Saul and the medium at Endor

1 Samuel 26-31

Saul's encounter with the medium at Endor is unsettling in many ways. The most obvious problem with Saul's visit is that God has forbidden His people to consult mediums (Leviticus 19:31). Indeed, it was for this reason that Saul himself had "expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land" (1 Sam 28:3). The more discomfiting element of this scene, at least for me, is the isolation and abject despair Saul felt that drove him to this radical step.

At the start of the chapter, Saul surveys the Philistine army arrayed against him and he fears a crushing defeat. So he does what anyone would do in a similar situation ... he turns to God for guidance. "But the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets" (1 Sam 28:6). How terrifying, how utterly alone you must feel when you seek God and are ignored.

When we read this story, though, we need to remember that unlike, say, David, Saul was not a man after God's own heart. In fact, Saul directly opposed David; "He remained [David's] enemy the rest of his days" (1 Sam 18:29). And yet even after devoting so much time and energy to opposing God, Saul could still have been reconciled to Him if true repentance and reconciliation were what he desired. But even in the end, Saul sought only his own glory and success, not God's. Is it any surprise, then, that his entreaties were viewed so unfavorably?