1 Samuel 28:13-19: a reflection

13The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! What do you see?” The woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” 14He said to her, “What does he look like?” She said, “An old man comes up. He is covered with a robe.” Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and showed respect. 15Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me, to bring me up?” Saul answered, “I am very distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me, and answers me no more, by prophets, or by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I shall do.” 16Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the LORD has departed from you and has become your adversary? 17The LORD has done to you as he spoke by me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, even to David. 18Because you didn’t obey the LORD’s voice, and didn’t execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore the LORD has done this thing to you today. 19Moreover the LORD will deliver Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will deliver the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

In his desperation, when God no longer answered him because he had turned away, Saul sought guidance from a forbidden source rather than returning to God, a tragic warning against seeking wrong help when we have cut ourselves off from God. God has departed from me, and answers me no more, Saul says; therefore I have called you, to make known to me what I shall do. Saul had turned from God through disobedience, and now, in a crisis, found that God no longer answered him by any right means. But instead of returning to God in repentance, Saul turned to a forbidden source of guidance, seeking help through means God had condemned. Cut off from God by his own turning away, he sought wrong help rather than turning back. This shows the tragedy of seeking wrong help when we have cut ourselves off from God. When God seems silent because of your own turning away, return to him, not to wrong sources. Do not seek forbidden help when the remedy is repentance. Cutting ourselves off from God and then seeking wrong guidance is a tragic mistake. The answer to God's silence caused by our sin is to return to him.

Notice the tragic path Saul took. Saul had, over time, turned away from God through disobedience; and now, in a moment of crisis and desperation, he found that God no longer answered him, not by prophets, not by dreams, not by any right means. The silence was, in part, the fruit of his own turning away. What should Saul have done? He should have returned to God, humbled himself, repented of his disobedience, sought to be restored to the God he had turned from. But instead, Saul did something tragic: he sought guidance through a forbidden source, a means God had condemned, trying to get an answer by wrong means rather than returning to God the right way. Cut off from God by his own sin, he turned not back to God but to wrong help. This holds a warning for us. There can be times when God seems silent to us, when we feel cut off from his guidance and help. And sometimes this silence is connected to our own turning away, our own disobedience or drift. In such times, the temptation, like Saul's, can be to seek help and answers from wrong sources, to try to fill the void by means we should not, rather than doing the one thing that would actually remedy it: returning to God, repenting, being restored to him. When God's silence is the fruit of our own turning away, the answer is not to seek forbidden help, but to return to God. We do well, when we feel cut off from God through our own turning away, to return to him in repentance, rather than seeking wrong help. When cut off from God by your own turning away, return to him, not to wrong sources. Do not seek forbidden help when the true remedy is repentance and return. The answer to God's silence caused by our drift is to come back to him. Do not, like Saul, seek wrong guidance instead of returning to God.

That is worth taking to heart, for when God seems silent through our own turning away, the answer is to return to him, not to seek wrong help, as Saul tragically sought forbidden guidance instead of repenting. We can, when cut off from God by our drift, seek help from wrong sources; but Saul's turning to forbidden means instead of returning to God was a tragic mistake. Return to God. When you feel cut off from God through your own turning away, do not seek wrong help; return to him in repentance, which is the true remedy. When you feel cut off from God through your own turning away, return to him in repentance rather than seeking guidance or help from wrong sources, as in his desperation, when God no longer answered him because he had turned away, Saul sought guidance from a forbidden source rather than returning to God, a tragic warning against seeking wrong help when we have cut ourselves off from God, since Saul said God had departed from him and answered him no more and therefore he had called on forbidden help to know what to do; for Saul had turned from God through disobedience and now in a crisis found that God no longer answered him by any right means, but instead of returning to God in repentance he turned to a forbidden source, seeking help through means God had condemned, cut off from God by his own turning away and seeking wrong help rather than turning back, which holds a warning for us, since there can be times when God seems silent and we feel cut off from his guidance, and sometimes this silence is connected to our own turning away, and the temptation like Saul's can be to seek help from wrong sources rather than doing the one thing that would remedy it, returning to God in repentance to be restored to him, so that when God's silence is the fruit of our own turning away the answer is not to seek forbidden help but to return to God, and we do well to do so.

Lord, in his desperation, when you no longer answered him because he had turned away, Saul sought guidance from a forbidden source rather than returning to you, a tragic warning against seeking wrong help when we have cut ourselves off from you. God has departed from me, and answers me no more, Saul says; therefore I have called you, to make known to me what I shall do. Saul had turned from you through disobedience, and now, in a crisis, found that you no longer answered him by any right means. But instead of returning to you in repentance, Saul turned to a forbidden source of guidance, seeking help through means you had condemned. Cut off from you by his own turning away, he sought wrong help rather than turning back. Show me the tragic path Saul took. He had, over time, turned away from you through disobedience; and now, in a moment of crisis, he found that you no longer answered him by any right means. The silence was, in part, the fruit of his own turning away. What should he have done? He should have returned to you, humbled himself, repented, sought to be restored to the God he had turned from. But instead, he did something tragic: he sought guidance through a forbidden source, trying to get an answer by wrong means rather than returning to you the right way. This holds a warning for me. There can be times when you seem silent to me, when I feel cut off from your guidance. And sometimes this silence is connected to my own turning away, my own disobedience or drift. In such times, the temptation, like Saul's, can be to seek help and answers from wrong sources, rather than doing the one thing that would actually remedy it: returning to you, repenting, being restored to you. When your silence is the fruit of my own turning away, the answer is not to seek forbidden help, but to return to you. Take that to my heart. When I feel cut off from you through my own turning away, keep me from seeking wrong help; help me return to you, Lord, in repentance, which is the true remedy, not, like Saul, seeking wrong guidance instead of coming back to you.