Why did God allow Saul to consult a medium in 1 Samuel 28:14? Canonical Setting and Immediate Context 1 Samuel 28 falls late in Saul’s forty-year reign, c. 1050 BC, after Yahweh had already rejected him for disobedience (1 Samuel 15:23). With the Philistine army encamped at Shunem, Saul “inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or Urim or prophets” (1 Samuel 28:6). In panic he travels by night to Endor, eight miles north of Mount Gilboa, to consult “a woman who was a medium” (v. 7). The scene fulfills Samuel’s earlier warning that “the LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today” (15:28). Divine Prohibition of Necromancy Moses had explicitly outlawed every form of spiritism: “Let no one be found among you … who practices divination … or consults the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12). Leviticus 20:27 required the death penalty for mediums. By law and earlier action Saul himself “had banished the mediums and spiritists from the land” (1 Samuel 28:3). Scripture therefore presents the séance not as sanctioned but as illegal, defiling, and condemnable. Saul’s Moral and Spiritual Descent First Samuel charts a progressive hardening: impatience at Gilgal (13), rash vows (14), sparing Amalek (15), murderous jealousy of David (18–26). Each sin erodes fellowship, culminating in 1 Samuel 16:14: “the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul.” Deprived of prophetic guidance, he turns to the very sin he once suppressed, illustrating James 1:15—“sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” . Sovereignty and Human Freedom Yahweh forbade necromancy, yet He permitted Saul to pursue it. Scripture consistently allows rebellion without condoning it (cf. Numbers 22, Balaam; Luke 22:3, Judas). God’s permissive will never violates moral law but may exploit human choices to accomplish judgment or revelation. Proverbs 16:9: “A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps” . Judicial Hardening as Judgment The episode exemplifies Romans 1:24—God “gave them over” to their desires. Saul’s rejection of earlier light leads to judicial hardening: “He did not follow the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium. Therefore, He put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David” (1 Chronicles 10:13–14). The séance marks the moment divine forbearance ends and sentence is sealed. Reality of the Apparition: Samuel or Impostor? The text repeatedly identifies the figure as “Samuel” (vv. 12, 14, 15). The woman shrieks in fear—hardly the reaction to a routine demonic manifestation—suggesting she did not conjure him by ordinary powers. The message delivered matches Samuel’s prophetic style, cites Yahweh, recalls prior prophecy, and predicts next-day fulfillment (vv. 16–19), all of which come true (31:1–6). Nowhere does the narrator hint at deception. Ancient Jewish commentators (Josephus, Ant. 6.14) and early church fathers (Justin, Tertullian) likewise took it as a genuine, God-sent appearance permitted for this unique judicial purpose. Purpose in Redemptive History 1. Validation of Samuel’s earlier oracle—Saul’s dynasty ends, David’s begins. 2. Demonstration that rejecting God’s Word leaves only counterfeit spirituality. 3. Warning to Israel (and later readers) against occultism; the account is included precisely because it is exceptional. 4. Foreshadowing of the climactic rule of David’s greater Son, the risen Christ, who secures true access to God (Hebrews 1:1–2; 4:14–16). Archaeological and Cultural Corroboration Endor’s site is confirmed by surveys north of modern Naim; Philistine iron weaponry from nearby Beth-shan strata VII aligns with the biblical period. Ugaritic ritual texts (KTU 1.85) detail necromancy banquets held the night before battle, paralleling Saul’s context and underscoring the cultural lure Israel was to resist (cf. Habermas & Meyer, eds., Archeology and the Old Testament, ch. 4). Dead Sea Scroll 4Q51 (4QSama) reproduces 1 Samuel 28 nearly verbatim, attesting its textual integrity centuries before Christ. Theological and Pastoral Implications • God’s silence is never license for sin; pursue repentance, not forbidden channels. • Spiritual anemia results from prolonged disobedience; heed Hebrews 3:15, “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” • Occult fascination invites judgment; Acts 19:19 models burning of occult materials. • Even in judgment God speaks, giving final clarity to His Word and vindicating His prophets. Answer Summarized God allowed Saul to consult the medium not by approval but as a sovereign act of judicial hardening, to authenticate Samuel’s prophecy, to expose the lethal folly of occultism, and to advance redemptive history toward David’s—and ultimately Christ’s—throne. |
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