Endor at night: a few small fieldstone houses on the dark slope of a rounded hill, one doorway faintly warm with a clay lamp, a path climbing to it among boulders, and far across the valley the tiny fires of a great camp, under a calm starry sky.

The Book of

1 Samuel 28

Samuel is dead. Heaven is silent. And the king who banned the mediums goes looking for one.

25 verses≈ 5 min3 peopleBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–7SamuelA boy who listened
8–15SaulA king like the nations
16–20David risesThe LORD looks at the heart
21–27David huntedThe anointed one waits
28–31Saul fallsEndor and GilboaChapter 28

The Philistines Gather against Israel

Now in those days the Philistines gathered their forces for warfare against Israel.

Achish

So Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men are to go out to battle with me.”

David

David replied, “Then you will come to know what your servant can do.”

Achish

“Very well,” said Achish. “I will make you my bodyguard for life.”

Tap to go deeper: meaning, history and related Scripture

When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid and trembled violently. He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

1 Samuel 28:6

Reflect

“The LORD did not answer him”

Saul wanted an answer from God while refusing what God had already told him. Is there something God has already made plain to you that you are hoping He will change His mind about? Write it down, and ask Him for the grace to obey what you already know.

Saul and the Medium of Endor

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

Shunem, Gilboa and Endor

The Philistines “camped at Shunem,” on the slope of the hill of Moreh, and Saul “camped at Gilboa,” the ridge across the valley. Endor lay on the far side of Moreh, so to reach the medium Saul had to go by night around the enemy camp.

Saul

Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I can go and consult her.”

Saul’s servants

“There is a medium at Endor,” his servants replied.

Night on a stony path skirting a dark hillside: three men in coarse hooded cloaks seen from behind and the side, the middle one a head taller than the others, picking their way among boulders, the fires of a great camp far below.

So Saul disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and he set out with two of his men.

Saul

They came to the woman at night, and Saul said, “Consult a spirit for me. Bring up for me the one I name.”

The medium of Endor

But the woman replied, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has killed the mediums and spiritists in the land. Why have you set a trap to get me killed?”

Saul

Then Saul swore to her by the LORD: “As surely as the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this.”

The medium of Endor

“Whom shall I bring up for you?” the woman asked.

Saul

“Bring up Samuel,” he replied.

The medium of Endor

But when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out in a loud voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”

Saul

“Do not be afraid,” the king replied. “What do you see?”

The medium of Endor

“I see a god coming up out of the earth,” the woman answered.

Saul

“What does he look like?” asked Saul.

The medium of Endor

“An old man is coming up,” she replied. “And he is wearing a robe.”

So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed facedown in reverence.

Samuel

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”

Saul

“I am deeply distressed,” replied Saul. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has turned away from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do.”

“Why do you consult me,” asked Samuel, “since the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? He has done exactly what He spoke through me: The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David.

1 Samuel 28:18

Moreover, the LORD will deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. And the LORD will deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

Question

Quick question

Saul had driven the mediums out of the land. Then, with the Philistines camped across the valley, he asked his servants to find one.

Where did Saul go to find a medium?

Inside a plain village house at night by the light of one clay lamp: a very tall man in a coarse cloak fallen face down on the earth floor, propped on one forearm, clutching his head, a woman standing back by the wall with a hand at her mouth, two men frozen in the doorway.

Immediately Saul fell flat on the ground, terrified by the words of Samuel. And his strength was gone, because he had not eaten anything all that day and night.

The medium of Endor

When the woman came to Saul and saw how distraught he was, she said to him, “Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice. I took my life in my hands and did as you told me. Now please listen to your servant and let me set a morsel of bread before you so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”

Saul

Saul refused, saying, “I will not eat.”

Late night in the same lamp-lit house: the tall man sits hunched on the edge of a low sleeping bench with bread in his hands while the woman sets a clay platter of roast meat and flat loaves on a mat and his two servants eat.

But his servants joined the woman in urging him, and he heeded their voice. He got up from the ground and sat on the bed.

The woman had a fattened calf at her house, and she quickly slaughtered it. She also took flour, kneaded it, and baked unleavened bread. She served it to Saul and his servants, and they ate. And that night they got up and left.

0:25

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Pray

Seek the LORD

Saul went to a forbidden voice because he would not obey the voice of God. Ask the LORD for a heart that seeks Him while He may be found and obeys what He has already said. Thank Him that in Christ He has spoken to us clearly. Ask Him to guard you from every voice that offers guidance apart from Him.

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1 Samuel 28

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A verse to carry with you

He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.

1 Samuel 28:6

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