The choices we make determine the direction, of our lives, My Bodyguard for Life. Saul had been given every opportunity to obey God, yet years of disobedience finally brought him to a place of silence and despair. This chapter contrasts God’s faithful guidance with man’s desperate searching and reminds us that only the Lord provides true wisdom, hope, and salvation.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Faith, Philistines, Jealousy, Envy, Deceitfulness, Judgment, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 1 Samuel 28:1–2 (NIV)
“28 In those days the Philistines gathered their forces to fight against Israel. Achish said to David, “You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army.”
“2 David said, “Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”
Achish replied, “Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for life.”
📖 1 Samuel 28:3–7 (NIV)
“3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.”
“4 The Philistines assembled and came and set up camp at Shunem, while Saul gathered all Israel and set up camp at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the Philistine army, he was afraid; terror filled his heart. 6 He inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets. 7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.”
“There is one in Endor,” they said.
King Achish expected David and his men to march alongside the Philistine army.
David answered carefully,
“Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do.”
Believing David had fully committed himself, Achish declared that David would become his personal bodyguard for life.
God continued protecting David even while he lived among Israel’s enemies.
The Lord was quietly directing events according to His covenant, even when human circumstances appeared confusing.
📖 1 Samuel 28:8–15 (NIV)
“8 So Saul disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and at night he and two men went to the woman. “Consult a spirit for me,” he said, “and bring up for me the one I name.”
“9 But the woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done. He has cut off the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why have you set a trap for my life to bring about my death?”
“10 Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not be punished for this.”
“11 Then the woman asked, “Whom shall I bring up for you?”
“Bring up Samuel,” he said.
“12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!”
“13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid. What do you see?”
The woman said, “I see a ghostly figure[a] coming up out of the earth.”
“14 “What does he look like?” he asked.
“An old man wearing a robe is coming up,” she said.
Then Saul knew it was Samuel, and he bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground.
“15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
“I am in great distress,” Saul said. “The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed 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.”
Samuel had died.
Meanwhile, the Philistine army gathered against Israel.
When Saul saw their strength, fear overwhelmed him.
For the first time in many years, Saul desperately sought the Lord.
But Scripture says,
“The Lord did not answer him.”
Not any dreams.
No Urim.
No prophets.
The silence was not because God had abandoned His people.
It was the consequence of Saul’s continual rejection of God’s commands.
Years of disobedience had hardened his heart.
Instead of repentance, Saul searched for another way.
📖 1 Samuel 28:16–19 (NIV)
“16 Samuel said, “Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done what he predicted through me. The Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors—to David. 18 Because you did not obey the Lord or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this to you today. 19 The Lord will deliver both Israel and you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.”
Rather than humbling himself before God, Saul sought a medium at Endor.
Now he secretly disguised himself and sought the very practices he had condemned.
When Samuel appeared, Saul hoped to receive new direction.
Instead, Samuel confirmed what God had already declared.
The kingdom had been taken from Saul because of his disobedience.
David had been chosen.
The coming battle would end in defeat.
Samuel reminded Saul that God’s judgment was not sudden.
It was the result of years of rejecting God’s Word.
God’s truth never changes, even when people refuse to accept it.
📖 1 Samuel 28:20–22 (NIV)
“20 Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of Samuel’s words. His strength was gone, for he had eaten nothing all that day and all that night.”
“21 When the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly shaken, she said, “Look, your servant has obeyed you. I took my life in my hands and did what you told me to do. 22 Now please listen to your servant and let me give you some food so you may eat and have the strength to go on your way.”
He had eaten nothing all day or night.
Even the woman of Endor showed compassion by preparing food for him.
At first Saul refused.
Finally, urged by his men and the woman, he accepted the meal.
After eating, Saul and his men left into the darkness.
This final meal symbolizes the tragedy of Saul’s life.
His body received strength.
His heart never returned to God.
Physical strength cannot replace spiritual surrender.
Only repentance restores fellowship with the Lord.
📖 1 Samuel 28:23–25 (NIV)
“23 He refused and said, “I will not eat.”
But his men joined the woman in urging him, and he listened to them. He got up from the ground and sat on the couch.
“24 The woman had a fattened calf at the house, which she butchered at once. She took some flour, kneaded it and baked bread without yeast.25 Then she set it before Saul and his men, and they ate. That same night they got up and left.”
It began years earlier when jealousy entered his heart.
He envied David’s success.
He feared losing his throne.
Instead of celebrating God’s blessings, he fought against God’s chosen servant.
Jealousy slowly became bitterness.
Bitterness became hatred.
Hatred produced deception, violence, and spiritual blindness.
Sin rarely destroys a life overnight.
It grows when it is left unchecked.
Saul’s final desperate decision was simply the harvest of many years of rejecting God’s voice.
Although Saul’s kingdom was ending, God’s covenant continued.
David was still God’s chosen king.
Nothing the Philistines planned could stop God’s promises.
Nothing Saul attempted could change God’s decision.
Even during Israel’s darkest moments, the Lord continued moving His Redemption Plan forward.
God remains faithful even when people are not.
His covenant stands forever because it depends upon His character, not human performance.
God desires obedience more than last-minute desperation.
Saul wanted answers without repentance.
He wanted guidance without surrender.
God had spoken many times before.
Saul simply refused to listen.
This chapter also reminds us that fear should drive us toward God, not away from Him.
When difficulties come, our first response should always be prayer, faith, and obedience.
Finally, unchecked jealousy, pride, and disobedience gradually separate us from God’s fellowship.
The safest place is always within God’s will.
Saul searched for answers in darkness because he had rejected God’s voice. Jesus Christ came as the Light of the world so that all who follow Him would never walk in darkness.
Saul sought life through forbidden counsel and found only judgment. Jesus offers living hope through Himself, declaring that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Samuel announced the end of Saul’s kingdom, while Jesus established an eternal kingdom that can never be shaken.
Where Saul’s disobedience brought separation from God, Jesus’ perfect obedience opened the way for sinners to be reconciled to the Father through His death and resurrection.
Every story leads to Jesus Christ—the eternal King who fulfills God’s covenant, overcomes sin and death, and completes God’s Redemption Plan for all who believe in Him.
