Saul and the Ghost Wife

       Some years ago and friend and I were wandering along the long rocky beach at the base of the Palos Verdes Peninsula .  As we worked our way around the point, we came upon the rusting remains of large ship which had come to grief on the sharp rocks. 

       Our first thoughts were of an unknown prize – maybe even a fortune in pirate gold.  But the words, “”Class of ‘73” and George loves Angela” along with the rest of the graffiti showed that we had stumbled on yet another L.A. tourist attraction.

       Still the wreck was a sad sight.  The ship Dominator lay on the rocks – its masts fallen, its superstructure gone – with seagulls flying above it and the waves sounding a sad note as they pounded the remains into nothingness. 

        But there are shipwrecks among people as well as among ships.  The greatest wreck of all is the wreck of a human soul.  At the end of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells of this kind of wreck – of a foolish man who builds his house on the sand.  Jesus isn’t talking, of course, about the collapse of a house but the collapse of a soul – and “great was its fall.”

       Perhaps the greatest example we have of a shipwrecked life is that of Saul, the first king of Israel . 

       If we were able to go back in time, we could see Saul as he stands on Mt. Gilboa , wounded and surrounded by his enemies.  The man who had once trusted in God is about to take his own life – perhaps the supreme negation of the life of faith.      

       Let’s do a quick review of 1 Samuel 28 to 31.  Janet looked at part of the story, the David part, two weeks ago.

       The Philistines decide to attack Israel .  David has joined up with the Philistines to escape the hand of Saul.   So Achish, King of Gath, insists that David must come along to fight.  But the other Philistine lords refuse to let David fight because they aren’t sure which side he’ll fight on.   David heads south where he rescues his people from the Amelekites.  The army of Israel , commanded by Saul comes out to face the Philistines in the Jezreel Valley .

       Saul has to fight because the threat is so serious.  The Jezreel Valley is always serious.  It is very strategic.   The Jezreel runs from the Jordan to Haifa , the only decent port in Israel .  It cuts Israel in half.  The Bible says that the last battle of them all will take place in the Jezreel at the Mt. of Megiddo or Armageddon.  Mt. Gilboa is at the east side of the Jezreel.  Gilboa’s not Armageddon but you can literally see it from there.  This Philistine move is so huge that 1 Samuel 28:5 says that “Saul was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.”

       1 Samuel 28:3 reminds us of two facts that are vital for this story.  First, it reminds us that the Prophet Samuel is now dead.  Second, it explains that some time earlier, Saul had banished the mediums and necromancers from the land of Israel . 

       Samuel had told Saul way back in chapter 12 that “your reign will go well if you fear the Lord and serve Him and obey His voice and do not rebel against the commandments of the Lord.  The commandments of the Lord are very clear about mediums, fortunetellers, necromancers and witches.  Deuteronomy 18:10-12 tells us “There shall not be found among you anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer – for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord.” Leviticus tells us that the man or woman who is a medium or necromancer shall surely be put to death.”

       Saul hears the command of God and is ready to obey.  I am too – or at least theoretically. 

       Some years ago there was a proposal to hold the Renaissance Pleasure Fair here in Moorpark – right in the Tierra Rejada greenbelt.  The application said that the Fair would involve the “full range of Elizabethan spirituality.”  In other words, the psychics and witches would be out in mass. 

       A city council member I was talking with asked for my response.  I told him that I thought it was fine but only if it was really authentic – which meant that we would get to show the normal Elizabethan response to this kind of spirituality and burn a few witches.  The Pleasure Fair didn’t happen so we didn’t get a city burning permit.

       I have mellowed since then. And I was just joking even then of course. We don’t burn witches today.  The reason, however, isn’t moral growth but simply what we believe. 

      C.S. Lewis observes in Mere Christianity, "Surely the reason we do not execute witches is that we do not believe there are such things. If we did--if we really thought that there were people going about who had sold themselves to the devil and received supernatural powers from him in return and were using these powers to kill their neighbors or drive them mad or bring bad weather--surely we would all agree that if anyone deserved the death penalty, then these filthy quislings did?”  Lewis writes: “It may be a great advance in knowledge not to believe in witches (but) there is no moral advance in not executing them when you do not think they are there.”

       But Saul believes in witches and Saul is in earnest.  At least he was earnest early in his reign when he was still trying to obey God.  He banishes the mediums from the land.  But Saul and God haven’t been on good terms for quite a while now.  Saul has been chasing David and murdering priests for the past few years.

       But now Saul is in deep trouble.  And he knows there was no solution outside of divine intervention. So Saul does the natural thing most of us do in similar situations, He prays for help. In response, God does the same thing He is inclined to do for people who only live for themselves and pray only from urgent need -- nothing. Saul doesn’t repent of his past failure or promise future faithfulness. He simply assumes that God will show up and answer.

       Saul is wrong.  We are too if we make the same presumption. Self-centered living is not the key to answered prayer. But when God doesn’t answer Saul’s prayer, Saul simply tries harder, and by other means. He offers sacrifices, tries the sacred stones, and sleeps in holy places in hopes that God will speak through a dream. But God is silent.

       Surveys persistently reveal that the vast majority of people in America believe in God, but that few put much effort into living in an obedient relationship with God. They reject the clear voice of God in His word and listen instead to their own inner voices, or to the voices of T.V. talk show hosts, or to the voices of superstition and pseudo-science. As a result, they find themselves cut off from God.  They think of themselves as spiritual, but wander far from the path outlined in God’s word.  And then they wonder why God does not show up when they call!

