Today we will read one of the more challenging stories in the Bible. First King Saul banned all the mediums from the land. Then he went to one himself and she appeared to call the prophet Samuel back from the dead. What does this passage say to us? Are there mediums and spiritists at work today?
What is white magic or is there any such thing? Is it acceptable for Christians to read their horoscopes or study astrology or numerology? Is there anything wrong with tarot cards, cleansings, Ouija boards, and palm reading? Important questions.
And from our New Testament reading, have you ever wondered or had someone ask you in regard to salvation, “How can all those Muslims and others be wrong? How can they all be going to hell because they don’t believe in the Christian God and in Jesus? How can God condemn them for something they don’t know?”
Today’s Readings:
1 Samuel 28
Psalm 61.1-4
Proverbs 16.6
John 3.1-18
White Magic, Mediums & Spiritists
1 Samuel 28:
The Witch of En Dor
As I said, this chapter contains one of the more challenging stories in the Bible. It opens by telling us that Samuel has died and that Saul has banished all the mediums and spiritists from the land. Then when he prays for wisdom and God won’t answer him, he resorts to seeking out a medium himself. She is often referred to as the Witch of En Dor.
He disguises himself and asks her to bring up Samuel from the dead. This is necromancy and is forbidden by God (Deut. 18.11; Is. 8.19). So how can we understand what happens next? Because it appears that the woman succeeds in bringing Samuel back from the dead:
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!”
13 And the king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What did you see?”
And the woman said to Saul, “I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth.”
14 So he said to her, “What is his form?”
And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is covered with a mantle.” And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down.
Some commentators, believe this was a familiar spirit. That’s certainly possible because even Satan himself can appear as an angel of light according to the Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 11.14).
Others believe this was Samuel and not an apparition. And God in His sovereignty certainly could have allowed Samuel to appear to her. But her reaction reveals that this was not something she could have done herself.
Mediums & White Magic
But either way, God has always forbidden His people to seek after spiritists, mediums, and the like. Deuteronomy 29.29 says:
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
In fact, under the law, anyone practicing such things was to be put to death! And God’s attitude towards them has not changed. There is no such thing as “white” or harmless magic, witchcraft, or spiritism, even if its practitioners claim to believe in God or talk about Jesus. It’s not the Jesus of the Bible. Remember, the devil himself can appear as an angel of light, but it’s the bait he throws out to get us “hooked” on something other than God.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Cor. 11.13-15).
If you are involved in any of these things, including horoscopes, astrology, numerology, tarot cards, cleansings, Ouija boards, palm reading, seeking to talk to the dead, or have been involved with these things in the past, go to God, seek His forgiveness, stop those practices completely, and get whole-heartedly focused on seeking wisdom through His Word.
Experience, Our Imagination & God’s Judgment
But perhaps you or someone you know has had an experience that has convinced you that these things work and are not wrong. There can be numerous explanations, including our own imaginations. And while there is an unseen spiritual world that is just as real as this physical world (2 Ki. 6.8-18; Eph. 6.12), it’s not something to be played with. God is not going to bless something that is contradictory to His Word. We can’t base our definitions of right or wrong, true or untrue on experience. Our standard must be the Scriptures.
On the other hand, we don’t need to be focused on rebuking or casting out demons.
8 Likewise also these dreamers defile the flesh, reject authority, and speak evil of dignitaries. 9 Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 8-9).
Instead, we should focus on Christ (1 Jn. 4.4). James told us:
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (Jas. 4.7).
We resist the devil by submitting to God and His truth, by choosing to live obediently before Him when it’s convenient and when it’s not, and by trusting Him with our past, our present, and our future.
Things You Do Not know
We can learn a lot from Saul’s life. God did allow him to know what would happen but it cost him and his sons their lives (1 Sam. 31.1-6).
Instead of seeking to get answers in ways that God clearly forbids, we must go to Him in prayer (Jer. 33.3) and search the Scriptures for principles and truths that apply. We must also accept the fact that there are things that He chooses not to reveal to us (Deut. 29.29).
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 61.1-4:
The Rock that is Higher Than I
When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I (2b).
Who hasn’t felt overwhelmed at one time or another? When we do, we need something higher than us to which to run!
Proverbs 16.6:
Motives Matter
In mercy and truth atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the LORD one departs from evil.
If the only reason we avoid sin is the fear of getting caught, looking bad to others, or because someone is watching, we have the wrong motives. We are to live obediently out of a fear of God and a desire to please Him.
John 3.1-18:
Religion Isn’t Enough
Nicodemus was a religious man. He was devout, a ruler of the Jews, and a Pharisee. Yet Jesus told him that religion wasn’t enough. He needed to be “born-again” (Jn. 3.3). Verses 16-18:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Don’t let familiarity keep you from thinking deeply about those verses.
But What About …
But have you ever wondered or had someone ask you, “How can all those Muslims or others be wrong? How can they all be going to hell because they don’t believe in the Christian God and in Jesus?” How can God condemn them for something they don’t know?
Read verse 18 again. God doesn’t condemn them for not knowing. We were all already condemned. But God sent His Son to rescue all who will believe.
And God is well able to get the truth to anyone who truly wants to know just as He did to an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.25-39. He was a foreigner and as a eunuch, he would have been an outcast from the temple. Yet God sent Philip out of his way to reach him with the truth.
And the truth is … there is only one way to God, only one way to have eternal life:
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (Jn. 3.36).
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn. 14.6).
What About You?
Have you come to the knowledge of the truth and placed your faith in Jesus Christ for salvation?
If so, are you sharing your faith so others can come to know, too?
Also, have you had any past involvement in fortune-telling or the like? Have you confessed and completely forsaken it?
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll look at what to do when you’re at your wit’s end, how to respond to imperfect authority, discuss the cost of losing God’s restraining grace, and look at answers to life’s toughest questions. We’ll also talk about the questions: Do your kids know you LIKE them? And who is Jesus?
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss any of them. You might also like to check out our YouTube channel.
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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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