1 Samuel 28-31, Psalm 86
We come today to the end of the first book of Samuel. This is an artificial division added by the translators of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek a couple hundred years before the birth of Jesus. While some of these creative divisions are awkward, in this case I think they did it right. The end of 1 Samuel marks the end of the kingdom of Saul, as well as the end of David’s adventures as a mercenary for the Philistines.
Today’s story opens with both Saul and David making some interesting choices. Recall that in chapter 26 we saw him repent of his unrighteous pursuit of David, and here we see him expelling the “mediums and necromancers” from the land. Though he has been very lax in his opposition to foreign gods and worship, to the point of executing priests of the God of Israel, we here see him take one positive step. Saul has turned, ever so slightly, in the right direction. David, in the meantime, has been in the service of Achish, King of Gath. He has become so fully trusted by Achish that he is made the captain of the bodyguard, and when he is asked to march with the Philistine army to war, he agrees.
These situations will not last. Sadly, Saul displays his usual lack of courage when he sees Philistine army. He attempts to inquire of the God of Israel, which would seem like the right call, but once again he makes his usual decision: when God doesn’t answer right away, Saul gets impatient and hires a medium- a fortune-teller and speaker with the dead. We know the covenant law forbade talking to such people, and in fact proscribed capital punishment for them. They were altogether in opposition to the God of Israel. We know Saul understood this because he had expelled them from Israel, but now he goes to one asking to speak with Samuel.
The scene with the medium at En-dor is pretty unique. Saul disguises himself and asks the woman to bring up the spirit of Samuel, and Samuel shows up. The woman’s reaction, a shocked cry, may tell us that this was not what she expected. We aren’t really given any insight into the practices of the “mediums and necromancers” which Saul is now visiting, but it seems reasonable to assume that even if some were effectual, some were total charlatans, as such spectral pursuits draw con artists at all times and places. This woman apparently did not expect what she saw when Samuel appeared. She describes him as a god, a figure of authority and power. But he has nothing new to say to Saul- the judgment pronounced upon Saul’s house has not changed, and he and his sons will die, and his house will not continue on the throne. Saul is emotionally defeated by this, and it is up to the medium to get him on his feet and off to do battle.
Meanwhile, David is being booted from the service of the Philistines. Despite being trusted by the King of Gath, the rest of the Philistine kings don’t think he is trustworthy, so Achish sends him home. Upon getting to Ziklag, David finds his home raided and everyone captured. He asks God what to do via Abiathar, the lone surviving priest from Saul’s purge, then gives pursuit. They find a starving Egyptian slave who leads them to the camp of some Amalekites, but some of the men are too tired to pursue after their already long trip from the Philistine camp. David leaves them behind to guard the baggage and smites the Amalekites, recapturing his people as well as a bunch of Amalekite stuff. A relative few Amalekites get on camels and ride away. When they return to the exhausted men who were left to gaurd the baggage, David makes a strong leadership decision. Rather than making the spoil of the venture entirely belong to the men who did the direct fighting, he declares it will be shared by all. David recognizes that the men who stayed behind were making the right decision, and still played an important role. He then takes the spoil that was dedicated to him and sends it to all the people who had sheltered him while on the outs with Saul. This little side story about the rescue of David’s people gives us yet another insight into how David acts more like a leader and king than Saul, who is currently out speaking to the ghost of Samuel.
It also explains why David is totally absent from the last scene. Here we finally arrive at the end of Saul, and it is not a pretty story. The Philistines have attacked him and his army at Mount Gilboa, and they are victorious. The army is defeated, Saul’s sons are killed, and he is wounded and pursued. In a last attempt at preserving his image, he asks his armor bearer to kill him to avoid being captured. When he refuses, Saul falls on his own sword, prompting the armor bearer to do the same. The Philistines find his body and hang it along with the bodies of his sons on the walls of their temple. But the people of Jabesh-Gilead, who we remember were saved from the Ammonites by Saul in his one really good moment, come and take down the bodies, burn them, and bury the bones, going into mourning for Saul.
Though we have reached the end of Saul’s life, there is much more story to be told about David’s rise to the kingship in Israel, and it will all bear on whether David it fit to be the leader the book of Samuel has been searching for all alone. As we progress into 2 Samuel, never lose sight of the predictions that opened the book. Hannah was given a vision by God of the anointed one who would be a faithful kind, judge, and priest. Saul was clearly not the guy. David has done much better so far, but his story is far from over.