Tag Archives: 1 Samuel 28-31

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2024 Bible Study — If We Reject God’s Guidance, He Will Reject Us

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

When I read today’s passage two questions cross my mind.  The first one: would David have fought for the Philistines and against the Israelites if the other Philistine rulers had not demanded that Achish send him away from the battle?  Second, why is the account of Saul consulting the medium in Endor included here?  I do not think that we can answer the first question with any more than a guess.  While David lived under Achish’s rule, he was careful to never attack any Israelite settlements but told Achish that he had.  As to the second question, I think we can reach a few conclusions about why it was included.  First, it gives us an idea about how desperate Saul had become as he heads into his final battle.  Additionally, it tells us that at least some of those who claim to speak with the dead are indeed able to do so.  Finally, we learn that if we turn aside from God we will be left with nowhere to turn when things inevitably go wrong.

On the other hand, David consulted God whenever he had a decision to make.  So, when he was about to feel compelled to fight against his own people, God arranged for the Philistines to send him away from the battle, just in time for him to return to his home base to discover that his wives and possessions, and those of his men, had been taken by bandits.  Again, David consulted God before setting off in pursuit of those bandits.  With God’s help David was able to overtake the bandits and recover not only all of the goods and people which the bandits had taken from him and his men, he also recovered that which they had taken from other towns and villages nearby.  He shared some of this plunder with the elders of Judah who had provided him supplies and support while he was hiding from King Saul.

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

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2023 Bible Study — King Saul’s Good Intentions Did Not Spare Him The Consequence Of His Sins

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

I always find the account of Saul going to the medium of Endor difficult.  My understanding of Scripture has always been that those who claim to speak with the dead are either frauds or mistaking other spirits for the spirit of the dead.  Yet, this passage is quite clear that the woman summoned Samuel’s spirit and that Saul spoke with him.  This story contains an important lesson for us, one which is easy to miss.  At several points we are told that Saul had implemented God’s law in the land, at least to some degree.  In the introduction to this account we are told that Saul had expelled all of the mediums and spiritists from the land.  That was in accordance with God’s law as given to Moses.  Yet, despite implementing God’s law as the law of Israel, God departed from Saul because of his disobedience.   I don’t want to go into what Saul did, both good and bad, because it would be too easy to draw the wrong lesson.  The lesson is that God desires that we obey Him more than He desires that we offer sacrifices, or sing His praises.  King Saul thought that he could pick and choose which of God’s commands to obey.  It does not work that way, God calls us to obey all of His commands.  While He will forgive us when we fall short of His expectations, we cannot act against His commands just because we have good intentions.

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

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2022 Bible Study — God Keeps David From Fighting With The Philistines Against Israel

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

After the second time David had a close encounter with King Saul when Saul was pursuing him, David decided to take his men over and enter into the service of the Philistine king of Gath, Achish.  This was second time David went to the king of Gath to join his service.  The first time David was alone and pretended to be crazy to avoid being killed.  This time David had a force of 600 loyal men following him, giving him protection.  We read in yesterday’s passage that David went to a lot of effort to convince Achish that he was raiding Israelite towns and villages, when he was not actually doing so.  As a result, when the Philistines went to war against King Saul, Achish asked David to accompany him and planned to give him a position of great importance in his order of battle.  However, the other Philistine rulers feared that David would do what the Israelite mercenaries in their army had done in their first battle against King Saul many years earlier and insisted that Achish not include David in his order of battle.

We do not know what David intended to do had Achish included him in his order of battle, but we see how God worked to keep David from going into battle against his own people.  God also worked to send David and his men back to their village in time to rescue their families, who had been taken captive by a raiding party while they were with the Philistine army.

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

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2021 Bible Study King Saul Makes One Last Bad Decision

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

We see King Saul’s complete desperation leading into his final battle in today’s passage.  One of the first things he had done as king was to drive all of those who communicated with the dead out of Israel.  Now as he faces battle against overwhelming forces he seeks one to consult the spirit of Samuel because he can get no answer from God by any of the means at his disposal.

SIDENOTE:Actually, I find it interesting that the passage tells us King Saul could not no reply from the Urim.  The Urim was to be kept with the Thummim in the high priest’s ephod and we know that Abiathar took the ephod with him when he fled to David.  Further, Abiathar used the ephod to divine God’s will for David.

