Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Saul Visits a Medium | Historical Books | 1 Samuel 28

Episode Date: May 21, 2025

Does 1 Samuel 28 condone mediums and diviners? Do you ignore the supernatural? Where should we look for answers? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 1 Samuel 28 encourages us to depend on the one true God alone. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Samuel 28

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. Have you ever read a passage in the Bible and thought, what did I just read? Like, was that really in the Bible? Today's passage is one of those for me. In chapter 28 of 1st Samuel, we're going to see Saul, the king of Israel, face uncertainty. And in his fear of the unknown, he's going to turn to a medium, a witch.

for answers, and he's going to be successful in finding them. And since we know that, yes, this is really in the Bible right here in chapter 28, it might lead you to other questions. Like, does the Bible condone what's going on here? How is this medium successful? I thought that that was like all fake. Isn't God the only God, the one with the power to raise the dead? Well, let's take a look at the full story and move our way through chapter 28 of 1st Samuel and see if we can't find our answers. Now, the passage opens up with two reminders. Samuel, the prophet, is dead, and Saul has banished all mediums and spiritists from the land. So right off the bat, despite a lack of explicit condemnation of Saul's actions in the text for the rest of the chapter,

We do get our answer to our first question. The Bible is not condoning Saul's use of a medium. See, Saul has previously rid the land of mediums. He does that in accordance with God's commands for his people. Clarity can be found when we look to the places of Scripture where God reveals his character, his law given through Moses for the people of God, and it says this,

Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or cast spells, or who is a medium or a spiritist, or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord because of the same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. So, Saul, being the one who initially drove out the mediums, would have known full well, God's view on using a medium and consulting with the dead, but that doesn't stop him. We read that upon seeing the Philistine army, Saul cries out to God. He asks him to give him insight

into the battle ahead, but God doesn't answer him. And so, filled with terror, Saul asks his men to find a medium, and they do. In disguise, in the dark of the night, Saul goes out to seek this medium in Endor. And he asked her to bring up someone from the dead, to show him Samuel so that he might speak to him. Now, stopping here for a moment, we can understand Saul's motives, right? Like, he's scared. God's not answering him. At this point, God has already been clear with Saul. He's rejected him as king. He's not with him. Saul's disobedience has led him to this point. And Saul has heard directly from God and he should know why God isn't answering him. Even still, he doesn't like the silence. He is afraid. He doesn't like the answer that God is giving him. He's desperate to know more. So he rejects

the previous word of the Lord. If God won't speak to him through prayer, dreams, or prophets, he'll find another way. Now, there's no trusting in God here, right? Like no submission to his authority, his will, his plan, only scrambling to keep hold of power, to get answers, to know what's going to come. And so the medium calls up Samuel from the dead. And maybe unexpectedly for you as you read, she's successful in doing this. She makes contact with Samuel and conjures him into their presence. What follows is a conversation between the ghost of Samuel and Saul, where Samuel basically reminds Saw that he already had an answer. He reaffirms that God has departed from Saul, and he gives the further insight that Saul is right to be afraid, because in the following battle, Saul and his sons are going to die.

Now, we live in a modern world that often disbelieves the supernatural. In a secular world, you have science, fact, what you see in front of you, all else is a figment of imagination, wishful thinking. Now, the modern Christian would push back and say that, no, God is real, that he is supernatural. At the same time, Christians are often the ones speaking the loudest against things like Ouija boards or divination, ghosts, or books about magic. Those things aren't real, only God is. That isn't actually the picture that we get in the Bible. Jesus often talks about the spiritual world. The New Testament speaks of the powers of Satan. demons at work to deceive and bind the world. Jesus casts out demons. God's not the only spiritual

force with power at work in our world, but he is the only true God, the only creator, the only good and right and true king, which is why in his law he forbids turning to seeking out the dead or mediums. He forbids worshipping other gods, other powers. He's making a law of against idolatry. It isn't that the other gods don't have power. It isn't that turning to a medium won't work, per se. It is that to do so is to reject God's word, to mistrust him, to look to other powers to sustain you, teach you, guide you. And that is a dangerous business indeed. We shouldn't be surprised or worried that this medium is able to conjure up Samuel. It doesn't mean that God is not the only true God. It doesn't take away from the nature of who he is.

It doesn't disprove his power. This medium is clearly able to tap into the spiritual realm, if anything, this interaction should sober us. Remind us that when Peter says in 1. Peter 5.8, be alert and of sober mind your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, we should take him seriously. Satan has power. He is at work in this world, and when we seek power, insight, and answers from places other than God, the only other place that we will find it is from spiritual forces that are not of God. And while you or I may not be tempted to call out for a medium when you want answers or seek a consultation with the dead, that doesn't mean that we are in danger of falling into the same trap as Saul. Remember, what was his underlying motivation? What brought him to the house of the medium?

He was afraid. He was unsatisfied with God's words. He was frustrated that God wasn't answering him, doing what he wanted, so he took matters into his own hands. He sought to circumvent God to get the answers he wanted and to get them now. Are you ever tempted to look elsewhere for answers? When God's word, when his commands, when his instructions don't feel right, when they leave you with questions, when you wish you could know more, when you're struggling to find peace in the unknown,

in anxiety, and fear, where do you turn? What do you do? If you're anything like me, you might numb or distract. yourself, turn to entertainment, shopping, alcohol, sex, anything to get your mind off the unknown. Or maybe you take matters into your own hands. If God won't answer me, I'll make a way. I'll carve my own path. Now, this story clearly shows us that putting our trust in anything other than God, searching for answers, for peace, for direction apart from him, does not produce the peace, stability or control that we're looking for. Saul seeks out his answer, attempts to calm his anxieties,

and instead is thrown into further despair, facing down his death. Nothing can thwart the plans of God, not mediums or the powers of Satan. Saul has answers, but he has also compromised his soul. Fallen into disobedience, rejected the word of God and solidified his position as an enemy of one true God. Don't be like Saul. When fear threatens to overtake you, when you're anxious about your future, when danger feels like it's looming, cast yourself on God. Trust his word, trust his promises, trust what he has said in scripture, and rest in that truth. When you don't have answers, when things feel uncertain, remind your heart of what is true. God is good. His will will be done, whether I can see it or know it, it's going to be done. I may as well submit to his authority.

Rest in knowing that he is in control that my future is secure. Don't let fear and anxiety push you to reject the word of the Lord, to fall into idolatry. Instead, present your life, your circumstances to God with open hands. God, even when we don't know our future, when we can't see what's coming, coming, would you give us peace, peace and confidence to trust you, to trust that you're good, that you are in control. We love you, Lord. Protect us, keep us rooted in obedience to you. Don't allow our hearts to wander. Hold us steadfast and remind us of your truth. Amen.