author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to 1 Samuel 25. 1 Samuel 25. We are going to look at a very interesting story tonight - a story that talks about witches.

I want to tell you a kind of family legend about myself. When I was pretty young, maybe 6 or 7, I was with my Mom in a Macy's somewhere in the North Shore of Massachusetts. She was looking for a dress or something, and I was bored stiff, and so I played this game I liked to play where I hid in the clothes.

Well, I remember poking my head out of the clothes, looking for my mom and instead I saw this woman decked out in black. I remember one side of her hair was white and another side of it was black. Like it was split down the middle. Apparently, I went up to this lady and asked her "why do you look so weird?" And she brought me to my mother and told her what I said chastising me with "I'm not weird, I'm just different."

Apparently, the lady was Laurie Cabot - one of the most famous witches in the country and the founder of a witch society in Salem, Massachusetts.

There has been this renewed interest in witches and psychics, palm readers and tarot cards, and occultism. But it nothing new.

The Bible is very plain about it. God told Israel:

[!bible] Leviticus 19:31 - KJV 31. Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

And

[!bible] Leviticus 20:6 - KJV 6. And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

In the New Testament - we saw instances in Acts where because of the spread of the word of God, there was a rejection of witchcraft. Witchcraft is listed as one of the works of the flesh that they that do such should not inherit the kingdom of God in Galatians 5 and as one of the sins that will. be punished in the lake of fire in Revelation 21:8.

I think the lesson for us is clear - we should have nothing to do with witches, with the occult, with psychics, with Ouija Boards, with that whole thing. It is not for Christians.

As Ephesians 5:11-12 says:

[!bible] Ephesians 5:11-12 - KJV 11. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. 12. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

The story we are going to look at tonight is probably the most prominent witch story in the Bible.

Let's start by reading the first 6 verses:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:1-6 - KJV

1. And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.
2. And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.
3. Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.
4. And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
5. And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
6. And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams nor by Urim, nor by prophets.

So this chapter starts with David. David, remember, is working for the Philistines. He's been raiding Israel's enemies but pretending he was raiding Israel.

Well, now the Philistines are going to war with Israel and the Philistine king is calling David's bluff. He tells David he is going to go with him, into the war with Israel and be his personal guard.

Then the focus shifts from David to Saul.

We are given several key pieces of context here:

• First, Samuel, the great prophet has been dead for a while.
• Second, Saul had previously made a law to get rid of all of the witches and wizards of the land.
• Third, The Philistine army is starting to go to war and they are marching no Israel and they have gotten as far as Shunem - which is 20 miles or so into Israel territory. SO they mean business.

So Saul is looking at the incoming army - they mean business this time - and he is terrified. He's afraid.

And Saul has a bigger problem than the Philistines - he is so far from God that God is giving him no guidance. No help at all.

Now, lets be clear: Saul was to blame for that.

Saul had resisted the prophets. The last time he had talked to Samuel he grabbed Samuel's robe or his mantle and tore it, and Samuel said "so has God torn the kingdom from you and given it to another."

Saul had done more than resist the priests. Remember, in one of his rampages, after the priests helped David, Saul had murdered all the priests except for one. That one took the Urim and Thumin with him and hid with David - so Saul can't get a word from God.

And here is the thing: Saul was living in disobedience to the last word he had gotten from God. Saul knew God wanted David to be the next king. He could have worked toward that end. Instead, he resisted it to the end.

Listen, when we reject God's revealed will for us, He is under no obligation to give us more revelation. Let me put that another way: if God tells you to do something, and you rebel, what right do you have to go looking for more info from God? Do what God said first, then He may reveal more to you.

Saul was living in opposition to God. But he was desperate, because the Philistines were coming. He knew they couldn't win without God and God wasn't talking to him.

So Saul does something unbelievable in the next verses:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:7-8 - KJV 7. Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 8. And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.

Saul asks his servants "Find me a woman with a familiar spirit." Find me a witch. Find me a medium. Find me a woman who can talk to the dead.

