Basic HTML Version
No Answer from God, June 14
1 Samuel 28:3-25
The Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by
prophets.
1 Samuel 28:6
.
The Lord never turned away a soul that came to Him in sincerity and humility.
Why did he turn Saul away unanswered? The king had by his own act forfeited
the benefits of all the methods of inquiring of God. He had rejected the counsel
of Samuel the prophet; he had exiled David, the chosen of God; he had slain the
priests of the Lord.... He had sinned away the Spirit of grace, and could he be
answered by dreams and revelations from the Lord? Saul did not turn to God
with humility and repentance. It was not pardon for sin and reconciliation with
God, that he sought, but deliverance from his foes. By his own stubbornness
and rebellion he had cut himself off from God. There could be no return but
by the way of penitence and contrition; but the proud monarch, in his anguish
and despair, determined to seek help from another source.... It was told the king
that a woman who had a familiar spirit was living in concealment at Endor....
Disguising himself, Saul went forth by night with but two attendants, to seek the
retreat of the sorceress....
What bondage so terrible as that of him who is given over to the control of
the worst of tyrants—himself! Trust in God and obedience to His will were the
only conditions upon which Saul could be king of Israel. Had he complied with
these conditions throughout his reign, his kingdom would have been secure;
God would have been his guide, the Omnipotent his shield. God had borne long
with Saul; and although his rebellion and obstinacy had well-nigh silenced the
divine voice in the soul, there was still opportunity for repentance. But when in
his peril he turned from God to obtain light from a confederate of Satan, he had
cut the last tie that bound him to his Maker....
By consulting that spirit of darkness Saul had destroyed himself. Oppressed
by the horror of despair, it would be impossible for him to inspire his army with
courage. Separated from the Source of strength, he could not lead the minds of
Israel to look to God as their helper. Thus the prediction of evil would work its
own accomplishment
[172]
25
Patriarchs and Prophets, 676-681
.
177