1 Samuel 28-31

1 Samuel 28 – Saul Consults Medium

In the last study David had chosen to escape Saul by making an alliance with King Achish.  He knew he had to join the Philistine army, but he didn’t want to fight the Israelites.  He was forgetting God and going his own way by making his own decisions.  He would learn a new lesson about humility. 

Samuel who was a great prophet of the Lord had died.  He had spoke God’s commands to Saul.  The Spirit of the Lord was with Saul when Saul first became king so he probably removed the spiritists and mediums at that time.  In Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27 and Deuteronomy 18:11 God says the Israelites must not consult mediums.  They had to kill anyone who did this.

The Philistines set up camp at Shunem and were ready to fight the Israelites.    Saul became desperate as to what to do so he inquired of the Lord.  God departed from Saul and didn’t answer.  God warns us that those who fail to follow His Word will lose the privilege of hearing or understanding it.  God looks at the motives of the heart.  Saul's heart was hardened.  Saul was afraid and went to a medium to hear from Samuel as to what to do.  Mediums are people who try to contact dead people.  Samuel spoke to Saul telling him the Lord has turned away from him and has done what was predicted.  He said the Lord has torn Saul’s kingdom away and has given it to neighbors – to David.  He said the Lord will turn Israel and Saul and his sons over to the Philistines.  Saul and his sons will die tomorrow.

We can’t explain this and don’t know how the medium called for Samuel, but the Bible says that we must not find out about such things, because they are evil.

When has your fear caused you to turn to someone other than God?

What were the results?

Principle:  God wants us to look to Him for guidance and trust in Him alone.

1 Samuel 29-30 – David Consults God

Achish and the Philistines didn’t worship the Lord of the Israelites, but Achish used the name of the Lord probably trying to convince David that he really trusted him.  He really wanted David to continue to serve him in the future.  He even said David was a good as an angel from God.  David was still wrapped up in his lies and deceptions.  He was playing a deadly game by deceiving Achish and dishonoring God.  He was ready to fight with Achish, but the army commanders thought since David was a Hebrew he couldn’t be trusted.  They wanted David sent back to Ziklag.  So Achish sent David and his army back.  I am sure David was relieved he wouldn’t have to fight his own people.  David got himself into trouble because he didn’t trust and rely on God.  But God was kind and saved him from a difficult situation.

When they reached home, they found the Amalekites had burned it, plundered it and their families were taken captive.  The men were very sad and cried and then became angry with David.  They blamed him and wanted to kill him.  David was very sad because he lost his 2 wives, but he didn’t blame the Lord.  Instead he trusted the Lord which made him stronger.

David lost the protection of Achish.  He lost his family and his men wanted to stone him.  David had lost everything, but he had not lost God.  This time he didn’t make his own decisions, he went to the priest for help.  David turned to God for strength.  God restored him because God is merciful and gave him undeserved grace.  He remembered God’s love and promises and how God delivered him in the past.

David and his men pursued the Amalekites leaving some of his army behind because they were too weak to continue.  David met an abandoned Egyptian who guided them to the Amalekites.  David and his men found the Amalekites and attacked them and rescued all their families and all the plunder they had taken.  David returned to the men left behind.  Some of his men were trouble makers and didn’t want to share the spoils because the others had not participated in the rescue.  David disagreed saying the Lord had protected them and had handed over the forces that came against them.  They would share everything with everyone.  He made a statue and ordinance for Israel that all will share alike.  David sent some of the spoils to the elders of Judah and to the other places he had been.

David was a generous and wise leader.  He cared for all his men even those left behind and showed no favoritism.  His generous gifts showed that he was a good leader. 

Where do you go for guidance?

Principle:  God guides his children to return to Him.

1 Samuel 31 – Saul Dies

The Philistines fought against Israel and many died.  Saul and his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua also died.  Saul was not a good leader and led his army ran away from the Philistines.  Saul was injured and was afraid of what they would do to him so he asked his armor-bearer to kill him.  He said he would not.  So Saul killed himself.  Then his armor-bearer killed himself.

The Israelite army had no leader so the men had run away leaving the towns empty.  The Philistines went and lived in all of their empty towns.  The Philistines took the weapons and armor from the dead soldiers.  They cut off Saul’s head and put his armor in the temple of their idols.  This can be compared to David cutting of Goliath head and putting his sword in the holy place with the priest of the Lord.  David gave honor to the Lord.  Now Saul was dead and the Philistines gave honor to their gods.

The Israelites of Jabesh Gilead were loyal to Saul so they rescued his body and the bodies of his sons and burned them.  They buried the bones under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh and fasted for 7 days.

Saul died just as God said he would and as God predicted.  He died in the way he lived his life.  He died not like a man of courage.  A big lesson here is God’s word is absolutely reliable and will do as He has promises.  He will deal with sin and rebellion in judgment.  He wants us to trust and live in obedience.  God gave Saul time to repent, but he did not.  God gives everyone time to repent.  If you have never trusted in Jesus for salvation, God is now giving you opportunity to repent.

Have you repented?

Do you know where you will spend eternity?

Principle:  God’s Word is absolutely reliable and He will do as He has promises.

Is suicide wrong?  (Bob Deffinbaugh’s study on 1 Samuel 31).

Saul requested assisted suicide, which is wrong.  It’s wrong because he was attempting to minimize the pain and means of divine judgment.  He wanted to die in a way different from what God had predicted.  He was trying to kill the Lord’s anointed.  It would be wrong for his armor-bearer to take a king’s life.  It is wrong for Christians to commit suicide, assisted or not.  If we are ever in such a place that pain is intense or death is near, we should look forward to being at home with the Lord.  We should not end the life which God gives.  Only God has the authority to take life away.

There is a contrast to Saul and Jesus Christ.  Saul’s sin and his desire to die was selfish and self-serving.  The Lord’s death was very different.  He prayed in the garden that the cup of death be removed.  He died in obedience not disobedience.  He didn’t die to save Himself from pain; He died to endure the full pain that we deserve as punishment for our sins.  His death was not a tragic part of His life like a suicide.  His death was not self-serving, but sacrificial.  It was a death He suffered for our sins and for our salvation.

Originally 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel was 1 book.  So the book doesn’t end here.  In 2 Samuel we will continue with the account of David’s rule as king.  See you here next time.

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