SAUL & THE MEDIUM (2)
(Message by Tanny Keng)
0. Introduction
a) Saul & the medium
(Text: 1 Samuel 28:3-25)
1. What is the text all about?
a) The Urim, along with the Thummim, was used by the high priest to determine God's guidance in certain matters.
b) Saul was overwhelmed at the sight of the Philistine army, and so he turned to the occult. Let life's difficulties and obstacles push you into God's direction and make you depend upon him. As we see from Saul's story, turning to anything or anyone else leads only to disaster.
c) God had strictly forbidden the Israelites to have anything to do with divination, sorcery, witchcraft, mediums, spiritists, or anyone who consults the dead (see Deuteronomy 18:9-14).
@1. 9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14 NIV)
d) In fact, sorcerers were to be put to death (see Exodus 22:18).
@1. 18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live. (Deuteronomy 22:18 NIV)
e) Occult practices were carried on in the name of heathen gods, and people turned to the occult for answers that God would not give. Practitioners of the occult have Satan and demons as the source of their information; God does not reveal he will to them. Instead he speaks through his own channels: the Bible, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
f) Did Samuel really come back from the dead at the medium's call? The medium shrieked at the appearance of Samuel - she knew too well that the spirits she usually contacted were either contrived or satanic. Somehow Samuel's appearance revealed to her that she was dealing with a power far greater than she had known. She did not call up Samuel by trickery or by the power of Satan; God brought Samuel back to give Saul's prediction regarding his fate, a message Saul already knew. This in no way justifies efforts to contact the dead or communicate with persons or spirits from the past. God is against all such practices (see Galatians 5:19-21).
@1. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 NIV)
g) God did not answer Saul's appeals because Saul had not followed God's previous directions. Sometimes people wonder why their prayers are not answered. But if they don't fulfill the responsibilities God has already given them, they should not be surprised when he does not give further guidance.
The End ...
0. Introductiona) Saul & the medium
(Text: 1 Samuel 28:3-25)
1. What is the text all about?
a) The Urim, along with the Thummim, was used by the high priest to determine God's guidance in certain matters.
b) Saul was overwhelmed at the sight of the Philistine army, and so he turned to the occult. Let life's difficulties and obstacles push you into God's direction and make you depend upon him. As we see from Saul's story, turning to anything or anyone else leads only to disaster.
c) God had strictly forbidden the Israelites to have anything to do with divination, sorcery, witchcraft, mediums, spiritists, or anyone who consults the dead (see Deuteronomy 18:9-14).
@1. 9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14 NIV)
d) In fact, sorcerers were to be put to death (see Exodus 22:18).
@1. 18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live. (Deuteronomy 22:18 NIV)
e) Occult practices were carried on in the name of heathen gods, and people turned to the occult for answers that God would not give. Practitioners of the occult have Satan and demons as the source of their information; God does not reveal he will to them. Instead he speaks through his own channels: the Bible, his Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
f) Did Samuel really come back from the dead at the medium's call? The medium shrieked at the appearance of Samuel - she knew too well that the spirits she usually contacted were either contrived or satanic. Somehow Samuel's appearance revealed to her that she was dealing with a power far greater than she had known. She did not call up Samuel by trickery or by the power of Satan; God brought Samuel back to give Saul's prediction regarding his fate, a message Saul already knew. This in no way justifies efforts to contact the dead or communicate with persons or spirits from the past. God is against all such practices (see Galatians 5:19-21).
@1. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 NIV)
g) God did not answer Saul's appeals because Saul had not followed God's previous directions. Sometimes people wonder why their prayers are not answered. But if they don't fulfill the responsibilities God has already given them, they should not be surprised when he does not give further guidance.
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