Burning Bush Blogs
Equipping Men with Biblical Knowledge and Leadership Skills
Category: Personal Study
Thread: Game of Thrones
Post Topic: The Conjuring of Samuel
Post in Thread: #11
Previous: David’s mighty men
Next: The King is Dead; Long Live the King (coming soon)
Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:4-20
Key Verses:
I Samuel 28:9-11
9 Then the woman said to him, “Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
10 And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”.
Observations
Context
Saul’s relationship with God’s prophet Samuel had disintegrated. But at least Samuel’s voice was a familiar one. A voice Saul knew to speak truth from God. A voice Saul would occasionally turn back to when he felt cornered. Saul thought of Samuel as a tool to regain God’s favor during desperate times. Like now. But now, Samuel had passed on. With the massive enemy force poised to attack, where can Saul turn?
Desperate times call for desperate measures
- A massive Philistine force gathered in opposition to Saul and the Israelites. Saul was deeply distressed.
- Verse 3 tells us that Saul had put all the mediums and spiritualists out of the land.
- Was this because one of them had told him something he didn’t want to hear?
- Or maybe he had actually wanted to do something that was within the will of God? Knowing Saul, it was likely a weak attempt to gain God’s favor, or Samuel’s favor.
- With Samuel dead, however, Saul goes back on his own edict. He asks his men to find him a medium.
- They unearth the witch of Endor.
- What does Saul want from her? He asks her to conjure up the spirit of Samuel.
The Conjuring
- The witch asks who Saul wants to conjure up, but we aren’t told whether she performed any ritual.
- She then sees a ghostly figure rising out of the earth.
- She cries out in fear.
- At Saul’s urging, she describes it as an old man wearing a robe.
- Saul believes instantly that it is indeed Samuel. Saul falls with his face to the ground.
- There are no specific statements that this is anyone other than Samuel, like Satan impersonating the prophet.
- Samuel’s first words: “Why have you disturbed me by calling me up?”
- Saul admits that he’s in great distress. He’s no longer in communion with the Lord. No longer does he receive dreams and visions from God. No longer can he find a prophet willing to speak into his life.
Samuel’s chilling message
- Why did you even need to bring me up? The Lord had already spoken through me when I was alive. The kingship has been torn from you and given to David.
- Because you did not obey God’s instructions, this has come upon you.
- The Lord will deliver Israel into the hands of the Philistines.
- Tomorrow, both you and your sons will be with me.
Interpretation
Setting
This story takes place near the Jezreel Valley in the heart of Israel. See item 2 on the map below for Endor. The next post in the Game of Thrones series will dive into the battle itself and the aftermath, which is also shown on this map.
Genre
Historical accounts.
The séance
- Are séances real?
- The witch was shocked to see the apparition. Why?
- Perhaps she was a complete fraudster, and didn’t expect to ever see something like this.
- Perhaps she had a demon that she was familiar with who would impersonate spirits of the dead. Samuel would not have been that familiar demon, obviously.
- There was no ceremony described. It seems like Samuel appeared quite unexpectedly.
- God allowed this to happen. Samuel was sent to pronounce final judgment on Saul.
Was it really Samuel? Or a demon impersonating him?
- Solid biblical scholars disagree. Do your own research and don’t take my word for it, but I believe it was actually Samuel.
- The case for a demon or Satan himself impersonating Samuel:
- God has a prohibition against consulting with the dead. Why would he send Samuel in contradiction of his own prohibition?
- The demon impersonated Samuel, foretelling doom, and sending a message that there is no hope. The demon didn’t want Saul to have any opportunity or desire for repentance.
- The case for Samuel:
- There is nothing in the text claiming it was anything other than the prophet.
- God’s prohibition against consulting with the occult is a prohibition for humans, not God himself. As sovereign God, he could elect to send Samuel to fit his purposes.
- This séance was one final abomination by Saul. God had had enough, and decided to send Samuel to deliver that message.
Takeaways
- Samuel asked why Saul disturbed him. After we’re in the presence of God, we’re not going to want to be sent back to this earth to deal with a disobedient man like Saul.
- Saul knew that consulting with a medium was prohibited. He’d even gone so far as to expel them from the land. He tried to disguise himself when he went to see the witch at Endor. Yet he still went.
- Saul’s relationship with God was so ruined by this point that Samuel didn’t even bother telling Saul to repent. Judgment was inevitable.
- What did Samuel mean when he said that Saul and his sons would be joining Samuel tomorrow? Was Saul saved?
- Was Samuel generally referring to Saul joining the realm of the dead?
- Or was he speaking about the home of the righteous?
- Most Christians believe in the doctrine of once truly saved, always saved. Early in his kingship, Saul appeared to exhibit the traits of a true follower of God. So maybe.
- Whatever the status of Saul’s soul, it didn’t prevent him from severe judgment by God here on earth.
- What did Samuel mean when he said that Saul and his sons would be joining Samuel tomorrow? Was Saul saved?
Imagine
Early in Saul’s kingship, he had a close relationship with God. The Spirit of God came upon him at times, and God spoke to him via dreams and prophets. But then, as detailed in previous posts such as Good and Evil Spirits, everything changes. God is so disgusted with Saul, that he allows an evil spirit to torment the king.
No longer having that relationship with God, what would you have done in Saul’s shoes? Would you have been so desperate as to consult a medium for answers? He clearly believed in the power of God. He just hadn’t been willing to submit to God. If it were you, with the Philistines arrayed against you, might that have been a turning point?
Correlation
I Chronicles 10:13-14 – These verses confirm that Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord and even consulted a medium. From this, we can be assured that God did not condone the conjuring by sending Samuel back to speak to Saul.
Leviticus 20:27 says: A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads. Okay, I won’t be doing that!
Application
Generic Applications
- The occult is real. If it were just a harmless game, God wouldn’t have warned so vigorously against it.
- Spiritual warfare is a separate huge topic. But demons are real, and involvement in activities like séances open the door for demonic influences in our lives.
Personalize it
- Am I or someone I know intrigued by the dark arts? If so, how does the I Chronicles 10:13-14 passage speak truth to me?
- When my soul is troubled, is my default action to turn to the Lord?
Bible study methodology adapted from Searching the Scriptures with permission from Tyndale House:
Swindoll, Charles, Searching the Scriptures. Tyndale House Publishers, 2016.
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