Okay, so 1 Samuel chapter 28. Let's take a look at this passage together. It's already been read, so let's pray. Our Father God, we thank you for the privilege of gathering together as your people, and now as we have come to hear the word and to have the word preached, Lord, this is a somewhat difficult and dark passage, and we pray, Lord, that it would truly be profitable for our souls, and that even in this we would see the glory of the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's in his name we pray, amen. Now, regarding Saul, he has been stressed out now for quite some time with the results of rejecting God. But part of that is he's been chasing after David now for a while. And so David has been, you could say, thoroughly stressed, having been chased as a fugitive from King Saul. And it's kind of interesting what the author of this book does for us here. So, we kind of have the dilemma, if you will, of David, where he is going to be asked by King Achish to fight with the Philistines against Israel. But it's like the author has kind of set that on the shelf for a moment here, and now we're looking at Saul's dilemma. Saul's dilemma is that the Lord has departed from him, and is not talking to him anymore. And so what we're going to see as we move forward is how is Saul's dilemma addressed, and then how will David's dilemma be resolved. Well, because Saul has been chasing him, David seeks refuge for himself, his men, and their families by moving to the Gath area of the Philistines under the rule of King Achish, if you were here recently. And it did cause Saul to quit chasing him, but it brought about other complications and doesn't seem to have been a great period of faith for David or of waiting on the Lord. And so as we looked at this last week, we saw that it's difficult to say exactly how much of this was righteousness and how much of this was David just trying to make things happen. Well, he moves to the area of Gath with his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, along with his 600 men and their families. And David suggests that his community of people not live in Gath with Achish. And Achish thought that sounded like a good idea. He also would be glad to have a little bit of distance between his city and David's community of Israelites. And, of course, David would be glad not to have the king's eyes on him quite so closely. And we're told that they lived a year and four months in Ziklag, which would have been a short distance from Gath. During that time, David and his men went on raids, we're told, against the Geshurites, the Gerzites, and the Amalekites, who were known for attacking vulnerable people and treating them cruelly to get their stuff and make a profit. And when David attacked a place, we're told, He left no person alive to bring news back to King Achish. And he took away the animals and the clothes for provisions for his community. And when he came back from those raids, he would lie to King Achish and say that he's been attacking the Israelites and their allies. Achish believed David's lies and thought it was great that such a man as David would defect from Israel and alienate himself from them. That would solidify the alliance between David and King Achish. And this is setting the table for what we're going to look at in the next chapter. And the question we struggled with last week is, was David protecting Israel and strengthening the foundation of his future reign? Or was he needlessly killing people in order to survive and then lying about it? You know, was it a lawful act of war or a sinful act of dependence upon God? And historians and commentators are mixed, but we do have the narrative of what happened. Well, if you're one of those people that really struggles with unanswered questions, I'm sorry for you again today. Because this next chapter brings as many questions as the previous one. And I'm not going to be giving you the final word on those questions either. This chapter is about a medium. Someone who claims to have contact with the spirits of the dead. Now this kind of activity has been prevalent throughout history, and it was common amongst the pagan nations in Israel's day. And have you ever thought about why, even in our day today, why are we so infatuated with witches and wizards and magic and sorcery and demons and the occult? It has really been prevalent throughout the millennia. And even today, it's extremely common in books and movies and in our own culture. Now, one of the realities that was a part of the backdrop to 1 Samuel 28 was God's law in Deuteronomy 18. Listen to what God says in Deuteronomy 18 9 and following. He says, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire. That was a pagan form of worship, actually, even sacrificing children to Molech or to some deity, some supposed deity. Also, it says you shall, there shall not be found among you anyone who practices witchcraft. or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. It's kind of shocking to me how specific this list is. If you have any sense of not catching what's being said here, it's very specific. