1 SAMUEL MOMENT – (04APR19) The Lord had left Saul due to
his disobedience. The Prophet Samuel had died, but not before anointing the
next king of Israel, which was to be David. The Philistines were preparing for
battle against the Israelites and Saul wanted to know if he would be granted
success against them, but he was no longer able to hear from the Lord, prophet,
or the priest’s Urim. Therefore, he resorted to going to a medium, which had
been absolutely forbidden by God. Saul asked for the spirit of Samuel to come
forth, so that he could inquire of him. There is much debate as to if this was
the actual spirit of Samuel, or if it was a demonic entity made to appear as him.
Here are a few things to consider that are within the text. 1.) The Lord was no
longer with Saul and when he inquired of Him, he did not get any answers, so
this is one of the reasons Saul consorted the witch (1 Samuel 28:6). 2.) The
Bible says that the dead knows not anything, so the likelihood of Samuel being the
actual one who had spoken to Saul is highly unlikely because the dead cannot
come back to have a part in anything that happens under the sun (Ecclesiastes
9:4-6). 3.) The Bible uses Samuel’s name not to actually say that it was “Samuel,”
but in reference to the likeness of Samuel, just as when the Bible uses the name
“Lord” when it is actually an angel of the Lord as His representation as He did
with the story of Gideon (Judges 6:12-14). 4.) The Bible tells us that the
devil appears as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Therefore, the devil
and his demonic host can transform themselves to appear as anyone they choose.
5.) If God would not speak to Saul through a prophet who was alive, why would
he speak to a prophet that was deceased? Remember, Saul killed the priests of
Nob and their families for helping David, and this, of course, did not please
the Lord, so he could not expect to hear from Him (1 Samuel 22:6-23). 6.) The
devil had obviously heard what Samuel had prophesied to Saul while he was
alive, so he did not give him any new information that he already did not know
with the exception of him and his sons dying in the battle (1 Samuel 15). 7.)
As for the fore-telling of Saul and his sons’ deaths, the devil knows what God
will allow for him to do and when He will allow for him to do it just as in the
story of Job. Satan has to have “permission” before he is allowed to do
anything (Job 2). Therefore, Satan already knew that God had granted him access
to Saul because he was no longer under his protection. David was already
anointed to be Saul’s successor, so the deaths of him and his sons would allow
for this to take place. This is why it is more probable than not that a demonic
spirit was posing as Samuel rather than it being Samuel himself. Something to
ponder…
QUESTION OF THE DAY – (04APR19) While David and his men had
been away with the Philistines, the Amalekites had come to their camp and took captive
their women and children along with everything they own and burned Ziglag down.
David and his men were distraught upon their return and the men spoke of stoning
David. David, however, found comfort in the Lord and asked the Lord how he was
to proceed. The Lord told him that He would give him the victory, and they
recovered everything that they lost plus more. Can you find the contrast
between David and Saul? When Saul inquired of God, He did not respond. Yet,
when David inquired of Him, the Lord gave him an answer. David did not consult
a witch, nor try to align himself with any type of sorcery, but he knew that
the Lord was with him and God gave him favor to overtake the Amalekites. Saul,
on the other hand consulted a medium and was killed in battle. Have you ever
needed the Lord to give you direction on what to do in life? Has He not only
answered you, but helped you to achieve whatever it was? Even if you have asked
the Lord for something and He has not answered you just yet, hold on. Do not go
to the dark side to get the answers you are looking for nor go ahead of Him.
When He is silent, He may just be watching to see how you will respond during
the silence. Something to ponder…
1 SAMUEL MOMENT – (04APR19) Saul was critically injured in
battle by the Philistines’ archers (expert bowmen). His three sons had been
killed as well during the battle. Saul, not wanting the Philistines to finish
the job or torture him, asked his armor-bearer to kill him, but his
armor-bearer was afraid to do it, so Saul killed himself by falling on his own
sword. When the Philistines came the next day to plunder the dead, they saw that
Saul was dead, so they cut off his head and hung him, along with his three sons,
to a wall in the city. Saul’s ending was a very sad one indeed. He was Israel’s
first king and yet, he allowed pride, disobedience, jealousy, and hatred to
overtake him. The time he spent trying to hunt down David could have been time
he spent fighting against his real enemies, the Philistines, and yet, he
allowed jealousy to overtake him. God would have tremendously blessed Saul, but
his greed and defiance against God caused him to sin and lose out on those blessings.
Saul lost all regard for God and even killed God’s priests because of one
priest’s actions in helping David. No good can come to those who commit evil
against God’s chosen vessels. We must be ever so careful not to grieve away the
Holy Spirit in our lives. He is there to lead, guide, support, and give us
wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Without the Holy Spirit, we would be left
open to the enemy’s devices without any sort of protection. Therefore, when we
sin, we must repent of our sins, not have a prideful attitude, and allow the
Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out, so that we will be submissive to
the will of God. The reason that the devil was able to communicate with Saul
was because he was dwelling on the inside of him. We never want to be under the
devil’s influence, but to always be Holy Spirit filled and led. Something to
ponder…
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