Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

1 Samuel 28 Devotional

No Answer at Endor

“He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.”1 Samuel 28:6 (BSB)

When Saul sees the Philistine army, he trembles (28:5). He inquires of the LORD, but no answer comes, by dreams, by the Urim (a priestly way of seeking God's will), or by prophets (28:6). So the king who had removed the mediums from the land seeks one himself, in disguise (28:3, 28:7-8). He asks her to bring up Samuel.

The text does not explain everything that happens next, and we should not fill in what it leaves unsaid. Samuel's words bring no new hope. They repeat what the LORD had already said: the kingdom has been torn from Saul and given to David, because he did not obey the LORD concerning Amalek, and the next day he and his sons will die (28:16-19). Turning from God to a forbidden source did not get Saul a different answer, only the same word with no time left to heed it. When God seems silent, the way forward is still toward him, in repentance and in his word, never around him.

To think about: When God seems silent, where are you tempted to look for answers, and what would turning back toward him look like?

About 1 Samuel 28: Saul and the Medium at Endor

As the Philistines gather for war, Saul is terrified, and the LORD gives him no answer. In disguise he consults a medium at Endor, a practice he had banned, and Samuel appears, announcing that the kingdom has gone to David and that Saul and his sons will soon die. Saul collapses, then eats and leaves by night.

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