They had to find one because Saul, back when he was a good guy, had driven them all out. But notice the servants knew exactly where to go - they told him about a woman in Endor.

Now, Endor is in Israel, but it was way north of Gilgal, where Saul's home base was. It was in the mountains and it was dangerously close to the land occupied by the Philistines. Saul disguised himself, took two servants and went to see this medium.

When he gets there, all disguised, under the cover of night, he asks her "Can you call up someone who is dead that I name for you?"

Look at verses 9-10:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:9-10 - KJV 9. And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? 10. And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.

This witch probably thought "something is fishy about this. This might be a 'sting' operation to get rid of more witches." So she reminds him that king Saul had made this illegal. She was taking her life into her hands to do this for them, and so she probably would have charged accordingly.

Then Saul sweares to her by God that she won't be punished. Even when visiting a witch, Saul talked like a religious person.

Now, look at verses 11-12:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:11-12 - KJV 11. Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.

The woman asks "who do you want?" And Saul says Samuel.

Now, I want to stop here and make an important point. I do not believe for a second that this woman had the power to call up the dead. I do not believe that there are witches out there who can do that. This woman was a charlatan, a fraud.

She may have had some contact with demons (and that's all a medium or psychic could have contact with) but you cannot read this story and come away from it believing that there are some people out there who have the ability to talk to the dead. There are some people out there who are frauds, who pretend to talk to the dead to sucker gullible people.

If this lady really believed she could call up the dead, she would have said "no way" when Saul said "Samuel." Because do you know what Samuel was known for? He was the guy who would literally cut up God's religious enemies. If she could really talk to Samuel, Samuel would have told her she was bound for hell.

So when she starts her littler charade, she freaks out. She shrieks because she can actually see Samuel. You see, she isn't expecting this to work. But this time it does.

This doesn't mean that there are woman out there who can talk to dead bodies. This means God sent Samuel to talk to Saul.

So she flips out. Because she isn't used to this and because she now knows she's actually with King Saul, the man who would have killed her before.

Notice what happens next:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:13-14 - KJV 13. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. 14. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.

Saul asks the woman to tell him what she saw, and she said "I saw gods ascending out of the earth." This is a new thing for her.

Then Saul said "describe him for me." So she describes him as an old man covered with a mantle.

Now, I think when Saul heard the mantle, he knew it was Samuel. That mantle was an important part of Samuel's persona. His mother had made it for him and sent it to him, and Saul had tried to grab it and ripped it.

So Saul bows down his face to the ground and now, we get to hear Samuel speak from the dead.

Let's keep reading:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:15-19 - KJV 15. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. 16. Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? 17. And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: 18. Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. 19. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.

Did you catch that? Samuel basically asks "Why did you wake me up? I was having a good nap. Why did you bother me?"

So Saul explains his situation, he explains about the Philistines. He explains that he can't hear from God.

And Samuel basically asks "Why did you ask me? If God isn't with you anymore, that means you are his enemy. I'm on God's side. What did you expect to hear from me?"

Then Samuel just repeats the exact same thing he told Saul before. Because of Saul's disobedience, God was going to rip the kingdom out of his hand and give it to David.

But then Samuel added something you never want to hear a ghost say "Oh, by the way, I'm going to see you and your sons tomorrow." The Philistines were going to beat them and Saul and his sons were going to die the very next day.

Let's read the rest of the story:

[!bible] 1 Samuel 28:20-25 - KJV 20. Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night. 21. And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. 22. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way. 23. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed. 24. And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: 25. And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.

This story ends in about as pitiful a way as it possibly could. Saul is shook by this news. He's in shock. He has journeyed a long way to get there. He hasn't eaten. He's probably dehydrated.

So he's just sitting there shaking. This witch says "you better eat" and kills her calf and bakes some bread for them to eat.

Just picture Saul there - the man who was head and shoulders above Israel. The man who was so handsome. He's spending his last days sitting on the edge of a witches bed. Shaking. Eating her bread and her meat.

