1 Samuel 28 Foundations Commentary

Big Idea

Persistent rebellion hardens the heart and eventually leaves people searching for guidance apart from God. Saul’s tragic decline reminds us that God’s Word must be trusted and obeyed, while Jesus Christ is the faithful King who perfectly reveals the Father and gives His people true hope in the darkness.

Introduction

When You Want God’s Direction Without God’s Authority

Most people want guidance.

We want to know what to do.

Where to go.

What comes next.

How things will turn out.

But sometimes we want God’s direction without wanting God’s authority.

That was Saul’s problem.

For years, God had spoken.

Through Samuel.

Through commands.

Through warnings.

Through repeated opportunities to repent.

But Saul continually resisted.

He listened selectively.

Obeyed partially.

Excused himself.

And pursued his own way.

Now, in 1 Samuel 28, Saul desperately wants God to speak.

But he has spent years rejecting what God already said.

So when no answer comes, Saul does something tragic.

He turns to a medium.

The king who once removed mediums from the land now seeks one in the darkness.

First Samuel 28 reminds us that the greatest danger is not simply failing to hear God.

It is repeatedly refusing to obey when He has already spoken.

David’s Compromise Creates a Dangerous Dilemma (1 Samuel 28:1–2)

The chapter briefly continues David’s story from chapter 27.

David’s decision to live among the Philistines had given him temporary safety from Saul.

But now that decision created a serious problem.

The Philistines were preparing for war against Israel.

And Achish expected David to fight with them.

David had placed himself in an almost impossible situation.

If he fought against Israel, he would attack the very people he had been anointed to lead.

If he turned against the Philistines, he would expose his deception and place himself and his men in danger.

Fear had promised David safety.

Now it had produced a crisis.

Achish even made David his permanent bodyguard.

The compromise was becoming harder to escape.

Fear-Driven Decisions Often Create New Problems

David wanted relief from Saul.

He found it.

But the solution created a deeper dilemma.

That is one of compromise’s hidden costs.

It promises to solve today’s problem while quietly creating tomorrow’s.

Thankfully, David’s story is not finished.

God is still working.

But for now, the narrator leaves David in tension and turns our attention back to Saul.

Saul Faces the Philistine Army in Fear (1 Samuel 28:3–6)

Samuel was dead.

Israel had mourned him.

And Saul had previously removed mediums and spiritists from the land.

That was the right thing to do.

God’s law clearly prohibited seeking guidance through the occult.

But Saul’s outward actions had never solved the deeper problem of his heart.

Now the Philistine army gathered.

When Saul saw them, he became terrified.

His heart trembled.

So Saul finally sought the Lord.

He looked for guidance through dreams.

Prophets.

The priestly means of inquiry.

But no answer came.

This silence was not because God had been unclear throughout Saul’s life.

God had spoken repeatedly.

Saul had repeatedly refused.

The tragedy is that Saul wanted a new word from God while remaining unchanged toward the old one.

Guidance Cannot Be Separated from Obedience

We sometimes ask,

“God, what do You want me to do?”

While ignoring something He has already made clear.

Scripture never presents guidance as a substitute for obedience.

God’s will is not merely information to discover.

It is truth to obey.

Saul Searches for a Medium (1 Samuel 28:7–10)

When the Lord did not answer, Saul did not respond with humble repentance.

He looked for another source.

He told his servants to find a woman who practiced as a medium.

They knew of one at Endor.

The irony is painful.

Saul had previously driven mediums from the land.

Now he secretly sought one.

He disguised himself.

Changed his clothes.

Traveled at night.

Everything about the scene reflects darkness.

Saul knew what he was doing violated God’s law.

The woman herself was afraid because consulting spirits had been outlawed.

Then Saul committed an even deeper contradiction.

He swore by the Lord that she would not be punished for breaking the Lord’s command.

Saul invoked God’s name to protect disobedience against God.

This is how far rebellion had distorted his thinking.

Sin Eventually Makes Contradictions Feel Normal

Saul still used spiritual language.

He still knew God’s name.

He still spoke religiously.

But his actions had become completely detached from genuine submission.

