Living Among the Enemy While the Anointed Fall.

An Expositional Study of 1 Samuel 27–31

I. DAVID’S CHOICE TO LIVE AMONG THE ENEMY (1 Samuel 27:1–7)

Highlight Verse: 1 Samuel 27:1

“And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand of Saul…”

A. David’s Despairing Reasoning (27:1)

David said in his heart—internal logic, not divine direction.

Fear leads to flawed conclusions.

David chooses self-preservation over seeking the Lord (contrast: 1 Sam 23:2, 4; 30:8).

B. The Move to Philistine Territory (27:2–4)

Achish welcomes David—remarkably comfortable with the future king of Israel.

Saul upon hearing that David had fled to Gath...“sought no more again for him” (1 Sam 27:4)—a temporary relief but a dangerous compromise.

He lives and operates in enemy territory for the next 16 months (1 year and a half)

C. The Settlement in Ziklag (27:5–7)

David requests a city; he receives Ziklag, which becomes his base of operations.

Ziklag was originally given to the Simeonites during Joshua’s time but was later taken by the Philistines. It was apparently uninhabited when Achish gave it to David. This gift resulted in Ziklag becoming the property of the kings of Judah.

David is living in a land God said Israel must not imitate.

Spiritual principle: When we stop inquiring of God, we settle for places God never intended.

II. THE DOUBLE LIFE OF DAVID (1 Samuel 27:8–12)

Highlight Verse: 27:12

“Achish believed David…”

A. David’s Raids and Rationalizations (27:8–9)

1 Samuel 27:8–9 “8 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. 9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish.”

David would deceive Achish about his raids. While Achish understood David was attacking Hebrew inhabitants near the desert, David was actually attacking nomad tribes in the actual desert.

Strikes Israel’s enemies—but hides evidence.

A complicated moral position—mixed motives, mixed company.

B. The Deception Before Achish (27:10–12)

Achish thinks David has turned against Israel.

“He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him” (v. 12).

David’s integrity is tested.

Lesson: Compromise always demands more compromise.

While David is struggling with his compromise and problems - Saul to is coming to grips with God’s separation from him.

III. SAUL’S DESPERATE TURN TO DARKNESS (1 Samuel 28:3–25)

Highlight Verse: 28:6

“The LORD answered him not…”

Before we interpret the supernatural moment, the text sets a theological backdrop:

Samuel is dead 1 Samuel 28:3).

Philistines and Israel were preparing for battle 1 Sam 28:4-5.

Saul sees the Philistines and becomes frightened - 1 Sam 28:5.

When Saul inquires of God, “the LORD answered him not” (28:6)—

No dreams (personal revelation)

No Urim (priestly revelation)

No prophets (public revelation)

This silence is judicial. Saul wants information, not repentance.

Thus, the narrative is not primarily about a witch—it’s about a king under judgment.

B. The Forbidden Consultation (28:7–14)

Saul seeks a medium at En-dor—a violation of the Law (Deut 18:10–12).

Saul has expelled mediums (Deut 18:10–12), yet now seeks one himself.

The king is now disguising himself to commit the very sins he once outlawed.

The Medium’s Actions: Real Occult Practice—But Not Real Power

Evangelical scholars almost universally affirm:

A. Occult practices were real—but limited

Ancient necromancy involved:

Altered states

Dark rituals

Spirit impersonations (familiar spirits)

Divination through deceitful or demonic influence

These practitioners often pretended to summon the dead but actually accessed lying spirits or illusions.

B. Mediums had no power over the righteous dead or the afterlife

She could not summon a prophet of God. She could not call a person from Sheol. She certainly could not command Samuel.

Evangelicals agree: she did not raise Samuel. God did.

3. What Actually Happens? The Unexpected Event

The text is shockingly clear:

“When the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice” (28:12).

Her scream is the key to interpretation.

Why does she scream?

Because:

This is not what she expected.

This is not what she can do.

Something beyond her occult abilities has occurred.

The event terrifies the medium, not Saul. She instantly knows a power greater than hers is at work.

Most evangelical commentators conclude:

God sovereignly intervened and sent Samuel,

not because the woman conjured him, but in spite of her rituals.

4. What Evangelical Scholars Say Happened

Here is the mainstream conservative viewpoint:

A. Samuel literally appears (not a demon impersonation)

Reasons evangelicals affirm a real Samuel:

The text repeatedly calls him “Samuel” with no hint of deception (vv. 12, 14, 15, 16).

Samuel’s message is consistent with his previous rebukes (see 1 Sam 15).

His prophecy (“tomorrow you and your sons will be with me”) comes true (31:1–6).

Demons deceive; they do not speak God’s confirmed truth in detail.

