In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul, overwhelmed by fear and desperation, seeks a witch at Endor to learn his fate, reversing a spiritual principle he once enforced—banning mediums and spiritists. This act reveals his deep spiritual decline, as he turns to false means to find answers when God has withdrawn. The witch conducts a seance that brings the dead prophet Samuel back to life, not by magic, but by divine intervention, underscoring that all such supernatural events are orchestrated by God. Samuel delivers a solemn and powerful message: God has rejected Saul due to his disobedience, especially in the Amalek incident, and has transferred the kingdom to David. He reiterates that God’s word is true and unchanging, and that the prophecy made two decades earlier has now come to pass. Saul, consumed by fear and insecurity, fails to recognize that God’s judgment is final and inevitable. In contrast, David, despite living among the Philistines, remains spiritually grounded and will eventually return to God. The chapter illustrates a critical truth: when people turn to occult or fearful practices, they alienate themselves from God, while those who remain faithful experience lasting transformation. The journey through Scripture reveals that God’s word is not only reliable but transformative, and that every decision, especially in moments of fear, has eternal consequences.
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- Welcome to chapter by chapter four year journey
through the greatest book given to the human race,
the word of God, the Bible.
We get to go through it chapter by chapter,
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We'll stop at unexpected places on the journey
and be challenged.
Some verses will create awe and wonder
and we'll have chapters that will be instructive
and others will find joy and comfort.
We will occasionally be convicted and wanna change
but all in all the journey will be worth it.
Once in a while we may take a detour on the journey
and hear from some of God's servants
on their favorite passages from a chapter of scripture
and let them give you their insight.
Every journey needs a small detour occasionally.
The best way to get the most from this podcast
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It's his word that transforms.
You'll find more and see more
than I can ever articulate.
Welcome to chapter by chapter.
Today's chapter is first Samuel 28.
I told you so.
I read somewhere that not all caterpillars
become butterflies.
Scientists tell us that there is a certain fly
that thrusts into the body of the caterpillar,
a tiny egg, the egg hatches into a grub
which feeds upon the butterfly forming elements
of the caterpillar.
The caterpillar suffers no pain, never feels it.
The caterpillar goes right on eating and growing.
It's life as a caterpillar all the while.
The grub has destroyed its capacity for advance.
The glorious winged creature which might have been is gone
and it never flies and it never changes.
That's what happened to Saul.
Satan injected something in him
that took away his wings to lead
and to be the man that God wanted him to be.
The great Baptist preacher Adrian Rogers
said this, "Give Satan an inch and he will be a ruler."
Here in first Samuel 28, we will see the wingless monarch
one day before you will die and his last full day
is spent with a witch because God is nowhere
to be found in his life.
He should not be surprised that it's all over
and it's going to end horribly because God told him
it was going to happen decades earlier.
God will resurrect the prophet one time
to tell him, "I told you so."
This chapter opens up with two people
in two unexpected places.
David is fighting for the Philistines and living with them
as a citizen all from fear.
David's reputation is so recognized
across national boundaries that the King of the Philistines
offers David a job for life.
Listen to verses one and two.
Now what came about in those days
that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war
to fight against Israel and a Keesh said to David,
"No assuredly that you will go out with me
"in the camp, you and your men."
David said to a Keesh, "Very well,
"you shall know what your servant can do."
So a Keesh said to David, "Very well,
"I will make you my bodyguard for life."
David will awaken to this blunder in gath
and come back to God.
It will take a tragedy, but David has wings.
He's a butterfly.
He will fly back to God.
The second person in the story is King Saul.
He too is in an unexpected place.
He is sitting in an occult shop with a witch
asking for her to tell him his future
because he is afraid.
This is 1 Samuel 28.3.
Now Samuel was dead and all Israel had lamented him
and buried him in Rama, his own city.
And Saul had removed from the land those
who were mediums and spiritists.
So the Philistines gathered together and came
and camped in Shunam and Saul gathered all Israel together
and they camped in Goboa.
When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines,
he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.
When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him
either by dreams or by urine or by prophets.
Then Saul said to his servants,
"Seek from me a woman who is a medium
that I may go to or an inquire of her."
And his servant said, "Behold, there is a woman
who is a medium at Endor.
Both David and Saul are in places they should never be
because fear brought them there."
The very thing Saul removed from the land
he is bringing back at least in his life.
His fear welcomed the witch back.
In this second unexpected scene,
we see a scared king, a shocked witch
and a dead prophet come back to life.
The witch has a seance and Samuel shows up.
This witch has no power to do this.
This is all God's doing.
When Samuel, who has died appears,
she screams with surprise.
Why?
All of these witches then and now are false prophets
and have no capability to deliver what they promise.
God allowed this to happen.
Saul says, "I have no direction from God and need help."
Samuel is back on the earth for a short moment
and reminds him what God said to him years prior.
