By Ezekiel Kimosop
INTRODUCTION
There's divided opinion as to whether the medium of En Dor whose story is recorded in 1 Samuel 28 raised the spirit of Samuel the prophet from the place of the dead at the request of King Saul.
The classical view held by sections of Early Church scholars is that the spirit was truly Samuel's.
Those who subscribe to this view have advanced a number of reasons which we shall shortly examine. We shall first consider the objections.
OBJECTION ARGUMENTS
Some theologians have questioned the idea that the medium had no real powers to raise the dead. Their objections are broad but for our purposes, they can be summarized under the following three arguments:
1) God had forbidden the practice of mediums and spiritists in Israel. The above passage reveals that Saul had apparently enforced God's commandments in Israel and had banished witches and mediums from the land (1 Samuel 28:9-10).
Some Scriptures expressly forbid the practice (Exodus 22:18; Deut. 18:10-14)
God cannot therefore go back on His word and permit a medium to raise a dead person when He had condemned its practice. This would amount to a misrepresentation of His moral nature (cf. Numbers 23:19; James1:17)
2) Several Old Testament Scriptures teach that it is impossible for the dead to return to life or posses any knowledge or consciousness(cf. Ecclesiastes 9:5).
Ecclesiastes 9:10 says "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there isno work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going."
3) God cannot speak through the dead. If God could not speak to the king through the living prophets, how could he speak to him through the dead?
These objections are identified with the theological standings of a number of Evangelical church traditions.
Some early Church Fathers and Reformation theologians such as Martin Luther and John Calvin rejected the possibility that Samuel's spirit was raised. They insist that the spirit was a demon that impersonated Samuel the prophet. Other scholars have questioned the admissibility of this passage in the canon of Scripture.
PROPONENTS
Those who believe that the spirit raised by the medium of En Dor was truly Samuel's have equally advanced strong arguments.
Here are some of their theological submissions:
1) The request for the raising up of Samuel's spirit was specific and therefore distinct (1 Samuel 28:11).
There is nothing in Scripture to suggest that a different spirit or demon was contemplated.
2) The woman rightly discerned that her client was King Saul yet Saul had disguised himself. God must have revealed this fact to her by some divine ways. It is therefore inconceivable that demonic activity can be entirely ascribed to the incident.
3) Saul on his part perceived that the spirit was Samuel's and he made obeisance to him (1 Samuel 28:14). He must have correctly identified him.
4) The spirit spoke authoritatively in the first person and affirmed that God had spoken through him in the past (1 Samuel 28:17). This was undoubtedly Samuel's spirit.
5) The spirit spoke prophetic truth concerning the fate of Saul and his sons and pronounced God's judgement on him.
Saul and his three sons perished the following day during the Battle of Jezreel (1 Samuel 31:1-6). This prophecy was decidedly from God.
It is inconceivable that God could have spoken through a demon! Besides, it is nowhere taught or implied in Scripture that Satan can speak the mind of God.
6) The Scripture text authoritatively states that the spirit was Samuel's. There are no contradictions in the passage to warrant any exegetical inquiry.
1 Samuel 28:15-16 says "Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?”
And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”
This conversation is attributed to Samuel and Saul.
OPINION & CONCLUSION
My view is that there is nothing in Scripture to suggest that God cannot superintend any circumstances in order to fulfill His divine purposes.
Besides, there's no place in the universe that is outside the scope of God's sovereignty. No one can hide from the presence and divine influence of God, not even in the place of the dead (cf. Psalm139:7-12). God can access anywhere at anytime, including the place of the dead. He is omnipresent.
Here is why:
a) Scripture reveals that nothing is impossible with God (Matthew 19:26). If God can bring the dead to life, He can cause them to speak from the dead.
Now watch this....
God brought up Moses during the transfiguration of Jesus [cf. Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36] yet we know that Moses died and was buried by God in the plains of Moab (Deut. 34:5-8).
How could Moses appear and converse with Elijah and Jesus yet he had died centuries before Christ?
b) The Bible says that Jesus went to the place of the dead to preach to the imprisoned spirits who perished in their disobedience during the flood of Noah (1 Peter 3:18-20).
c) Scripture reveals that Satan was permitted by God to appear in His presence in heaven purely for His divine purposes (Job 1:6-12). It is instructive that Satan used the opportunity to attack Job's character.
Satan is also identified as the accuser of the brethren and was thrown down from heaven (Rev. 12:1-12). This confirms that there was a divine period within which God permitted Satan to access His presence.
My concluding view is that whereas those who doubt the authenticity of the spirit raised by the medium have posted powerful arguments in support of their theological theory, I am inclined to the view that God divinely permitted the medium of En Dor to raise the spirit of Samuel in order to pass judgement on Saul and seal his fate.
Yes, the practice of spiritism and witchcraft were forbidden by God but He divinely chose to use this rare opportunity to deal with Saul's apostasy and rebellion.
I further submit that God divinely chose to speak through the prophet posthumously in order to demonstrate His sovereignty that transcends our physical life.
We also learn from this story that there is indeed life after death. Samuel had transited into the afterlife but God preserved his spirit and raised it up for the purpose.
Even though God had forbidden the practice of mediums and spiritists in Israel, nothing in the passage of 1 Samuel 28 remotely suggests that the spirit raised by the medium was a demon. There is incontrovertible evidence from the text that this was truly Samuel's spirit.
Does this suggest that God approves of the practice of mediums? Absolutely not!
This was an special case of its kind in which God chose to fulfill His divine purposes under the strange circumstances narrated in this passage and that's perfectly what matters.
The subject of this story was Saul and not Samuel. The Holy Spirit sought to demonstrate that the wages of sin is death. Saul and his family perished because of his rebellion against God.
There are several other strange incidents in the Bible that have left us with difficult passages.
For instance, when Ananias and Sapphiras died, did their souls go to heaven or were they consigned to eternal damnation?
God once caused a donkey to speak to an apostate prophet called Balaam. This incident was not replicated anywhere in Scripture.
Numbers 22:28 says "Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”
We cannot therefore limit God's sovereign power because even with the revelation of Scripture, God remains incomprehensible to our human minds.
He says in Isaiah 55:8-9: " “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.
9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts."
Thankfully, Scripture is sufficient for our instruction in righteousness and in revealing the mind of God to us.
Scripture is inerrant and infallible in its original autograph and conveys the mind of God as touching all matters of our faith and practice. We cannot add to or take away from the word of God without violating its sanctity and authority and invoking the wrath of God!
On this score, 1 Samuel 28 is a section of divinely inspired writings of the biblical Scriptures which the Holy Spirit illuminated.
God used this passage to reveal powerful biblical truth touching on the consequences of disobedience and rebellion against God.
© Ezekiel Kimosop Teaching Series 2019
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