Religious words cannot make rebellion holy.

God wants more than spiritual vocabulary.

He wants surrendered hearts.

The Medium Sees Samuel (1 Samuel 28:11–14)

Saul asked the woman to bring up Samuel.

What happens next is unusual.

The text presents Samuel as actually appearing.

The woman seems shocked by what she sees, suggesting this was not simply something she controlled through her normal practices.

The safest conclusion is that this was a unique act God permitted for His own purposes.

The medium did not control Samuel.

God did.

This passage does not validate necromancy.

It does the opposite.

The law had clearly forbidden it.

Saul’s decision to seek a medium is later specifically identified as part of his unfaithfulness and judgment.

God sovereignly used Saul’s forbidden attempt to deliver one final word of judgment.

Saul bowed down.

But the tragedy is obvious.

He had repeatedly refused to listen to Samuel while Samuel was alive.

Now he desperately wanted Samuel’s voice after his death.

Do Not Wait for Crisis to Value God’s Word

Saul had access to truth for years.

But he resisted it.

Now he wanted guidance when judgment was near.

Wisdom receives God’s Word while there is still opportunity to respond.

Samuel Announces Saul’s Judgment (1 Samuel 28:15–19)

Samuel asked why Saul had disturbed him.

Saul explained his distress.

The Philistines were attacking.

God was no longer answering.

Saul wanted Samuel to tell him what to do.

But Samuel did not give Saul a new strategy.

He repeated what God had already said.

The Lord had departed from Saul because Saul had rejected His Word.

The kingdom had been torn away.

David would receive it.

Saul’s failure to obey regarding the Amalekites still stood against him.

And now judgment was near.

Israel would be defeated.

Saul and his sons would die.

The message was devastating.

But it was not new.

This was the fulfillment of warnings Saul had heard for years.

God’s Judgment Is Never Arbitrary

Saul’s downfall did not happen because of one impulsive mistake.

It was the result of a long pattern.

Disobedience.

Excuses.

Pride.

Jealousy.

Violence.

Resistance.

God had been patient.

Saul had repeatedly hardened himself.

Judgment eventually came.

God is merciful.

But His mercy should never be mistaken for indifference toward sin.

Saul Collapses in Fear (1 Samuel 28:20–25)

When Saul heard Samuel’s words, he collapsed.

He had eaten nothing all day.

Fear and exhaustion overwhelmed him.

The woman urged him to eat.

At first Saul refused.

Eventually his servants persuaded him.

She prepared a meal.

Saul ate.

Then he left that night.

The scene is deeply sad.

Israel’s first king once stood taller than everyone else.

Now he lies broken on the floor of a medium’s house.

Once the Spirit of God empowered him.

Now he walks into the darkness knowing judgment is near.

Saul’s story is not tragic because God failed him.

It is tragic because Saul repeatedly refused the God who had graciously called him.

Where We Turn in Trouble Reveals What We Trust

Crisis has a way of exposing our deepest loyalties.

Saul turned to forbidden spiritual power.

David often struggled too, but again and again he eventually returned to the Lord.

The difference between spiritual life and spiritual collapse is not whether we ever fail.

It is whether failure drives us back toward God or farther away from Him.

1 Samuel 28 and the Gospel

Saul desperately wanted someone to tell him what to do.

But he had rejected God’s Word for years.

His story highlights humanity’s need for a King who perfectly listens to the Father.

Jesus Christ is that King.

Jesus never resisted the Father’s will.

Never manipulated spiritual things for His own purposes.

Never sought guidance apart from God.

Never substituted religious appearance for obedience.

He perfectly knew the Father.

Perfectly revealed the Father.

Perfectly obeyed the Father.

Where Saul entered darkness because of rebellion, Jesus entered darkness willingly to save rebels.

At the cross, Jesus bore judgment for sinners.

He experienced the darkness of Calvary so that those who trust Him would never be abandoned by God.

And through His resurrection, Christ conquered death itself.

Saul sought forbidden access to the dead because he was desperate for answers.

Christ defeated death and gives eternal life.

He is not merely another source of guidance.

He is the Way.

