How does 1 Samuel 28:21 illustrate the consequences of disobedience to God? Text of 1 Samuel 28:21 “Then the woman came to Saul and saw that he was terrified. She said, ‘Look, your maidservant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me.’ ” Backdrop of Saul’s Disobedience - Earlier command: “There shall not be found among you … a medium or a spiritist” (Deuteronomy 18:10–11). - Saul had once enforced that command, driving out mediums (1 Samuel 28:3). - Facing the Philistines and receiving no answer from the LORD (1 Samuel 28:6), he abandoned God’s law and sought forbidden counsel. Consequences Visible in Verse 21 • Crippling fear – “She saw that he was terrified.” Disobedience dissolved Saul’s courage. • Loss of authority – The king is now the one being addressed and comforted by a medium he had outlawed. • Humiliation and dependence – Saul, meant to shepherd Israel, leans on a woman risking death to break his own decree. • Isolation – No prophet beside him, no priest speaking for him—only the illicit voice he chose. Broader Fallout Already Unfolding - Spiritual abandonment: “The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul” (1 Samuel 16:14). - Prophetic judgment: Samuel had warned, “Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:23). - Approaching death: “So Saul died for his trespass … and did not inquire of the LORD” (1 Chronicles 10:13–14). Scriptural Echoes of This Pattern - Proverbs 13:15 — “The way of the treacherous is hard.” - Isaiah 8:19 — “Should not a people consult their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?” - Galatians 6:7 — “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he will reap.” Living Takeaways • Disobedience replaces God’s peace with paralyzing fear. • Sin reverses God-given order; leaders lose moral authority when they forsake His word. • Turning to forbidden substitutes only deepens emptiness and shame. • God’s warnings are gracious; ignoring them invites judgment that cannot be escaped by human schemes. |
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