Not A Smart Choice! 1 Samuel 28:1-25

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1 Not A Smart Choice! 1 Samuel 28:1-25 Message by Michael J. Barnard July 15, 2018 Teaching Aim: To explore the circumstances surrounding the foolish decision that led to the death of King Saul and his sons. To realize, fear can cause us to react foolishly in a crisis and lead us to make decisions that we regret later. To recognize people are often more willing to trust the advice of other people than they are to trust the advice of God. To understand, under no circumstance does God give us permission to dabble in the occult! DIGGING DEEPER INTO GOD S WORD (BIBLE STUDY) Part I: The death of Samuel and King Saul s frightening dilemma (1 Sam. 28:1-7) 1. As we come to chapter 28, Saul has tried to kill David on multiple occasions and we find David hiding out in the hope of saving his life. In chapter 27, we find David living at Ziklag (territory of Judah occupied by the Philistines) seeking refuge from King Saul and his army. What major event was taking place as we come to 1 Sam. 28:1? Why was this situation a dilemma for David? 2. What was the name of the Philistine king who came to trust David implicitly (vs. 1)? What city was this king of? (See 1 Sam. 27:1-3) Why do you think he has such trust in David; the man who had killed the Philistine giant Goliath, who was from this very same city? (See 1 Sam. 27:5-6) 3. What event did David remind King Achish of in verse 2a? (See 1 Sam. 17:48-51) How did King Achish respond to his perceived loyalty from David (vs. 2b)? What kind of play on words do we find in Hebrew meaning of the phrase chief guardian? (See Commentaries) 4. What major event in Israel s history is revealed to us in verse 3? How did this event affect Israel? How did this event signal the passing of an era? 1

2 5. According to Webster s Dictionary, necromancy means: The art of divining or influencing future events through communication with spirits conjured from the dead; black magic; witchcraft; sorcery. What surprising action do we find King Saul taking in verse 3b? 6. Where did the Philistines camp as they prepared for war (vs. 4)? Where did the Israelites gather as they prepared to defend their position (vs. 5)? How did King Saul react as he looked down from the hills and saw the military superiority of the Philistines in both size and strength? What do you see as some of King Saul s greatest weaknesses? 7. By what three methods did King Saul try to communicate with the LORD in verse 6? How did the LORD respond? What can we learn about prayer from Prov. 1:28-31 & Psa. 66:18? 8. What did King Saul revert to when the LORD did not answer his request for direction (vs. 7)? En Dor was located in the Valley of Jezreel. What future event will take place in this valley? (See Rev. 16:16) What does Scripture say about mediums and spiritists? (See Lev. 19:31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:10-11) How long did it take Saul s servants to find this medium? 9. Should 1 Sam. 28:7 be used as an argument to allow séances? Under most circumstances, who do people communicate with when they are in séances? What happened as a result of Saul s foolish choice to contact the medium? (See 1 Chron. 10:13-14) Have you ever had to face the consequences for a foolish decision that you ve made? If so, what was it? Part II: King Saul s nighttime visit to a medium at En Dor (1 Sam. 28:8-15) 1. What chance did King Saul have to take if he were to talk to the medium (vs. 8)? Why did he change his clothes and travel by night? (See Commentaries) The word séance literally means, bring up for me. What sinful request did Saul make to the woman in verse 8b? 2

3 2. How did the woman react to the unknown visitor s request (vs. 9)? Does verse 9 seem to indicate that King Saul had cut off, or killed some of the mediums? (See Lev. 20:27) Did he kill all of the mediums? How did his men know so quickly where she was at? 3. What makes King Saul s promise to the woman in verse 10 so appalling? (See Exod. 22:18) Saul was his own greatest enemy. What are some ways that you ve been your greatest enemy in the past through wrong choices? What did you learn? 4. What did the medium do once Saul assured her that there would be no punishment for fulfilling his request (vs. 11)? Whom did Saul request to speak to? Have you ever wanted to speak to someone who has died? How did the woman respond when the spirit of Samuel suddenly appeared (vs. 12)? Why do you think she cried out? (See Commentaries) 5. What did the king say to calm her down (vs. 13)? What did the woman describe to Saul? Was Saul able to see the spirit of Samuel (vs. 14)? What clue allowed King Saul to know that this was indeed the spirit of Samuel? How did he respond once he realized it was him? 6. How did the dead Samuel respond to this rude awakening (vs. 15)? According to verse 15, what series of events led Saul to seek out a medium with the hope of gaining Samuel s counsel? According to verse 15b, what haunting question did Saul have on his mind? Part III: The spirit of Samuel and his message terrifies the doomed Saul (1 Sam. 28:16-25) 1. What terrifying news did the spirit of Samuel share with King Saul in verses 16-17a? What should Saul s immediate response have been (See 1 John 1:9) What news is revealed for the very first time in verse 17b? How do you think King Saul felt once he was given the name of the next king? 3

4 2. What two sins of King Saul are specifically mentioned in verse 18? What command of the LORD did King Saul disobey in 1 Sam. 15:3. How was this command disobeyed? (See 1 Sam. 15:6-9) How would Saul s disobedience come back to bite the Israelites? (See Esth. 3:1) What did this individual try to do to the Jewish people as a whole? 3. What prophecy did Samuel make in verse 19? Why would this be especially disturbing to Saul? How did King Saul react to this horrible news from Samuel (vs. 20)? Has the fear of facing some event ever paralyzed you? How did it affect you? Why do you think King Saul hadn t eaten and still refused to eat? What can we learn about fasting from this passage? 4. Alarmed at the king s demeanor, the medium takes on a motherly role. What did this evil woman encourage the king to do in verses 21-22? Why? NOTE: A disguised King Saul still had to go on a dangerous journey crossing enemy lines before morning to get back to his troops. 5. Was King Saul alone or did he have companions with him (vs. 23)? Though Saul would not listen to the LORD, he did listen to this evil woman and his servants. What did they finally convince him to do? Are people still guilty today of not listening to God, but rather listening to other people? What should King Saul have been doing throughout this chapter? 6. Notice that Saul s time as king had begun with a feast. (See 1 Sam. 9:22-24) Saul s time as king also ends with a feast (vs. 24). What unusual detail do we learn in verse 24? Why do you think the king was given unleavened bread? In the case of Christ, we eat to live. What did King Saul eat to do? This would be Saul s last supper, and he was terrified (vs. 25)! 7. What practical applications can you find in chapter 28 that apply to our lives today?

5 MINER S CORNER ~ Manna to live by! King Saul did not obey God s Law by stoning to death mediums and spiritists; rather he temporarily put them out of the land; leaving the option of bringing them back! We have to cut sin off in our own lives, otherwise it will come back and bite us again! Cherished sin will interfere with our relationship to God and our prayer life! (Psa. 66:18) Under no circumstance does God want the believer to dabble in the occult; this includes séances, Ouija board games, fortune telling, and even horoscopes! Contact with Samuel after death was unusual, usually mediums contact the demon world! If God is not answering our prayers, we need to examine ourselves to find out why? (See 2 Cor. 13:5) Once we realize why, we need to make the necessary changes in our lives! (See 1 John 1:9) Even Christians must live with the consequences of the choices they have made! 5