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listen to soothsayers and diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. In other words, it was not God's will for this to be a part of Israel. Now, there's a lot we could say, but just by way of summary, I think the problem is basically this. Instead of waiting upon Jehovah to reveal Himself as He chooses to do and to give His truth to us, the kinds of people mentioned about in that law would seek to find guidance in the spirit world, which is real, by the way, using the satanic power of demons or fallen angels in order to try to find some of that clarity. Now, some of these people were probably shysters and fakes, but some of them were actually being used by Satan. And the scriptures are clear that believers are not to engage in this kind of activity. It's called an abomination, something the Lord righteously hates. Even our text today sticks to the facts and stays away from details that would either fascinate us in a dangerous way or even give us the specific methodology used by sorcerers. We're not given that. I think there's a reason we're not given that. So we are actually not taught that there is no power in that world. There is power in that world. What we're taught is that the Lord clearly considers it to be rebellion, such as the rebellion of witchcraft. Rebellion against the ways that He has chosen to reveal His truth to us. Do you remember the demon-possessed girl in Philippi? with the girl with the python spirit, literally, who grieved Paul and Silas, constantly crying out and drawing attention. She was used by her owners to make a living. And it was a very real situation that seemed far too common in the day of Jesus and Paul. And I believe it continues in the world today, though I think it's more common in some places than others. Now, I want to say something carefully here. We need to be able to work these things out. But when we think about issues like Lord of the Rings, whether the books or the movies, or Harry Potter, whether the books or the movies, there are things to think about here. Now, I have heard in recent years, generally, younger people mocking the older generation for not letting them read the Harry Potter books or watch the Harry Potter movies. I'm not gonna settle that for you today, but I am gonna say this. This is a very serious issue, and we need to be careful about this. The concern is that this could interest someone in the things that God calls an abomination. Now, there is room for Christian liberty here. In fact, even today, what are we doing? I'm preaching a narrative about witchcraft. So I'm not going to say that it's always wrong to read a book or watch a movie that has something of that theme in it. You have to work that out. But I will say this, if it's giving you a fascination for these things, if it's causing you to want to dig deeper into this demonic influence, then you should abstain. have some wisdom. So while I believe it is an issue of Christian liberty, we shouldn't mock those who are concerned about the legitimate danger surrounding some of these things. Now in our text, Saul is desperate. He sees this force coming together and he's terrified. And even though he obeyed God, at least outwardly at one point, and cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land earlier in his reign, at this point he feels forced to find a medium to consult with. It's kind of a sad irony of where Saul is at this point in his life. So as we look at the contents of chapter 28, first we see the looming war with the Philistines in verses one through six. The Philistines are gathering their armies together for war. And this really is an extension of what's going on in chapter 27. And so Achish assures David that he would have David and his men fight alongside Achish's own army. And what David says next kind of makes me laugh. Because David's in a... I mean, remember, David has been lying to Achish consistently for a while now as he is killing various people that were living in rebellion against God and were attacking Israel. And some people think there was justification for that. But then David is coming back and telling Achish that he has been going out on raids against Israel and Israel's allies. So then when Achish says to David, David, clearly, you have totally alienated yourself from Israel. You're on our side, very clearly now, so you're gonna come and fight with me. And David's like, I've been lying to him for months now. How am I gonna get out of this one? I don't really wanna fight against my own people, but I have acted like I'm going to. So talk about saying nothing when you say something. Akish says, you're going to fight alongside of me, David. And David says, surely you know what your servant can do. Or kind of like, watch and you'll see what I can do. I mean, talk about a non-committed flex. You know, it's kind of like King Akish says, you're going to come fight with me. And David says, grr. It's kind of like what he's doing, I think, there. In other words, he's not committing himself to anything. He's just trying to get through the situation. But Akish continues on, says, I'm going to make you one of my chief guardians. Or the CSB says, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard. Akish seems to trust him here now quite a lot. Now verse three has some background info for the account in this chapter and reminds us Samuel has died, as we already know, and the people had mourned him and buried him in his own city in Ramah. And that Saul, and this is something I don't remember hearing prior to this, that Saul had put the mediums and spiritists out of the land earlier in his reign. And those are important factors for what's about