1 Samuel 28 (27-31) Saul's End

Today we are in our 14th sermon in our series called a Prophet and 2 Kings.

Last week we saw David tempted to take 2 different shortcuts.

Both shortcuts were to have Saul killed.

(1st time would have been by David’s hand)

[2nd time would have been by the hand of Abishai]

And by taking the shortcut to kill Saul,

David would immediately go from being on the run,

to moved into the palace as the new king of Israel.

But because David had a fear of the Lord,

David knew that it would be wrong to take the shortcut.

I said last week,

that the problem with David taking the shortcut,

is that instead of being a man after God’s own heart,

David would be just like King Saul.

David knew the Lord would one day judge Saul...

1 Samuel 24:15a (ESV)

15 May the Lord therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you,

David also knew that the Lord would reward him one day for doing the right thing…

1 Samuel 26:23a(ESV)

23 The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness,

After David does the right thing,

of sparing Saul’s life not once but twice.

David understands,

that he has to get further away from the mad king.

(Wisdom)

So, David and his men leaves the borders of Israel,

to go see King Achish of Gath.

If you remember,

King Achish of Gath is the same king that David pretended to be insane to back in chapter 21.

The reason David acted crazy was because he was trying to save his life from being killed.

David finds Achish of gath and finds favor with him. (I wonder conversation about crazy came up)

After finding favor with King Achish,

David is given the land of Ziklag to stay with his men.

It is a great situation for David and his men,

until the time comes that the Philistines are ready to march to attack Israel.

And because David is living among the Philistines,

David and his men are expected to march out to war with them.

(Rough spot for David?)

I have found,

that the Lord is really good at protecting his children…

And what happens with David is one of those types of situations,

where the Lord steps into the picture.

Because right before David marches out to battle with King Achish,

the commanders of the Philistines tell King Achish,

“what are all these Hebrews doing here… (29:3)

(Bad idea…)

King Achish reluctantly,

sends David back to Ziklag.

And when David returns,

he and his men find out that their wives and children have been taken by the Amalekites…

(David and his men goes on a rescue mission)

While all this is taking place with David,

something else is taking place with another main character in the story. King Saul

Saul is the one that we are going to focus on today,

as we finish out the book of 1st Samuel. (don’t worry, there are 2 books of Samuel)

But before we get into our text,

I want to ask you the question,

What path are you on?

(Where is the path you are on leading you to?)

There is always a destination that our paths lead us too.

But the question remains,

is the path that you are on,

leading you to the destination you want to end up at?

Jesus used an analogy about paths in his teaching...

Matthew 7:13–14 (ESV)

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:13–14 (NLT)

13 “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

Today,

we are going to see the path that Saul took,

and were his path ends.

1 Samuel 28:3–7 (ESV)

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. 4 The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. 6 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. 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.”

(Joke about medium)

Saul has continued down a path.

It has been a path full of rebellion and disobedience against God.

A path of insecurity and jealousy.

This path has been filled with terrible decisions…

And the reality for Saul,

is that he does not even realize how far away this path has led him.

Saul’s heart has continued to move further and further away from the things of God,

and now finds himself so far away from God,

that he seeks out the wisdom of a medium.

This medium works in the realm of the dark arts which of course was forbidden by God.

(Which is still forbidden by God)

It is interesting that Saul does go to the Lord for wisdom initially.

Saul does what I find many do....

(Do there own thing until they are in trouble and then they go to God)

Previous to this trouble with the Philistines,

what has Saul been doing? (Hunting David… Asking the Lord for help?)

[Saul, “Lord help me… go to the Devil then…)

Saul’s journey has been marked by what I would say is a slow fade from grace,

Saul’s life reminds me of a song written back in 2007,

by a band called Casting Crowns called slow fade…

It's a slow fade When you give yourself away It's a slow fade When black and white have turned to grey And thoughts invade, choices made

A price will be paid When you give yourself away People never crumble in a day

It's a slow fade

Think about how far this path has led Saul away from God?

The man who was anointed by God to be the new king.

The man who at one time was given a new heart,

and the Spirit of the Lord was empowering him.

