What is the meaning of 1 Samuel 28:25? She served it The woman of Endor prepares “a fattened calf” and “unleavened bread” (1 Samuel 28:24), then places the finished meal before her guest. The narrative slows down on this small kindness, underlining how God can use even unlikely people to meet needs. • Similar scenes of urgent hospitality appear in Genesis 18:8 and Judges 6:19, reminding us that in Scripture a prepared meal often signals God’s providence in moments of crisis. • Though the woman earlier trembled before the king (v. 21), she now functions as God’s unwitting instrument, fulfilling Proverbs 25:21—“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat.” to Saul and his servants The meal is not private; Saul’s entourage shares it. Their presence verifies the event, showing this is no hallucination but a factual occurrence. • In 1 Samuel 10:7, Samuel had once told Saul, “Do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you.” Now Saul depends on servants rather than the Lord, highlighting the contrast. • Ecclesiastes 4:10 notes the need for companions in hardship; yet these servants cannot offer the spiritual support Saul truly lacks. and they ate After a day of fasting (v. 20), Saul finally takes nourishment, regaining physical strength but not spiritual discernment. • Compare 1 Samuel 14:24–30 where Saul’s earlier rash oath kept his army from eating; now he himself must eat to continue. • David later gives food to an abandoned Egyptian (1 Samuel 30:11-12), and the man revives; Saul similarly revives, but without repentance. And that night Events unfold under cover of darkness, emphasizing Saul’s spiritual state. • John 13:30 remarks of Judas, “And it was night,” capturing moral darkness; Saul, too, moves deeper into the night of unbelief. • Deuteronomy 28:29 warns of a cursed people who “grope at noon as the blind man gropes in darkness”; Saul’s nighttime departure foreshadows the judgment soon to come. they got up The phrase shows renewed energy—food has done its work. Yet no change of heart accompanies the change of posture. • Psalm 127:2 reminds that toil without the Lord’s favor is empty; Saul stands in his own strength, not in God’s. and left Saul exits the witch’s house to march toward Mount Gilboa and his final battle (1 Samuel 31). The last recorded meal of Israel’s first king occurs not with priests or prophets but with a medium, underscoring his tragic trajectory. • 2 Samuel 2:32 later recounts an all-night retrieval of Saul’s body, bookending this night of departure with a night of mourning. summary 1 Samuel 28:25 captures the quiet before the storm. The witch’s meal shows God’s common grace, sustaining Saul’s body even as his soul drifts from obedience. Surrounded by servants and physical provision, he remains spiritually empty, walking into literal and figurative darkness. The verse stands as a sober warning: strength without surrender leads only to night. |
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