to be told to us in the rest of this chapter. Now there are a couple of other additional important factors in verses four to six. One was that this was shaping up to be a history-changing battle, not just a border skirmish. The reason for the Philistines encamping at Shunem, as I understand it, was probably to cut Saul off from the north and take control of the trade routes. So this was not just, you know, the Philistines and the Israelites constantly kind of raiding each other's camps along the border. This was going to be a massive offensive with the Philistines coming into the heart of the land, attempting to divide Israel and take over. So Saul gathers the army of Israel and encamps at Gilboa. But when he sees the army that the Philistines have amassed this time, frankly, he's terrified. But I think he's terrified for a couple of reasons. He's terrified partially because it's terrifying. But he's also terrified because the Lord is no longer with him, not even communicating with him. And so he has basically been cut off from understanding or hearing from God and having any kind of substantive counsel like he would have had during Samuel's lifetime. The Lord was silent in response to Saul's inquiries. He didn't answer by dream. or by Urim and Thummim, or by prophet, there was silence. Now that serves as a backdrop then for the rest of the chapter. And from verse 7 through 25, we see the rebellious consultation with the medium. You could say desperate consultation with the medium. Children, every time I say the word medium, that's not something we say a lot, but when I use the word medium, we're talking about someone who is trying to contact those who have died. We're talking about someone who is engaged in some form of witchcraft or sorcery, doing the very thing that God has forbidden. So, she is trying to connect. She's either doing it through trickery or she's doing it through demonic power, but she's trying to contact the spirits, those who have passed on. I think a lot of times when people make an attempt to do that, they're actually connecting with spirits, if anything. But there are a lot of questions about what lies before us here in this text. And we'll look at some of these as we go. So Saul asks his servants to find him a medium so he can go inquire of her. He wants to know what's going to happen with the Philistines. He's looking for guidance, for comfort. It's interesting to me how quickly his servants have an answer. I mean, in the text it's like no hesitation. Did they just know and hadn't been telling him? Or did they just find out quickly from those who did know? But in the text it's like he asks, they answer. There's a female medium at Endor. Now not only was Saul a desperate king, but he had previously cut off people like her from the land. So he disguises himself, takes two of his own men at night under the cover of darkness, and goes to see her. You have to imagine, his disguise was for a number of things. I would have to think his disguise was partially so people in Israel would not see what he was doing. He's the one who had cut off these kinds of people from the land. But also, he probably doesn't want the medium to know who he is. He's hoping to get counsel without recognition. Now the next words that he speaks according to the text send chills up and down my spine. Please conduct a seance for me and bring up for me the one I shall name to you. Such desperate wickedness. How far has the anointed one of God fallen in unbelief and rebellion? And the woman is understandably leery. She's like, you know what Saul has done in cutting off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Is this a trap? Are you trying to get me dead? Now what happens next is incongruous. What does that mean? It doesn't fit. It is inappropriate and backwards. Saul has gone to see the medium forbidden by God that he has cut off from the land, and when she questions him as to whether or not this is a trap, he swears to her by the Lord, by Jehovah. As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. Now if you've been with us in this study for any length of time, you know that we have known for some time now how much Saul loves swearing. Seems like it's common for those who are trying to maintain control by force, instead of by principle and godly leadership. He doesn't have principle. He's not a godly leader. He doesn't have Jehovah. So he's trying to take control of things by his own force, by human resources. But really, all he's doing at this point is taking the Lord's name in vain. She says to him, Whom shall I bring up for you? He says, Samuel. Verse 12 says, when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. She screamed. And the woman spoke to Saul saying, why have you deceived me? You're Saul. The narrative seems to indicate that she was shocked by what she saw. Which seems to indicate that what was happening here was outside of what normally happened. The narrative makes it seem like she hadn't even really had the time to work her magic yet. And something in this series of events made her realize who it was who had come to her this night. Now, I'm going to get out the remote control. Not really, this one. I'm going to put this narrative on pause. We need to talk about something a moment before we continue, all right? Maybe you have already been thinking this. There are actually, I would say, at least four theories about what is