1 Samuel 25-28

In 1 Samuel 25 we learn about the death of Samuel and all Israel mourns for him. It is interesting that these two books are named for Samuel and yet he dies before the end of book one. Perhaps that is why the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Scriptures dating to the 2^nd century BCE) titles these books as 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Kings are titled as 3 and 4 Kings.

1 Samuel 25 also tells us that after Samuel’s death, David continued to live in hiding from Saul, and no wonder, for now there was no one to stand between them to protect David. This chapter relates David’s dealings with Nabal of Carmel who refuses assistance to David despite David’s protection offered to Nabal’s servants. We meet Nabal’s wife Abigail who is a wise woman trying to make her way as best she can in a man’s world. Unbeknownst to her husband, she provides David and his men with sustenance and forestalls David from retaliating against Nabal. Nabal is struck dead by the Lord some ten days later. I think we can learn from this that sometimes if we will simply be still and trust the Lord, then the Lord will fight and win our battles for us, moving our enemies out of the way in one manner or another.

David ends up marrying Abigail and he also takes Ahinoam of Jezreel as his wife. We are told that Saul gave David’s wife Michal to another man. Once again, we have a knock on the head for the contemporary evangelical idea of “biblical marriage”. There simply is no consistent pattern of marriage throughout Scripture. Rather, we see various marriage practices in keeping with the different cultures represented. In the Hebrew Scriptures we see polygamy practiced over and over again without apology, even though most Christians today would not agree with this practice.

In 1 Samuel 26 we once again see Saul coming after David and David sparing Saul’s life when he has a chance to kill him. David refuses to interfere with the life of the Lord’s anointed.

When I was in seminary, I was assigned, in preaching class, to preach on the story of David and Goliath. In that sermon, I referred to Saul as a wimp for failing to follow the Lord. My preaching professor scolded me severely and said he was surprised that the roof did not cave in on me for calling the Lord’s anointed a wimp. However, I still think Saul was a spiritual wimp and that David was the better man.

At the beginning of 1 Samuel 27 we see David doubting whether he will ever escape from the hand of Saul. We, today, reading this story know how it ends and so we think of David as a great success. However, we must remember that David did not see himself that way. He struggled. He doubted. Life looks easier when you know the whole story, but living life day to day when you do not know how the story is going to end—that is difficult.

In chapter 27, we also see David going over to the side of the Philistines, even agreeing to fight on the side of King Achish against Israel. This is a good reminder that even the stories of good men like David are complicated. No one is completely good or loyal all the time. And yet, on the whole, we are told that the Lord viewed David as a man after his own heart.

In chapter 28, we have the story of Saul desperately seeking a medium so that he might get advice from the dead Samuel about how to handle his next campaign against the Philistines. Of course, seeking the advice of a medium was against Israelite law, and in this case was against Saul’s own ruling. Yet Saul seeks out the medium it anyway.

Desperate men go to desperate extremes. As C. S. Lewis says, “The descent to hell is easy, and those who begin by worshipping power soon worship evil.”[1] This was certainly true of Saul. However, Saul gets more than he bargained for when the witch of Endor is able to call up the “shade” of Samuel, for Samuel tells Saul that he will not be successful against the Philistines and that in fact he and his son will die the next day in battle.

I believe this story teaches us that the power of some mediums/witches is real. In this case, the witch/medium is able to call someone up from the dead and that person, Samuel, speaks truth to Saul. However, we need to beware of mediums because we can never be sure what type of spirits they are connecting with. There are only two types of spirits: good and evil. If a medium is not connecting with the Lord in prayer then he or she is connecting with Satan. The Bible tells us that Satan is a liar and the father of lies. Therefore, mediums and the spirits they have intercourse with are not to be trusted.

On one occasion, I had a friend who consulted a medium and asked her about me and my future direction. This “friend” did this without my knowledge or support. The medium told my friend a number of true things about me that she could not have known on her own, so what she had to say was really quite amazing to me. However, the medium recommended against a certain future course of action I was planning on taking. I followed through with my plans, believing that was the course of action the Lord wanted me to take. I wonder, what would have happened if I had followed the medium’s advice? I am glad I did not.

[1] The Allegory of Love

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