Deeper Reflection
SAUL SOUGHT a medium to call up the spirit of the dead Samuel to seek guidance from him in his crisis (vv.8-11). Mediums and spiritists were “individuals who claimed the ability to contact the dead, either serving as intermediaries through whom the dead would speak or rousing the dead to speak for themselves”³⁷. The text tells us that Samuel appeared – “the woman saw Samuel” (v.12) − and spoke to Saul: “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” (v.15). The question is: Did the medium actually make contact with a living spirit-being, and if so, was it really Samuel?³⁸ God forbids His people to practice necromancy, which calls for the death penalty (Lev 19:31; 20:27). The divine prohibition does not mean that necromancy does not work, but rather that it is wicked.³⁹ Did the medium then have the power to call up the spirit of the actual Samuel? It was not the medium’s ability, but rather the unique sovereign act of God that brought Saul into contact with Samuel. It happened by the power and permission of God for His own purpose: to speak His word of truth and doom to Saul through Samuel (1 Sam 28:16-19). God’s word was spoken “even if it came via an illegitimate method”⁴⁰. But this was an exception, not the norm. Divine exceptions are divine prerogatives. As for us, we are to follow what God has revealed as divine normative for us (Deut 29:29).

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³⁷ Robert D. Bergen, 1, 2 Samuel, The New American Commentary (B & H, 1996), 265 ³⁸ Robert D. Bergen, 266 ³⁹ Dale Ralph Davis, 291 ⁴⁰ Dale Ralph Davis, 291