Brother and Sisters in Christ,
Samuel was dead. Now the Philistines set the battle against King Saul. Since God left himand there was no one to help him and advise him, he was looking for magicians/ medium and he found a lady... She will bring
the spirit of Prophet Samuel out of ground... (1 Samuel 28:3-20) The question is, is that
possible... Is it truly Samuel’s spirit came up or since evil spirit can deceive
us,,the evil spirit came in the form of Samuel...
When Saul felt threatened by the warring Philistines, Saul decided to disguise his appearance, and approach the witch of Endor for consultations with her to act as a medium to Samuel, so he could receive some much needed advice from the deceased Samuel.Now, without having access to the wisdom of Samuel, Saul needed to disguise himself before the witch of Endor, so as not to alarm her. When the witch conjured up Samuel, the apparition caused her to become affrighted, for then she realized that her client was none other than Saul, a close confidant of Samuel.A medium (such as the witch of Endor) was a person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead.Isaiah 8:19;And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? Or read Isaiah 19:3; 29:4 as well.Isaiah reveals that spirits and powers of the dark world have the ability to peep into our affairs, and to observe the ongoings of things all around us, and therefore to know much about us that we would only expect someone personally close to us to know about.
ReplyDeleteGod says that by seeking after wizards and witches, one is demonstrating that they are placing more faith in the false gods of this world than in the one true God. In Luke 20:38, God further reveals that he is a God of the living, and not a god of the dead.
ReplyDeleteAccording to the Law of Moses, anyone who professed to be a medium or a channel of communication to the spirit world was to be put to death by stoning, and this was the judgment prescribed by Samuel. A medium was considered a necromancer, or communicator of the dead. The practice of being a necromancer was the craft or practice for extracting information of guidance from a Pagan god. For this reason alone, the spirit of Samuel conjured up by the witch of Endor should be viewed with great skepticism. The Bible explicitly teaches against expecting any legitimate contact with the dead, for its participation can only serve the purposes of Satan.
Question by Lopez: Why when the medium saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; Why the medium so shocked? Probably she was a fraud, and most of her dealings with the spirit realm were mere tricks. Now, Samuel really appears from the world beyond, and she is completely surprised to have a real encounter with the spirit realm.
ReplyDeleteIn addition, we can say that this medium was familiar with the presence of demonic spirits, the presence of the Holy Spirit was probably completely unfamiliar to her. The holy presence of the Holy Spirit may have seemed terrifying to her. “The indications are that this was an extraordinary event for her, and a frightening one because she was not in control.” (Baldwin)
My opinion: Lopez, Samuel was a powerful prophet and if you're aware the witch deals with evil spirit. Maybe she cried after noticed it was Samuel, whom Saul wanted to bring and it's something unfamiliar. And yeah.. I agree with this: “The indications are that this was an extraordinary event for her, and a frightening one because she was not in control.” (Baldwin).
Why she was shocked? Because, she was unaware of the spirit that Saul wanted to talk to. Means, she didn't know that Saul wanted her to bring PROPHET SAMUEL.