So, why was King Saul so desperate?  It seems likely that the men following David were not the only potential members of King Saul’s army who had not responded to his call to arms.  Which resulted in King Saul’s army being much smaller than he expected it to be.  In any case, it shows that King Saul had recognized the failure of the path he had chosen, but had no idea how to change direction.  Once again, King Saul makes the wrong decision.  Of course, by this point I am not sure that he had left himself any way to make the right decision, but I do believe that as long as we live we may turn to God and beg His forgiveness.  If King Saul had done that here, he would probably still died in the coming battle, but the people of Israel might have suffered less.

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

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2020 Bible Study — Following Through On the Guidance We Receive From God

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

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

In this passage we see examples of both King Saul and David seeking God’s guidance as to what to do.  However King Saul received no such guidance, while David did receive guidance from God.  The record we have here in 1 Samuel suggests that King Saul frequently sought God’s guidance and even generally sought to enforce God’s laws.  David also frequently sought God’s guidance and seems to have generally sought to enforce God’s laws.  Both King Saul and David after him violated God’s commands.  However, I noticed one difference, when David asked for God’s guidance he followed through completely.  Saul, on the other hand, followed through until his objective was met, then, if he felt there was advantage in not following the rest of God’s instructions, he would fail to follow through.

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April 7, 2019 Bible Study — Even In Tragedy God’s Plan Brings Good Things To David

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

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

The Philistines mustered their armies to attack King Saul in what appears to be greater numbers than on any previous occasion.  Or perhaps King Saul was unable to muster as large of an army as he had previously.  It seems likely that David was not the only war chief whom Saul had alienated.  In any case, the King of Gath ordered David and his men to join him as they went to war.  The King of Gath was convinced that David had alienated the Israelites to such a degree that he could never return to living among them.  However, the other Philistine kings remembered how their Hebrew auxiliaries had switched sides in their first battle with King Saul and insisted that David and his men not be part of their order of battle.  David appears to have sincerely wished to join the Philistines in battle, but he may have just been putting on appearances as he did with the stories he had told the King of Gath abut attacking Judean towns.

In any case, this worked out for the best for David and his men.  When they returned to the town out of which they were based they discovered that it had been attacked and burned to the ground.  All of their property and their wives and children had been taken by the raiders.  If they had joined the Philistines in battle, the trail would have been long cold by the time they got back.  I will also note that David’s men considered stoning him for what had happened.  This suggests that they were angry because he had left none of the men behind to protect the town (a thought to revisit in a few minutes).  However, David convinced them that they could still chase down the raiders and get their families back (or perhaps they were more concerned with their goods).  David did this by having Abiathar, the priest, use the ephod to ask God if they should chase after the raiders and if they would catch them.  One could interpret this as a cunning move on David’s part, and it was, but it was also consistent with David’s reliance on God going back to his confrontation with Goliath.  David’s appeal to God’s guidance worked with his men because he had demonstrated time and again that he had faith in God and sought God’s guidance before taking action.

Now I want to touch on the thought I said I would get back to in a few minutes.  While pursuing the raiders some of the men became too tired to continue.  Reading between the lines, we can conclude that the problem was transporting their supplies.  David left his supplies and 200 men behind so that the rest could be faster in pursuing the raiders.  After they defeated the raiders and rejoined the men left behind, those who had defeated the raiders did not want to share the plunder with the men left behind.  David pointed out that that was what got them into this problem in the first place.  All of the men had wanted to join the Philistines in battle because those who stayed behind to guard their town would not have shared in the plunder.  There is one final point I want to make.  David benefited in two ways from the Philistine kings rejecting him joining them in battle.  First, he did not have to fight against his fellow Israelites, with the bad feelings that would have generated. Second, he gained plunder from the raiders which he was able to distribute to various leaders of the tribe of Judah with whom he was friendly.  This further cemented their support for him when they learned of the death of King Saul and his sons.

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2018 Bible Study –Was the Witch of Endor an Ewok?

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

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

    The first thing I want to comment on is that the town where Saul found a medium was Endor. George Lucas chose to name of the home of the Ewoks. It seems unlikely that George Lucas knowingly chose that name from this source, but I am curious how he came up with it for the movie. Aside from that, I struggle with this passage because my reading of the rest of the Bible leads me to believe that the spirits of the dead cannot be summoned in this manner. Yet, here we have the witch of Endor summoning Samuel’s spirit for Saul. Perhaps my understanding about summoning the spirits of the dead is mistaken (although God clearly forbids attempting such a thing, even if it is possible), or perhaps this story of Saul summoning Samuel’s spirit is merely figurative. In either case, despite having refused on multiple occasions to heed God’s commands, Saul was seeking God’s guidance one last time. But this time, Saul could not get any guidance from God, no matter what methods he tried, not even by consulting Samuel’s dead spirit. There is an important lesson for us here. If we refuse to do as we know God has directed us, eventually He will not offer us guidance, no matter how desperately we desire it.

