1 Samuel 28: Ironic Appar-ances, Asked-For ☧ Asks God

Rev. Brian Kachelmeier, pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, New Mexico, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 28.

“Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’” The medium of En-dor performs a seance for Saul in chapter 28, and Saul receives a haunting echo of what Samuel told him years ago: “The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand.” Like Saul, we often ask God for answers that He’s already given us. But God isn’t a magic eight-ball; He doesn’t change His mind if we keep asking Him. Whether we like it or not, He has already spoken so much to us through our pastors and through the Scriptures. Saul inverts his own name in this scene: instead of being the man that God asked for, he tries to force God to be what he asks for. Meanwhile, David appears to be ready to march against God’s people, but appearances are deceiving—just as they were at the cross of Jesus Christ, who won Israel’s salvation despite the appearance of defeat.