samuel was dead and “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’” (28:7). God had commanded his people, “There shall not be found among you anyone . . . who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). Saul looked for counsel in the wrong place; in fact, he looked for counsel in a place that was forbidden to him. If only he had been faithful to consult God’s Word and to cry out to God! So many, today and in every age, I suppose, look for help in all the wrong places. But we have a sure word for our lives, God’s Word.

Holy words long preserved

For our walk in this world

They resound with God’s own heart

Oh, let the ancient words impart

Ancient words ever true

Changing me and changing you

We have come with open hearts

Oh, let the ancient words impart. -- Lynn Deshazo (2008)