Says this in 1 Samuel 28.15.
Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me
by bringing me up and Saul answered,
I am greatly distressed for the Philistines
are waging war against me and God has departed from me
and no longer answers me either through prophets
or by dreams.
Therefore, I've called you that you may make known
to me what I should do."
Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me since the Lord
has departed from you and has become your adversary?
The Lord has done accordingly as he spoke through me
for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand
and has given it to your neighbor, to David.
As you did not obey the Lord and did not execute
his fierce wrath on Amalek,
so the Lord has done this thing to you this day.
Moreover, the Lord will also give over Israel
along with you into the hands of the Philistines.
Therefore, tomorrow, you and your sons will be with me.
Indeed, the Lord will give over the army of Israel
into the hands of the Philistines.
Saul is a selfish man.
He couldn't let an old prophet enjoy heaven.
He needed a summon him like one of his court servants
and his beckon call for his own needs and wants.
Samuel will do what Samuel always does.
He will thunder the truth.
Samuel would say, "I told you so."
Saul hears three thunder claps of truth
that must have left Saul open-mouthed and dumbfounded.
At a seance, he is told, "God is your enemy.
You will die tomorrow and I told you so."
I hesitated to use the words I told you so,
but God really did some 20 years earlier.
Samuel says this goes back to the Amalek debacle
in 1 Samuel 15.
This is when you decide it's all.
You wanted to worship God, but not be obedient to God.
You wanted to sing and lift your hands,
but you didn't want to take a sword to the king of Amalek.
This is what Samuel said to Saul in 1 Samuel 15.28.
So Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom
of Israel from you today and has given it
to your neighbor who is better than you.
Also, the glory of Israel will not lie or change his mind
for he is not a man that he should change his mind.
God did not change his mind.
It took 20 years, but it's only a surprise
if you don't believe God tells the truth.
God did exactly what he said he would do,
and Samuel said, "I told you so."
Thank you for joining chapter by chapter.
Every chapter from the greatest book, the Bible,
the word of God, seven minutes a day, seven days a week.
We'll see you tomorrow.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
King Saul, consumed by fear, seeks a witch at Endor to learn his future, reflecting his spiritual abandonment of God.
David, in a similar moment of crisis, is offered a life-long position by the Philistines, but this temporary compromise reveals his inner strength and eventual return to God.
The witch at Endor conducts a seance that brings the dead prophet Samuel back to life, demonstrating that the supernatural power comes directly from God, not from occult practices.
Samuel warns Saul that God has rejected him, torn the kingdom from his hands, and given it to David, fulfilling a prophecy made decades earlier.
Saul’s disobedience, especially in his failure to destroy Amalek, directly led to God’s judgment and the loss of divine favor.
Samuel’s return to life serves as a divine confirmation of God’s truth and foreknowledge, echoing the message “I told you so.”
The story illustrates how fear and sin lead individuals into spiritual places they should never be, such as the occult.
David’s journey contrasts with Saul’s downfall, showing that true faith produces transformation, while disobedience leads to spiritual death.
Summary:
In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul, overwhelmed by fear and desperation, seeks a witch at Endor to learn his fate, reversing a spiritual principle he once enforced—banning mediums and spiritists. This act reveals his deep spiritual decline, as he turns to false means to find answers when God has withdrawn. The witch conducts a seance that brings the dead prophet Samuel back to life, not by magic, but by divine intervention, underscoring that all such supernatural events are orchestrated by God.
Samuel delivers a solemn and powerful message: God has rejected Saul due to his disobedience, especially in the Amalek incident, and has transferred the kingdom to David. He reiterates that God’s word is true and unchanging, and that the prophecy made two decades earlier has now come to pass. Saul, consumed by fear and insecurity, fails to recognize that God’s judgment is final and inevitable.
In contrast, David, despite living among the Philistines, remains spiritually grounded and will eventually return to God. The chapter illustrates a critical truth: when people turn to occult or fearful practices, they alienate themselves from God, while those who remain faithful experience lasting transformation. The journey through Scripture reveals that God’s word is not only reliable but transformative, and that every decision, especially in moments of fear, has eternal consequences.
FAQs
The chapter highlights the consequences of fear and disobedience, showing how Saul's spiritual decline leads him to seek guidance from witchcraft instead of God.
Saul is afraid of the Philistines and feels God has abandoned him, so he turns to a medium to gain a vision of the future.
Samuel, who has been dead, is brought back temporarily by God's power, not by the witch's magic, to speak directly to Saul.
Samuel tells Saul that God has removed the kingdom from him and given it to David, and that God has now become his enemy.
It shows Saul’s rejection of God and his reliance on false spiritual practices, which aligns with his disobedience in earlier events like the Amalek incident.
It symbolizes how Satan’s influence has destroyed Saul’s spiritual potential, leaving him 'wingless' and unable to lead as God intended.
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