Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out

“And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up?  And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.”  I Samuel 28:15

Yesterday’s blog left off with Saul in the room with a medium who had called up the spirit of the prophet Samuel so that this spirit could give Saul some counsel concerning the imminent attack on Israel by the Philistines.  The LORD had departed from Saul, and he was a desperate man who did not know what to do to protect his nation and his position as king of Israel.  When the spirit of Samuel, or possibly a counterfeit, appeared, he seemed a bit perturbed at being called up from his eternal abode.  I could see where the real Samuel would be annoyed at being brought out of his place in paradise particularly for the benefit of a man who had become a real disappointment to him.  But I would think that a demonic spirit would actually be glad to escape eternal darkness even if only temporarily.  How many souls now in hell would like to escape if only for a moment?

Samuel asked Saul why he had called him.  Saul answered that he was deeply distressed because the Philistines had threatened to attack Israel, and that God had left him to fend for himself and for all Israel.  He had tried to seek God’s help, but God had withheld His answer from Saul.  There were no dreams, visions, or words from the prophets to come his way.  He thought he had no other option other than to call on Samuel in order to know what to do.  It’s too bad that Saul had not developed a trusting and respectful relationship with Samuel while Samuel was alive.  It’s also too bad that Saul chose to make David his enemy.  Otherwise, he likely would not be in this predicament.  Had David still been at his side, I doubt that he wouldn’t have had to worry about the Philistines’ threat.  At this point, I wonder if Saul thought about his past sins with regret.

Samuel didn’t seem to have very much sympathy for Saul and rightly so.  Saul was now living with all his bad judgments of the past.  As Moses told Israel in Numbers 32:23, “…be sure your sin will find you out”.  Samuel asked Saul why he was even bothering to ask him since the LORD had departed from Saul, and Samuel spoke God’s message.  Why would Saul think that God would answer him indirectly if He refused to answer him directly?  Saul was indeed a desperate man.  Samuel then reminded Saul that God’s plan was unfolding right before his eyes, the one that God intended for Saul to lose the kingdom and for David to gain it.  It wasn’t like this was some great secret kept from Saul.  This prophecy given years ago was clear and straightforward (I Samuel 13:13-14; 15:26-29).   Saul had just refused to give up the fight.  Now he was going to be in the fight of his life.  However, he had no one to blame but himself.  He had not obeyed the LORD throughout his reign over Israel.  His flagrant disregard for God’s command confirmed God’s desire to replace Saul as king over Israel.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if God tells someone to do something, and that person intentionally disobeys, then there are going to be consequences.  That principle holds true in other areas of life:  the military, in school, on the highway, at work, and at home, too.

If all that wasn’t enough for Saul to hear, Samuel had one more devastating prophecy to lay on him.  Rather than the LORD bringing victory to Israel, He was going to allow the Philistines to defeat Israel and defeat them heavily.  But that wasn’t the worst part for Saul:  the next day he and his sons would be killed in battle.  Can you imagine being told that you and your sons would die within the next 24 hours?  Saul almost fainted from fear and from hunger and dehydration.  The medium convinced him to eat, and she prepared a meal for him.  After they had eaten, Saul and his servants left for home.  Just as the spirit foretold, the Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel fled with many being slain.  Saul and his sons were pursued by the Philistines, and Saul was struck with an arrow.  He ordered his armorbearer to thrust a sword through him so that the enemy would not.  His armorbearer refused, Saul fell on his own sword, and his armorbearer did likewise.  Saul’s three sons also died, including David’s best friend Jonathan (I Samuel 31:1-6).

Just as the spirit at Endor had prophesied, Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and his men all died on that same day.  Even in his dying breath, Saul still did not own up to his sinful life that he had lived.  He did not plead for mercy from the LORD of heaven and earth.  Saul was never God’s chosen man to be king over Israel.  The people chose him, and God reluctantly allowed Saul to reign over them, but warned them of the consequences of their demand for a king.  How different things would have been for Saul and the people of Israel if they had only listened to their true King, the LORD God.