The Life and Times of

A Voice From the Dead (28:7-14)

7 Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.” 8 Then Saul disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “Conjure up for me, please, and bring up for me whom I shall name to you.” 9 But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” 10 And Saul vowed to her by the LORD, saying, “As the LORD lives, there shall no punishment come upon you for this thing.” 11 Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” 12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” 13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul,” I see a divine being coming up out of the earth. “ 14 And he said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

As he is not able to make any connection with God in the conventional ways, Saul decides to seek it in a very different way. Samuel is the only prophet we know of who gave Saul directives from God. There may have been others, but they are not mentioned in the text. Samuel is now dead (verse 3), but Saul comes upon an idea. Maybe he can still speak with Samuel. Maybe he can persuade a medium to conjure him up, so that he can speak with him. Saul instructs his servants to find a woman who is a medium. They know of such a woman living at En-Dor.

This plan to inquire of a medium has its own set of problems, which we can see from the text.

First, God has strictly forbidden the use of mediums. A number of Old Testament texts forbid the presence of mediums and other spiritists in the land of Israel and also forbid the Israelites to consult such persons. Consider these prohibitions in the Law of Moses:

“‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God’” (Leviticus 19:31).

“‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people’” (Leviticus 20:6).

“‘Now a man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones, their bloodguiltiness is upon them’” (Leviticus 20:27).

10 “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12 “For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD; and because of these detestable things the LORD your God will drive them out before you. 13 “You shall be blameless before the LORD your God. 14 “For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the LORD your God has not allowed you to do so” (Deuteronomy 18:10-14).

The second problem is that, for once, Saul has done something right: “Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists” (verse 3b). This is truly amazing. For once, it seems, Saul did something right. Now, in the crunch of an imminent Philistine attack, Saul wishes he could locate a medium and do what the Old Testament law forbade. The biggest obstacle in doing so is his own obedience which removed these people from the land. Get this: Saul now regrets doing one of the few things he seems to have done right.

There is yet a third problem, a logistical one. The Philistines are camped in Shunem; Saul and the Israelite army are camped in Gilboa. En-dor is approximately eight miles north of Gilboa, and to get there, Saul has to go around the Philistines.

There is a fourth problem: Saul cannot afford to be identified. Saul dares not be identified by anyone whom he might encounter on the way. To kill the opposing king is to be half way to victory over one’s enemy, and thus the king is the primary target. A king could, in caution, disguise himself (see 1 Kings 22:29-36). In addition, Saul does not wish to be recognized by the medium. If she knows who he is she certainly will not agree to conjure up a dead man, knowing it was Saul who put the mediums and spiritists out of the land (see verse 9). His solution is to travel by night, disguising himself by his apparel. He will not wear his royal attire on this mission.

When Saul arrives at the home of the medium, he gets right to the point. He first seeks a commitment from the medium that she will conjure up whomever he names. She resists, fearing this might be one of Saul’s “sting” operations. She does not want to be caught directly disobeying the king’s orders. After all, these men are strangers, or so she supposes. Ironically, Saul swears to her by the Lord that she will not be punished for doing what he asks of her (verse 10). He then asks the woman to conjure up Samuel for him. She does not need to ask for further clarification. When the woman sees Samuel, she shrieks. She not only recognizes Samuel, she now recognizes that the one asking her to conjure up Samuel is none other than Saul himself. I can almost hear her exclaim to herself, “I’m history.”

Saul again assures the woman he will not harm her, and then asks her to describe the person she sees before her.³ Her response to seeing Samuel and her description of him seems to indicate that this is no ordinary conjuring. She tells Saul that she sees a “divine being” (NASB; KJV renders it “gods”). The Hebrew text uses the word “elohim” (gods), and the Septuagint uses the Greek word “theous” (gods). This is not just a “spirit being,” but a “divine being” whom she sees. No wonder she is frightened. This “divine being” she describes to Saul as one looking like an old man, wrapped with a robe. By her description of this “divine being” Saul recognizes him as Samuel. And so Saul bows down with his face to the ground “doing homage” to him (verse 14).