Did the Woman with a Familiar Spirit Bring Up the Dead Samuel?!?!
1 Samuel 28:11-15 “11Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. 12And 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. 13And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what seest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth. 14And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a robe. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. 15And 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.”
[1Disquieted: disturbed or troubled, 2Sore distressed: in great distress or urgency.]
The prophet Samuel had died (1 Sam. 28:3), and in a desperate situation where the army of the Philistines was coming against him (1 Sam. 28:4-5), King Saul sought out a woman who had a familiar spirit, intending to bring up the dead Samuel and receive help. Before we try to determine whether the Samuel brought up by the woman with a familiar spirit was real or false, we must first understand that Saul’s very act of seeking out such a woman was already a violation of God’s word.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “9When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. 10There shall not be found with thee any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one that useth divination1, one that practiseth augury2, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer3, 11or a charmer4, or a consulter with a familiar spirit5, or a wizard6, or a necromancer7. 12For whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah; and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth drive them out from before thee. 13Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God. 14For these nations, that thou shalt dispossess, hearken unto them that practise augury, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”
[1Diviner: one who practices fortune-telling, 2One who practises augury: one who predicts good or bad fortune, 3Sorcerer: one who practices magic or spirit-related rites, 4Charmer: one who uses spells or incantations, 5Consulter with a familiar spirit: a medium; one who claims to communicate with the dead, 6Wizard: a male practitioner of such arts, 7Necromancer: one who calls up the dead.]
Leviticus 19:31 “Turn ye not unto them that have familiar spirits, nor unto the wizards; seek them not out, to be defiled by them: I am Jehovah your God.”
Thus, God not only does not tolerate those who have familiar spirits or wizards, but also tells us not to seek them out. This is because salvation comes only through Jesus.
Acts 4:9-12 “9if we this day are examined concerning a good deed done to an impotent man, by what means this man is made whole; 10be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even in him doth this man stand here before you whole. 12And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.”
Amen. Truly, the only name under heaven given among men for salvation is the name of Jesus. Therefore, it is only natural that we call upon the name of Jesus in order to be saved.
Romans 10:12-13 “12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him: 13for, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Amen. This word is the truth. Therefore, we must live in the name of the Lord Jesus in all things, whether in word or in deed (Col. 3:17). Nevertheless, King Saul did not make God alone his salvation, but sought out a woman who had a familiar spirit. This was because he thought that God had departed from him and was no longer answering him, and because he thought he might be able to receive help through the woman with a familiar spirit (1 Sam. 28:15). But this thought was wrong (Jer. 6:19). As mentioned above, salvation belongs only to God, and therefore King Saul should have confessed his sin and clung only to God (Prov. 28:13, 2 Chr. 7:13-16). But just as he had repeatedly disobeyed the word of God ever since he became king, King Saul once again disobeyed God’s word and went to seek out a woman with a familiar spirit.
Surprisingly, the one who appeared as Samuel said the following to Saul.
1 Samuel 28:17-19 “17And Jehovah hath done unto thee, as he spake by me: and Jehovah hath rent the kingdom out of thy hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. 18Because thou obeyedst not the voice of Jehovah, and didst not execute his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath Jehovah done this thing unto thee this day. 19Moreover Jehovah will deliver Israel also with thee into the hand of the Philistines; and to-morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: Jehovah will deliver the host of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”
And indeed, just as he said, Saul and his sons all died in the battle against the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:1-6). What happened here? Was the Samuel brought up by the woman with a familiar spirit truly the real Samuel? ...However, the Bible tells us the reason King Saul died as follows.
1 Chronicles 10:13-14 “13So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Jehovah, because of the word of Jehovah, which he kept not; and also for that he asked counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire thereby, 14and inquired not of Jehovah: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.”
In other words, Saul did not die because of the words, or prophecy, of the Samuel brought up by the woman with a familiar spirit. Rather, Scripture says that God killed him because he did not keep the word of Jehovah, and because he did not inquire of Jehovah but asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit. That is, the very act of King Saul not keeping the word of God and asking counsel of one who had a familiar spirit became the sin that caused his death. Through this, God once again confirmed to all of us that He will never tolerate anyone inquiring of those who have familiar spirits. Therefore, if the Samuel who appeared had truly been the real Samuel, then the first thing he should have done was severely rebuke Saul for coming to a woman with a familiar spirit instead of inquiring of God.
Therefore, through this sin of Saul, we must learn that in any matter, even in the most urgent moment, we must never disobey the word of God. And because our salvation is found only in the name of Jesus, according to the word of God, we must clearly know that we must receive salvation by relying on the name of Jesus.
John 20:30-31 “30Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book: 31but these are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name.”
2 Chronicles 7:13-16 “13If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14if my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16For now have I chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually.”
Acts 4:12 “And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.”
Amen.
QR Code for This Post
Click to view larger
This is a place to share and meditate on Scripture through various biblical themes. Only members can post comments.
Furthermore, the words, or prophecies, of various idols, those who have familiar spirits, or those who tell fortunes may come true. However, this is not because they have power, but because God has permitted it.
Deuteronomy 13:1-3 “1If there arise in the midst of thee a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give thee a sign or a wonder, 2and the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; 3thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for Jehovah your God proveth you, to know whether ye love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
As this passage says, God may allow their words, or prophecies, to come to pass in order to test us and to reveal whether we love the truth. Therefore, even if what they say comes to pass, we must never listen to their words. Only then can we escape the judgment of God.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 “9even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie: 12that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Truly, Satan can fashion himself into an angel of light. Therefore, even if something appears outwardly to be true or spiritual, we must not judge it by appearance, just as we must not hastily conclude that the one who appeared as Samuel in the passage above was truly Samuel.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15 “13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. 14And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.”
Therefore, we ourselves can never discern Satan when he fashions himself into an angel of light. We can discern only through Jesus, who is the truth. For this reason, we must love only the truth, that is, the word of God, and we must fix our eyes only on the truth. See The Name of the Beast, the Number of a Man: 666.