Samuel rebukes Saul in the same tone and theology he used in life.

This is why conservative scholars—Keil & Delitzsch, Bergen (NAC), Davis, Kaiser—say:

✔ The medium did not raise Samuel. ✔ God allowed Samuel to appear in judgment. ✔ This is a unique, one-time exception, not the norm.

What Samuel Says: Divine Judgment, Not Guidance

Samuel’s message is firm, final, and judicial:

A. God has departed (28:16)

No more opportunities for Saul to repent.

B. The kingdom has been given to David (28:17)

A reminder of 1 Samuel 15.

C. Saul will die “tomorrow” (28:19)

This is not advice—it is a sentence.

D. “Thou and thy sons shall be with me” (28:19)

Not necessarily heaven— “with me” means in Sheol, the realm of the dead.

Samuel appears to close the book on Saul’s reign.

6. What Actually Happens in the Supernatural Moment?

Summarizing evangelical consensus:

The medium attempted occult communication.

✔ Real rituals. ✔ Real demonic influence. ✔ Real forbidden activity.

But God overrides the occult attempt.

✔ God breaks into the séance. ✔ God sends Samuel. ✔ Samuel delivers divine judgment. ✔ The medium is terrified. ✔ Saul is doomed.

The supernatural encounter is not satanic success—it is divine intervention.

D. Saul’s Collapse of Spirit (28:20–25)

He falls “straightway all along the earth” (v. 20).

Saul has come to the end of himself without ever returning to God.

IV. DAVID DELIVERED FROM A TERRIBLE COMPROMISE (1 Samuel 29:1–11)

Highlight Verse: 29:6

Achish: “As the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright…”

A. David Positioned to Fight Against Israel (29:1–5)

David is marching with Philistines against the people he will one day shepherd.

Even Achish believes he is loyal—but God overrules the moment.

B. Philistine Lords Reject David (29:3–5)

God uses pagan rulers to rescue David from a moral disaster.

Application: God sometimes saves us from the consequences of our own choices.

C. A Providential Dismissal (29:6–11)

David leaves peacefully: God’s mercy, not David’s wisdom.

A turning point: from compromised loyalty to renewed calling.

V. THE ZIKLAG CRISIS AND DAVID’S RETURN TO GOD (1 Samuel 30:1–31)

Highlight Verse: 30:6

“But David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.”

A. The Devastation at Ziklag (30:1–5)

Amalekites burn the city, steal the people.

David’s men weep until “they had no more power to weep” (v. 4).

They blame David and speak of stoning him (v. 6).

B. David Repents—He Seeks the Lord Again (30:6–8)

First time recorded since 1 Sam 23.

He calls for the ephod (v. 7).

God answers David—God answers repentant hearts.

C. The Pursuit and Victory (30:9–20)

God directs David and restores what was lost.

“Nothing was lacking” (30:19).

Grace in the ashes.

D. The Dispute Among David’s Men (30:21–25)

The “sons of Belial” want to withhold spoil.

David establishes a principle of generosity and unity in the community of God.

E. The Gifts to Judah (30:26–31)

David reconnects with Judah—his future kingdom.

While Saul collapses, David rebuilds.

VI. THE FALL OF SAUL—A TRAGIC END (1 Samuel 31:1–13)

Highlight Verse: 31:4

“Then said Saul unto his armorbearer, Draw thy sword…”

A. The Defeat at Gilboa (31:1–3)

Israel is overwhelmed; Saul is critically wounded.

The king who would not fall before God falls before the Philistines.

B. The Death of Saul and His Sons (31:4–6)

Saul dies by his own hand—Israel’s first king ends in suicide, not surrender.

Jonathan, faithful till the end, dies by his father.

C. The Humiliation of Israel (31:7–10)

Philistines display the bodies in the house of Ashtaroth.

Spiritual and national disgrace.

D. The Valor of Jabesh-Gilead (31:11–13)

The men of Jabesh remember Saul’s early deliverance (1 Sam 11).

They honor his body—mercy at the end of a tragic life.

VII. THE CONTRAST: DAVID RISING, SAUL FALLING

Key Summary Verses:

David at his lowest: bound to Philistines (27; 29) → restored by God (30).

Saul at his lowest: abandoned by God (28) → destroyed by Philistines (31).

Contrast Themes

David: Encourages himself in the LORD (30:6).

Saul: God answered him not (28:6).

David: Seeks guidance again (30:8).

Saul: Seeks a medium (28:7).

David: Recovers all (30:18–20).

Saul: Loses all (31:1–6).

Theological Conclusion

Even when God’s anointed suffers, falters, or wanders, God sovereignly shapes His plan—preserving David’s calling while letting Saul’s disobedience run its course.