actually going on here in this chapter. Some people think that this was really the spirit of Samuel, and God was at work here to confirm judgment upon Saul. that God, in some sense, surprised them, including her, with this powerful display, not in response to her conjuring, but because of his own sovereign power and desire. A second theory about these events is that this was a satanic deception where a demon was taking on a form similar to Samuel, And what they were seeing was actually demonic deception. Number three, and this could be related to number two, was that this was a vision that Saul was having, perhaps due to his deranged state. And he's seeing something. And yet, we see her reacting as well. And some people say, number four, that this was a ruse. This was fakery produced by the medium and maybe an accomplice under the cover of darkness and smoke with a certain distance between her and Saul. These are some of the theories that have been presented as people grapple with what is going on here in this text. As I've considered this, I find myself going back and forth between this was actually the spirit of Samuel or this was a demonic deception. The Reformers and men throughout church history have generally considered this to be a satanic deception and not Samuel's spirit for real. And there are some reasons for that. I mean, you could think, you know, why would God have Samuel go through something like this? And if God is not speaking to Saul, then why would he do this, in a sense, speak to him in this way? And yet there is something clearly happening that shocked the woman, and God is powerful enough certainly to do if he wants to do something like this. We do know there are occurrences in the scriptures where there were those such as at the transfiguration, where there were the souls of men who had passed away who appeared in a certain instance, although that was a far more joyous occasion. Modern scholars, and I'm not saying that in a derogatory way, but more recently, it seems that many think that the narrative indicates the actual spirit of Samuel is present, and that does seem to be the natural reading of the narrative. There are questions to be answered no matter which position you take, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time trying to guide you into one. You can certainly, this debate has been going on for a long, long time, and you're free to chase it down. I don't think it actually changes a lot by the time you get to the end of it, whether it was actually Samuel, or whether it was even an appearance, a satanic or demonic appearance of some sort. God is in control of these things, and we don't really see a lot of new information being conveyed. It's basically a confirmation of judgment, no matter how you look at it. But the passage goes on to describe an encounter that greatly impacts Saul. So the woman sees Samuel and cries out loudly, or she screams, and she asks Saul why he has deceived her. And Saul says, don't be afraid, but what did you see? And she says, Elohim, a spirit form, a powerful divine being of some sort ascending out of the earth. What does he look like? An old man covered with a mantle, wearing some type of robe. And Saul understood this to be Samuel. Perhaps there was more description given, but Saul definitely understands this to be Samuel, and he bows with his face to the ground. Samuel asks, why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? And Saul explains the situation. He's terrified, he's upset, the Philistines are coming, and God is not answering anymore. And as I said, frankly, there's not really much new conveyed by Samuel, or the demon, if that's what it is. There's really not much more conveyed in what he says next. He says, I'm a prophet of Jehovah. If he has departed from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me for counsel? God has fulfilled the prophecy that he gave to me. Nothing has changed from what he has said before. He has torn the kingdom out of your hand. He's given it to David because of your rebellious disobedience regarding the Amalekites. This was all established previously. But there is this statement here, Now the Lord will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. Tomorrow you and your sons will be with me in the realm of the dead. Well Saul, in response to hearing that, immediately falls flat on the ground out of sheer terror. And he hadn't eaten. He was probably pretty shook, as it was. And he hadn't eaten, it says, all day or all night. So his strength is gone. He's terrified, flat out on the ground. And you have to wonder if this unnerved the woman slightly to see the king of Israel acting like this in her presence. The very fact that he came to her, the fact that he tried to deceive her, and now what had just happened in the result of what Saul is doing, it probably unsettled her a little bit. Well, she says, I've risked my life and done what you have asked. Now, please eat something so you'll have some strength for the journey back. You know, for the journey back, you're going to leave. Saul says, I will not eat. He's always been a little bit of a drama king. But his two servants joined their voices with the woman, and he eventually listens. So he gets up from the ground, and he sits on the bed, we're told. The woman killed a fatted calf and served it along with some unleavened bread. And they ate, and then Saul and his servants