1 Samuel · chapter 28 of 31
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1 Samuel 28 tells how the Philistines gather against Israel and Saul, full of fear, receives no answer from the Lord. He disguises himself and goes by night to a medium at Endor, asking her to bring up Samuel. Samuel tells him that the Lord has turned from him, that the kingdom will pass to David and that the next day Saul and his sons will be with him.
In the earlier chapters Saul pursued David and rejected the word of the Lord. In chapter 28 he reaches his darkest moment: facing a Philistine army, the Lord does not answer him, and Saul turns to what he himself had banned. It is one of the most difficult passages in the Bible and shows the tragic end of a king who turned away from God.
The Philistines gather their armies to fight Israel. Achish tells David that he and his men will go with him to battle, and David answers that Achish will see what his servant will do. Achish appoints him his bodyguard for life. Samuel had died, all Israel had mourned him, and Saul had put the mediums and necromancers out of the land.
The Philistines camp at Shunem, and Saul gathers Israel at Gilboa. When he sees the Philistine army, he is afraid and his heart trembles greatly. He inquires of the Lord, but the Lord does not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. So he tells his servants to find him a woman who is a medium so that he may consult her. They tell him there is one at Endor.
Saul disguises himself, goes by night with two men and asks the woman to bring up for him whomever he names. She reminds him that Saul has cut off the mediums. He swears to her by the Lord that no harm will come to her, and asks her to bring up Samuel. When the woman sees Samuel, she cries out and says to him that he is Saul. The king calms her and asks what she sees; she says she sees a divine being coming up out of the earth, an old man wrapped in a robe. Saul bows with his face to the ground.
Samuel asks why he has disturbed him. Saul answers that he is in great distress, that the Philistines are making war on him and that God has turned away from him. Samuel tells him that the Lord has become his enemy, has done what he spoke by him and has torn the kingdom out of his hand to give it to David, because he did not obey the Lord against Amalek. Tomorrow Israel will fall into the hands of the Philistines, and Saul and his sons will be with him. Saul falls to the ground, terrified and without strength. The woman urges him to eat, and he agrees. They prepare a calf and unleavened bread, and that same night they leave.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Saul inquires of the Lord, but he does not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. God's silence is the consequence of years of rejecting his word.
Saul tells his servants to find him a woman who is a medium, though he himself had expelled the necromancers. In desperation he turns to what God's law forbade (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
Samuel answers Saul that the Lord has turned from him and become his enemy. Saul looks for a word of comfort and receives confirmation of judgment.
Samuel announces that tomorrow Saul and his sons will be with him, and that the Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. It is the clear announcement of the defeat that happens in chapter 31.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: He was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. — 1 Samuel 28:5
Answer: He did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. — 1 Samuel 28:6
Answer: He had put them out of the land. — 1 Samuel 28:3
Answer: At Endor. — 1 Samuel 28:7
Answer: That the Lord had turned from him, that the kingdom would pass to David and that the next day Saul and his sons would be with him. — 1 Samuel 28:16-19
Answer: He fell to the ground, terrified and without strength, since he had not eaten all day and night. — 1 Samuel 28:20
God's silence can hurt, but this chapter shows that Saul had sought it for years by not obeying. When he finally needed a word, he tried to get one by means God had forbidden. In a small group you can talk about where we look for answers when we are afraid: in prayer and the Word, or in sources that do not come from God, such as horoscopes, spiritual consultations or superstitions.
It also reminds us that repentance and obedience should not be left for the crisis. The Lord keeps inviting us to return to him while there is time; in Christ, whoever draws near to God with a repentant heart always finds an answer.
1 Samuel 28 ends with Saul terrified and condemned, and with the decisive battle in view. In chapter 29 the story returns to David, who is about to march with the Philistines against Israel and is spared by an objection from the Philistine rulers.
Interpreters differ. Many understand that God allowed Samuel himself to speak, because the message matches what Samuel had already said and comes true. Others think it was an appearance or deception, though the text presents it as Samuel. In any case, the Bible condemns consulting the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10-12).
The law forbade consulting the dead and diviners, and Saul himself had banned them from the land. His action shows that, having not listened to the Lord's voice, he looked for another source. It is a sign of his desperation and his distance from God.