Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Samuel 28-31.

Throughout his time as king, Saul had received guidance from God, and then done whatever he thought was the correct thing to do.  Now, he faces a problem which he knows is more than he can handle and seeks God’s guidance, but God will no longer answer him.  And rather than accept what God has decreed for him, King Saul chooses to consult a medium, which he knows is contrary to God’s command.  Sometimes I wish we had an example of what would have happened had King Saul chosen to repent his sins here and throw himself on God’s mercy instead of seeking a way around God’s judgment.  Nevertheless, the important lesson we learn here is that if we repeatedly choose to take the action which we thinks is best, despite it being contrary to the guidance which God offers us, eventually He will no longer offer us guidance.  We have a contrary lesson from David in this passage.  David had actively sought God’s guidance and followed it in the passages from the previous days, and in today’s, and God worked things to his benefit.  First, God arranged for the Philistines to expel David from their order of battle before they attacked King Saul in his final battle.  Thus saving David from having to decide between loyalty to Achish, who had provided him protection from Saul, and his unwillingness to raise his hand against King Saul as God’s anointed.  Even further, if David and his men had joined in battle with the Philistines, they would have returned home to Ziklag too late to rescue their families from the Amalekite raiders who had raided it in their absence.  “All things work together for good for those who love the Lord.”

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.