went away back into the night. And the chapter ends. So whether God allowed a demonic deception or permitted an actual interaction with Samuel's soul, God used it to basically confirm what had been said before. And instead of hopeful guidance, Saul is given a confirmation of judgment. What can we learn from this? I've got three things I want you to think about with me in the time that we have remaining here this morning. First of all, responding to God's grace when you are given opportunity is a matter of life and death. Responding to God's grace when you are given the opportunity is a matter of life and death. Had God been gracious to Saul? Had he treated Saul better than Saul deserved? Had he given Saul opportunity to repent and believe? Had he revealed himself to Saul and given him opportunities to repent and trust Jehovah and to live like Samuel and David? Saul had been the recipient of Samuel's ministry for quite a few years. And so Saul had access to God's revelation through Samuel and godly counsel and direction through Samuel. And even his own anointing was from the ministry of the hands of Samuel, the last prophet judge who was his own personal advisor. God's grace had come close to Saul. Now even though Israel chose a king for the wrong reasons, Saul had been chosen as Israel's first king. Transitioning Israel from a loose tribal confederation to a nation with a centralized government, poised to unite Israel under God's sovereign reign, if they were willing for that to happen. But Saul had consistently lived a life of external religious formality, combined with an internal rebellion and rejection of God's will. We see Saul, as many of you have been with us through the study, we've seen him using the language and doing the actions of the worship of Jehovah, but with a heart that was unrepentant and far from God. So now we find Saul sneaking in the dark through the back alleys of Israel, so to speak, looking for a witch to guide him. And tomorrow he's going to die without faith and without hope. Friend, today is the day of salvation. Now is the time to repent. God owes us nothing. That's why it's called grace. But He's chosen to extend grace to us. Even this morning, in the preaching of the Word, and in the revelation of His Scriptures that He's given to us, we are not guaranteed that we will have time and opportunity again. Do not reject His call to you today to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Because with Saul, he got to this point one rejection at a time, one moment, one day at a time, not listening to God, not heeding the call of God, not responding to the grace of God. And after a lifetime, this is where we find him. But we're not guaranteed. We don't know how many more opportunities we'll have. But it's important and it's dangerous every time we reject God's call and despise His grace, we do not know how many more opportunities we may have. Number two, believers, brothers and sisters, I have something to say to you from this text. Sometimes we feel as though God has abandoned us even when it's not so. And you read a passage like this and you feel yourself to be kind of similar to Saul, maybe, because in your heart you're wondering, has God actually abandoned me like He's abandoned Saul? And some of us have the kind of constitution or the struggle with depression where that question comes to us more than once. Makes me think of Psalm 88, which is a contemplative lament, we could say, from Heman. And Psalm 88 has a lot of despair. expressed to God, but it ends without an answer. There's no resolve by the time you get to the end. Let me give you just a little bit of it. Psalm 88 begins, O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before you. Let my prayer come before you. Incline your ear to my cry, for my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to the grave. I am counted with those who go down to the pit. I am like a man who has no strength, adrift among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more, and who are cut off from your hand. Skipping ahead to verse 13. And a lot of what was in the middle was similar. He says, but to you I have cried out, O Lord, and in the morning my prayer comes before you. Lord, why do you cast off my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth. I suffer your terrors. I am distraught. Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. They came around me all day long like water. They engulfed me altogether. Loved one and friend, you have put far from me and my acquaintances into darkness. You ever feel like that? Loved one and friend, you have put far from me. Heman is expressing a heart that is extremely discouraged, lonely, feeling forsaken by God. And like I said, the psalm ends with no apparent answer. But here is one important factor. The psalmist is still crying out to God. Still calling upon Jehovah. And the indication is with a heart of faith. Even though there's no apparent answer in that psalm. There were times... Saul made an outward expression of repentance, which was clearly not heart repentance, and he gave lip service to the worship of Jehovah, but he wasn't actually calling out to Jehovah. He was concerned about the consequences of not having a relationship with Jehovah, and the difficulties that he encountered as king without Jehovah's help. I have a question if you, brother or sister, are struggling, feeling sometimes perhaps