The Truth.

The Life.

Theological Themes

The Seriousness of Persistent Rebellion

Saul’s downfall is the result of repeated resistance to God’s revealed Word.

God’s Holiness and Judgment

God is patient and merciful, but persistent rebellion eventually brings righteous judgment.

The Danger of Occult Practices

Seeking mediums, necromancy, or supernatural guidance apart from God directly violates biblical faithfulness.

Guidance and Obedience

God’s direction cannot be separated from a willingness to obey what He has already revealed.

Human Fear

Both David and Saul show how fear can produce disastrous decisions when it becomes stronger than trust.

Christ the Faithful King

Saul’s failure points forward to Jesus, who perfectly obeyed the Father and gives His people the truth, life, and hope Saul could never provide.

Truths and Lessons for Today

1. Obey What God Has Already Made Clear

Saul desperately wanted a new answer while having repeatedly rejected previous ones.

Application: Before asking for fresh direction, examine whether you are faithfully responding to what Scripture already teaches.

“Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)

2. Do Not Seek Spiritual Guidance Apart from God

Saul turned to a medium because he wanted answers.

Application: Reject mediums, psychics, necromancy, occult practices, and every attempt to seek supernatural guidance outside God’s revealed truth.

“You are to be blameless before the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 18:13)

3. Crisis Reveals Where We Place Our Trust

The Philistine threat exposed Saul’s spiritual emptiness.

Application: Let fear drive you toward prayer, Scripture, and dependence on Christ rather than toward desperate substitutes.

“Call on me in a day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you will honor me.” (Psalm 50:15)

4. Religious Language Cannot Replace Obedience

Saul invoked the Lord’s name while violating the Lord’s command.

Application: Make sure your spiritual language is matched by a genuinely surrendered life.

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46)

5. Do Not Harden Your Heart Against Repeated Correction

God warned Saul many times.

Saul continued resisting.

Application: When God convicts you through His Word, respond quickly and humbly.

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” (Hebrews 3:15)

6. Jesus Is the Faithful King Who Gives Us Life

Saul sought answers among the dead.

Jesus conquered death itself.

Application: Seek your hope, direction, and salvation in Christ, who perfectly reveals the Father and gives eternal life.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)

Conclusion

First Samuel 28 is one of the darkest chapters in Saul’s story.

The Philistines gather.

Samuel is gone.

God is silent.

Saul is terrified.

And instead of humbling himself, Saul looks somewhere else.

He disguises himself.

Enters the night.

Seeks a medium.

Calls for Samuel.

But the message he receives is the same message he had refused before.

God’s Word had not changed.

Saul had.

That is the tragedy.

The chapter warns us not to treat God like a source of emergency information while resisting His authority in everyday life.

He is not merely someone we consult.

He is Lord.

And yet this dark chapter also points us toward hope.

Saul was an unfaithful king.

Jesus is the faithful King.

Saul rejected God’s Word.

Jesus perfectly obeyed it.

Saul sought hope among the dead.

Jesus conquered death.

Saul walked into the darkness awaiting judgment.

Jesus entered the darkness of the cross so that sinners could receive mercy.

Our hope is not found in secret knowledge.

Spiritual experiences.

Occult power.

Or desperate attempts to control the future.

Our hope is Jesus Christ.

The living King.

The faithful Savior.

The One who leads His people in truth and brings them safely into life.

Memorable Summary Statement

1 Samuel 28 reminds us that persistent rebellion eventually brings darkness and judgment, while true hope is found in listening to God’s Word and trusting Jesus Christ—the faithful King who conquered death and perfectly reveals the Father.

← Previous: 1 Samuel 27:1-12 – When Fear Takes the Lead

📖 All 1 Samuel Resources

→ Next: 1 Samuel 29:1-11 – When God Closes The Door

Keep Growing in God’s Word

📚 Explore All Bible Study Resources →

Keep Studying 1 Samuel

Choose Your Path For Studying 1 Samuel

Continue studying 1 Samuel with MTSM commentary layers, Bible study resources, and question-based articles designed for everyday Bible readers, teachers, leaders, and deeper study.