Today's Reading: 1 Samuel 28; 1 Samuel 29; Psalm 109; Matthew 11
Scripture: 1 Samuel 28:8-19 (excerpts)
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."... 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 spirit coming up out of the ground." 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 turned away 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." 16 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away 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 hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines."
Observation: What a bizarre story. But what this story reminds me of is how little we really know about the afterlife. Here is the ghost of Samuel, being called up by a spiritist and speaking to King Saul. Samuel's ghost rebukes Saul and prophecies his death and the death of his sons as well as the defeat of the army of Israel. And everything came to pass as Samuel said. (Some teachers have said that this is not really Samuel's ghost but I see nothing in the text to indicate that.) The point is that we just have a lack of knowledge in the area of the spirit-world of the dead. I have disbelieved any talk of ghosts or hauntings, but I have heard from Christian missionaries and others of encounters with lingering spirits from areas where horrible killings had been committed, and these reports have made me reevaluate my position. I'm not saying that I swallow every ghost story, but I think that in light of this story in today's reading, we should realize that there is activity among the spirits of the dead that we know virtually nothing about.
Application: Serve Jesus. Believe in Him. Trust in God's word. And keep your mind and heart open to what is going on in our world today. The world is tuning in to matters of the spirit world and the Bible has the answers people are looking for. We need to prepare ourselves to give and answer to the questions people will ask. And we need to stay humble and admit that while God knows everything, "we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Prayer: Lord, we have so much to learn. Teach us and open us up to Your truth. Help us to apply the truth we have and show us more. I thank You that our lives are in Your hands and as we trust in You, we can be assured of a home in heaven with You. Lead us on the path to our eternal home.
This I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.
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