abandoned by God. I have a question. Are you still calling out to God? Are you looking to Him in faith as difficult and as desperate as it might feel? Are you struggling to trust Him by faith in the midst of the stormy providence and the darkness of your soul? And I would say there's good evidence that He is holding you fast. He's not letting you go. He's inclining your heart to look to Him, and that is a good and hopeful reality. So keep crying out until His comfort comes. Keep searching His Word for the truth about Jesus Christ, which will bring peace and comfort to your soul. You know, our feelings and our sense of the truth is not the same thing as the truth itself. Did you hear that? My feelings and my sense of the truth is not the same thing as the truth itself. So keep crying out and ask a brother or a sister into the process so you don't have to walk this alone. But when you read passages like 1 Samuel 28, and you feel perhaps like this is familiar territory and maybe you're Saul, I would encourage you to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and focus on the objective truth of what Jesus came to do and find peace for your souls. Number three. Jesus endured separation from God so that we could be reconciled with God. This is a beautiful truth. When Jesus, God the Son, was dying on the cross for our sins, enduring the death that was really ours, and paying the consequences for our rebellion, At the end of the three-hour darkness, from the sixth hour to the ninth hour, Jesus cried out. Do you remember what He cried out? My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me? Dale Ralph Davis says the glory of the Gospel is that God's Son went through the darkness of God's absence for us. the darkness and agony of God-forsakenness. In a mystery that I will never fully understand in this life on earth, the son is feeling a break of relationship with the father as Jesus fully absorbs all of God's just wrath against our sin. But Jesus endured that dark God-forsakenness so that we could be reconciled with God through His bloody atonement that atoned for our sins. So Jesus endured separation from the Father so that we would not have to eternally suffer that separation, which is a result of our sin. Our sin alienates us from God. We are by nature children of wrath. We are dead in trespasses and sins. But on the cross, Jesus endured the penalty, the consequence of our sin, which included separation from the Father, so that you and I would not have to suffer eternal separation from God. And the exhortation to us is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe on Jesus to atone for my sins. Jesus died on the cross in my place. Jesus died for me. And if I believe that, and I receive Jesus by faith, and I entrust myself into his atoning grace, that he has paid for my sins and endured that separation from God for me, if I believe that by faith, I will never have to say with Saul, God has departed from me and does not answer me. But rather, I will be able to say, God has come to me. He has established fellowship with me. He has adopted me into His family. I am His and He is mine. And because of what the Lord Jesus Christ has done for me, that will never change. Eternal life begins now and will run straight on into eternity. And no one can pluck me out of His hand. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. can cause us to have that confidence that Jesus endured that separation. So I don't ever have to be able to say what Saul said, that God has departed from me and does not answer me. You know, as we come to the Lord's table this morning, It's a glorious truth for us to remember, even as we think about the body which was broken for us and the blood which was shed for our salvation. We can also be meditating. And even, you know, what we're going to do is we're going to have you, if you're going to partake of the Lord's table this morning, we'll have you come out into the middle. And so you just kind of work it out with each other. If you're not partaking, you can let people come through and, and we're going to come up to the front and pass along the elements and go find our way back to our seat. But as you're doing that, I would encourage you to meditate on this truth, that Jesus endured the separation from the Father so that I'll never have to if I have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together, and then we'll partake of the Lord's table together. Father God, we are thankful for the atoning grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have told us that if we, in faith, come to you and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, we will have fellowship, we will have communion, we will have relationship, We will have reconciliation. We will be made a part of a family. And we will be eternally safe in Your hands. So Lord, in our hearts, we worship You this morning. We worship You, our triune God, who has accomplished this salvation on our behalf. We don't understand all of these mysteries, but we understand enough to know that if we believe, we are redeemed. And as we partake of these elements this morning, Lord, we pray that you would work in our hearts to strengthen our faith and remind us of the beautiful things that the Lord Jesus has accomplished on our behalf. Help us, Lord, as we take it now and as we meditate on these things. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.