A man who experienced God’s power in his life.

Is now seeking out a medium for wisdom,

in his time of need.

Everyone’s journey is marked with choices…

(Choices become patterns, which become increasingly easier and easier for us)

Example... modern day... Character traits.

Example… David and Saul....

Saul’s path of choices has led him to naturally do the wrong thing,

and seek out the wisdom from this medium...

1 Samuel 28:8–19 (ESV)

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

(Saul spiritual state is front in center)

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.”

I am sure none of you have questions about what just happened so we will move right along... lol

One of the more biz-are passages in scripture,

so let me do my best to unpack this…

We have Saul going to this medium for wisdom.

Saul goes to this medium,

and he asked her to call up the dead prophet Samuel.

Samuel appears which causes the medium to scream.

Samuel than reiterates what he has already spoken,

and goes on to say that tomorrow will be the day of judgement for Saul,

as he and his sons will die.

Few different interpretations on this,

but I will give you what I believe makes the most sense and clearest interpretation.

I want to be upfront and honest to say that I could certainly be wrong in my interpretation of this passage.

(funny my wife)

3 things I want to highlight...

1. The plain reading of the text is that Samuel did appear. (no indication... that this is not Samuel)

2. The medium reacted to seeing Samuel with terror.

ESV V12 “she cried out with a loud voice”

NLT V12 “she screamed”

3. The prophecy that Samuel prophecies is consistent with previous prophesies,

and predicts that God’s judgement against Saul will be carried out tomorrow as Saul and his sons will die.

(which in chapter 31 we see does happen)

I lean to think that this was Samuel that appeared,

and that it seems beyond the control of the medium.

Samuel say’s that tomorrow that Saul will be with him.

This did not mean that Saul would be with Samuel in heaven.

Rather he would be joining him in sheol which is described in the Old Testament as the place of the dead.

It is important to remember that this passage is Old Testament,

and in the Old Testament when people died they were described in the Bible as going to sheol.. (the place of the dead)

The saints that passed away in the Old Testament were later raised with Christ’s at His resurrection.

Matthew 27:51–53 (ESV)

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

In the new testament those who are saints and die go to heaven.

2 Corinthians 5:8 (ESV)

8 Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Thief on the cross

Luke 23:43 (ESV)

43 And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

These are New Testament passages...

So when Samuel say’s to Saul,

you and your sons will be joining me he is referring to sheol.

But, I want to say this,

it is important to not get stuck in the weeds on passages that are difficult that we end up missing the main point.

The main point in this passage is Saul has gone full apostate and is going to face judgement.

Leviticus 20:6 (ESV)

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.

Because Saul has turned away from God and turned to a medium,

God has cut Saul off from being among His chosen people.

Saul’s choices have led him to completely reject God...

Theologian

J. Robert Vannoy (commentary of Samuel)

“This is not a message that either Saul or the reader may like to hear, but it is an important message. It tells us that it is possible that the Lord will abandon a person who persists in abandoning him.... God is not mocked. Persistence in disobedience to the Lord is a serious matter and may lead to a hardening of heart from which there is no way back.” (Cornerstone Biblical Commentary 244-245)

Hebrews 10:26 (ESV)

26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

What has Saul done?

He has deliberatly continued on the path of rejecting God.

And his story ends bitterly as he dies in battle along with his sons in chapter 31.

But what makes Saul’s end so bitter,

is that Saul dies a man who has been cut of from God.

Saul’s promising start to becoming the first king of Israel,

finishes with a sad ending.

I communicated when we started the series,

the importance of studying someone like Saul.

The old saying,

those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

And I believe Saul’s life should be studied because I have seen many Saul’s in my life.

Many who were given opportunities to be used by God,

but ultimately choose the wrong path.

And in taking the wrong path brought devastation on not only themselves,

but to those they encounter.

The path Saul walked on,

was a path that led to destruction,

and leaves us today with many lessons to learn.

The last lesson I want to highlight from Saul,

is be careful what path you choose.

Because there is a destination at the end of everyone of our paths.

What path are you on?

[Jesus path… wide or narrow]