    The Philistine king to whom David had gone seeking protection from Saul asked David to join the Philistine army being assembled to go to battle against Saul. David eagerly accepted. Based on David’s refusal to kill Saul when he had the chance, and the fact that he raided no Israelite towns (while telling the Philistine king that they were Israelite towns, I have to wonder what David really planned to do. However, in the event, the other Philistine kings and military commanders demanded the David not be part of their order of battle. They remembered what had happened the first time they had gone to battle against Saul, when the Hebrew troops in their lines switched sides in the middle of the battle. Perhaps David knew that this would happen. Or perhaps God just provided him a way to avoid going to battle with the people over whom he would soon rule.

Daily Bible Study

April 7, 2017 Bible Study — If We Want God’s Guidance, We Need To Follow It When He Gives It To Us

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

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

    I struggle with what to make of the story of Saul consulting with a medium in order to speak with Samuel one last time. We learn that Saul had driven all of the mediums and spiritists out of the territory which he controlled (spiritists are those who believe in salvation/enlightenment/betterment through communication with the dead). However, despite having done so, Saul was so desperate for guidance, for a way out of the situation he created for himself, that he sought out a medium in an attempt to consult Samuel’s spirit. Saul found himself in this situation with God no longer giving him any guidance because time and again in his life he chose to follow his own counsel rather than that of God. Samuel’s spirit reminded Saul of one specific occasion when Saul chose to take the course of action he thought best rather than the one which God directed, but as we have seen, this was not an isolated incident. We can learn from Saul’s life that if we choose to do what we think best when that is counter to God’s clear direction, He will eventually stop giving us any direction at all.

    The writer makes a subtle contrast between David and Saul here. When Saul went to the medium, Samuel’s spirit reminded him of his failure to follow God’s direction when he went to war with the Amelekites. When David is sent back from marching among the Philistine armies, he finds that Amelekites have raided his village and taken his family and possessions. David pursues them and defeats them, recovering his family and the families of his men (I wonder if the Amelekite raid against Ziklag, David’s village, was in retaliation for David’s raids against Amelekites).

    However, I want to focus on how God works things out for His ends. David was willing to lead his men into battle against the Israelite army under Saul. Perhaps for no other reason than that he thought he had no choice. If David had joined the Philistines in defeating the Israelite army, it would have been an impediment to him later becoming the king of Israel. So, God arranged for the other Philistine leaders to insist that David not enter the battle.
    Further when David returned to his base of operations, the town of Ziklag, it had been raided and the families of his war band had been taken captive. There are several aspects of this which shaped David’s future from here. First, if he and his men had fought in the battle between the Philistines and the Israelites, the families of David’s men would have been long gone, and thus probably their loyalty to David.

Side note: This is related to what I wrote about Saul and following God’s direction. David did not immediately set out after the raiders. Rather, he first called Abiathar the priest to ask God for direction. It was only after God assured him that he should pursue the raiders and that he would capture them that David set out in pursuit.

Second, because David pursued the Amelekites and fought them to recover the people and goods they had taken, it is clear to everyone that he was not at the battle between the Philistines and Israelites where Saul died. The evidence for his absence from that battle was the plunder which he shared with the various people and towns where he had sheltered when he was hiding from Saul. Something he did before he received the news that Saul was dead. Every time I read these passages I am impressed with the contrast between the political styles of Saul and David.

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April 7, 2016 Bible Study — Righteous Vs. Religious

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

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

    The story about Saul and the witch of Endor (there were no Ewoks at this Endor) has a few things which should serve as warnings to us about the difference between being religious and being righteous. When Saul failed to receive any guidance from God for the upcoming battle, he became desperate and sought out a medium, someone who claimed to speak with the dead. Saul had trouble finding one because he was a religious leader. He had banned, on pain of death, all mediums and who consulted with the spirits of the dead. He had done this because it was called for in the Book of the Law. A righteous leader might have done the same, but a righteous leader would not have sought out a medium, no matter how dire the straits.

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    David’s approach to this same battle reflects a different attitude (this comparison is not quite fair because at this point David was a man in his prime while Saul was an old man). From David’s actions on the occasions when he had the opportunity to kill Saul and from his actions when he went on raids at the end of the last chapter (he attacked non-Israelite towns, but told Achish that he had attacked towns of Judah) I find it unlikely that David wanted to fight with the Philistines against the Israelites. Nevertheless, David expressed a willingness to fight with the Philistines. David had confidence that God would provide him a way out.