What is the meaning of 1 Samuel 28:11? Whom shall I bring up for you? • The question exposes the dark reality of necromancy: someone is expected to be “brought up” from the realm of the dead, a practice God had clearly forbidden (Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Leviticus 19:31). • Saul’s willingness to entertain the question shows how far he has drifted; moments earlier he had “inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him” (1 Samuel 28:6), so he now turns to an illicit source. • By asking whom, the medium places the burden on Saul to choose his desired messenger—revealing that this séance is not guided by the will of God but by the whim of a desperate king. the woman asked • The medium of Endor is fearful; she reminds Saul that consulting the dead is punishable by death (1 Samuel 28:9), yet she still proceeds because Saul swears an oath “by the LORD” (v. 10)—a tragic misuse of God’s name (Exodus 20:7). • Her role highlights how even those living in spiritual darkness recognize the king’s hypocrisy: Saul had earlier “removed from the land those who were mediums” (v. 3), yet he now seeks one. • Scripture consistently portrays such practitioners as counterfeit (Isaiah 8:19), but here God overrules the moment for His own purpose. Bring up Samuel • Saul chooses the one man who had faithfully spoken God’s word to him in life (1 Samuel 15:26-29). Instead of repenting, he tries to manipulate access to divine guidance on his own terms. • The request assumes Samuel is alive in the afterlife, affirming conscious existence beyond death (cf. Matthew 22:32). • God permits the real Samuel to appear, not as an endorsement of necromancy but as a final courtroom-style testimony against Saul (vv. 15-19). he replied • Saul’s terse answer exposes both urgency and presumption; he no longer waits on God but issues a command, echoing earlier patterns of self-reliance (1 Samuel 13:11-14). • His words seal his fate: instead of saying, “Seek the LORD for me,” he instructs the medium, showing how sin distorts priorities (Proverbs 14:12). • The scene underlines a sobering truth—when people repeatedly reject God’s voice, they may find themselves hearing His judgment instead (Hebrews 3:15-19). summary 1 Samuel 28:11 captures the tragic pivot of Israel’s first king: faced with silence from heaven, Saul turns to a forbidden source and demands that the dead prophet speak. The medium’s question, Saul’s choice of Samuel, and his swift reply all spotlight the emptiness of human schemes compared to God’s unchanging word. The verse warns that disobedience drives us toward darker counsel, yet it also affirms God’s sovereignty—He can even commandeer a séance to declare His righteous verdict. |
    |