Then they go off into the night and the focus of the narrative pans back to David.

So that's the story, let me quickly give you three applications of the story and we'll be done.

Applications

The first thing I think we need to take from this story, and I've already said this, is...

1. God's people should have nothing to do with the world of the occult.

Listen, stay away from Physics. Stay away from mediums. Stay away from ouija boards and tarot cards and all of that.

Don't watch shows about ghosts and people talking to the dead. Run away from all that stuff.

1 Corinthians 10:19-20 says

[!bible] 1 Corinthians 10:19-20 - KJV 19. What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? 20. But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

Listen, we can say pagan God's aren't real. But demons are real. We need to stay away from this whole demonic realm.

I'm not telling you that any mention of a witch in a work of fiction is bad and taboo. I think we can use wisdom there. But I am telling you that anyone in real life who proports to be a witch or has anything to do with witchcraft - we need to run away.

1 Chronicles 10:13 tells us one of the reasons Saul died was because he went to seek council from a familiar spirit. So stay away.

That's my first takeaway from this story. The second thing I think we can learn from this is...

2. If God isn't leading you, the answer is usually repentance.

Saul was distraught because God wasn't speaking to Him. The truth is, God had spoken to him. He just didn't like what God had to say.

It is not wrong to seek God's will in different areas in our life. I think it is wise to pray and seek God's will before you make decisions.

But it is utterly foolish to seek God's will in some mystic way, when you are ignoring God's will given to you here in black and white.

It is foolish to try to conjure up the will of God when 99% of the will of God is given to you in His word.

The truth is, a lot of the times we "seek the will of God" its because we just don't like what God's word already tells us to do. And if that is the case, we need to repent and just obey God.

Saul didn't need another word here - He needed to act on the word He already got. He wasn't doing that and that was the whole reason for this story and Saul's sad end.

Don't be like Saul. Don't be stubborn. Don't be proud. If God has pointed something out to you - make it right. Don't go through the religious motions - repent.

Listen, how utterly foolish of Saul to think he was going to win a war against God. To think he was going to beat God's will.

But we do it too. And it's just as foolish for us.

If God isn't leading you, the answer is usually repentance.

One more thought and I'll wrap this up:

3. Don't seek help from the dead, seek help from the living.

There are some people who get so wrapped up in someone who has passed away, that they will get bamboozled by these fake mediums and open themselves up to demonic manipulation because they can't imagine not having someone in their life.

That's idolatry. You can't bring people back. And you do not need them now, You need to Lord.

Isaiah said this in Isaiah 8:19:

[!bible] Isaiah 8:19 - KJV 19. And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?

God is alive. God wants to lead us and protect us and provide for us. And He wants to do it now.

Sometimes people can get so tied to the past, they forget what God wants to do now. But it wasn't that special preacher or special person that helped you back then - it was God. People come and God, but God is always with us.

author: Ryan Hayden In closing, let us reflect on the lessons from Saul's desperate act of seeking a witch. His story is a stark reminder of the dangers of straying from God's path:

• Avoid the Occult: God's word is clear - we are to have no part with the works of darkness. Engaging with practices like mediumship or witchcraft opens doors to spiritual defilement and is contrary to our faith.

• Repentance Over Rebellion: When we find ourselves without God's guidance, it's often not because God is silent but because we've turned away from His clear instructions. Like Saul, we must return to obedience, not seek new revelations while ignoring God's current commands.

• Seek the Living God: Instead of looking backward to the dead or to human means for guidance or comfort, we should seek the living God who is ever-present and eager to guide us. Our hope and trust should be in Him who is alive and active in our lives today.

Let's not be like Saul, who in his fear and desperation turned from God. Instead, let us seek the Lord with all our heart, in obedience and faith, knowing that He alone is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

As we go forth from this place, may we be vigilant in keeping our hearts and lives pure from the influences of the occult, steadfast in repentance when we stray, and always looking to our living God for guidance, comfort, and strength. Amen.