       Saul gets silence.  But Saul cannot accept the silence of heaven at this point in his life.  Desperate times call for desperate measures. If he can’t storm heaven, if God won’t speak, Saul has to disturb the underworld.  He turns to magic. For this Saul needs a medium – in Hebrew a “ghost wife.” 

       Surprisingly his servants are both willing and able to help him: "Behold, there is a medium at Endor."  How is it that there was still such a woman in Saul's kingdom? And how is it that Saul's servants have such immediate knowledge of the fact?  It looks like corruption has set into the circle around the failing king.

       Endor is only two or three hours walk from Gilboa.  But Saul has to pass by the Philistine camp.  He disguises himself and he goes by night.  He wants to contact the dead.  So he’s off the see the wonderful wizardess of Endor.

       The ghost wife naturally suspects a trap. How does she know that this guy isn’t one of Saul’s men sent to trap her?  But Saul swears by God that he will violate the law of God about mediums.  “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”  Saul may have turned to God in his need but his disregard of God’s voice hasn’t changed.  He swears an oath by the Lord about this act of deep rebellion and disobedience to the Lord.

       The ghost wife seems kind of naïve. Who is this stranger and where does he get the authority override the king's decree?  Instead she says, “Okay, who do you want me to bring up for you?”  Saul says, “I want to talk to Samuel.”

        The ghost wife does her incantations and mumbo jumbo. And then she gets the shock of her life.  Samuel actually appears.  It scares her out of her wits. "When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice"

       You see, the woman has no real power to contact the dead. Like Whoopie Goldberg in the movie Ghost, she makes her living through pseudo-séances.  The ghost wife is astounded at the sight of a spirit actually rising from the earth. Perhaps this is why she describes Samuel's shade as a divine being.  Samuel’s ghost also causes her to recognize Saul. Perhaps she assumes that Samuel won’t show up for anyone of lower rank than a king.  She’s terrified because her stuff actually worded and because Saul will now kill her.  But Saul says, “Don’t worry. Just tell me what you see.”  She can see Samuel but Saul can’t.

       She says, “I see “a god coming up out of the earth.”  That’s not especially helpful.  So Saul tries again.  “What does he look like?”  “An old man is coming up and he’s wrapped in a robe.” 

       The woman hasn’t brought Samuel back. She never expected to.  But God has sent Samuel back for a reason.  Whatever dark powers this woman has are irrelevant.  Against her expectation, Samuel shows up anyway.

       Death has not mellowed Samuel. He is in death exactly as Saul knew him in life: unaccommodating, unhelpful, incapable of understanding. Samuel's blissful sleep is disturbed, and he does not like it.

       “Well what does Saul want?'  Well the Philistines are attacking him. God will not respond to him, by prophets or dreams. He does not know what to do, which way to turn.

       'Why ask me, then?' retorts the tough prophet. 'Am I likely to have anything to say to you if God has turned away from you? If God has become your enemy, am I likely to act as your friend? Anyway you have got what you deserved.'

       There is no answer to the question, 'What shall I do, then?' There is no suggestion that repentance is still possible, though that is never a sign that repentance is no longer possible. Jonah didn’t offer any hope to the Ninevites, but that did not stop them taking it and God from giving it.  But Saul’s not there to repent.  He just wants help on his own terms.

      Samuel says that it’s far too late for that. All Saul gets from God's prophet is the confirmation that nothing has changed in God’s verdict.  The new, devastating news is that Saul’s life has now run its course.  “The Lord will give Israel into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.”

       Saul collapses. The Jewish ghost wife says. “Eat something.  You’ll feel better.” But she can’t combat the massive destruction that is about to occur.

       As Saul stands on Mt. Gilboa the next day, he is already a defeated man. All he can do is play it out to the bitter end and, in the end, grasp a small remaining measure of the manhood that had once been so great.

      The technologically advanced Philistines, with their iron chariots have an advantage on the open valley floor. Saul’s only hope is to force the Philistines to engage his men on the rugged slopes of Gilboa.  The Philistines attack and make quick work of the Israelite soldiers.  Saul is quickly deprived of his army, which "fled before the Philistines, and many fell on Mount Gilboa ."

        Like a memorial service, the text names the dead of Saul's family: "Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua."  Then Saul comes into focus. There are not even Philistines present. There is only Saul and death.

       Saul has been immobilized through this story.  But now he acts.  In this last-desperate moment the badly wounded Saul can see his true situation. His options are clear. He prefers to die rather than be humiliated and tortured by the Philistines.   Saul is a man with a last semi-heroic gesture. He does not want to kill himself, for that is not the course a warrior would choose. So he asks his single remaining aide to kill him. But the armor-bearer will not obey, either out of respect or devotion or fear.  So swiftly and wordlessly Saul falls on his sword. For so long, Saul has relied on his weapons. Now his weapon is useful at last only for his own death.

        What’s the point of al this – besides the point of Saul’s sword.

       At one level, the saddest aspect of Saul's fall is that he brought so many others down with him. Three of his sons died, including the heroic and loyal Jonathan. Many Israelite soldiers lay in their blood on Mount Gilboa . Other Israelites are forced to flee from their homes and land, leaving the Philistines free to run rampant over the Israelite heartland and to separate the northern and southern tribes from one another. The dark end that had its seed in Saul's disobedience has consequences that affect innocent lives from one end of Israel to the other.

       But at another level, the death of Saul is tragic. The Bible in 1 Corinthians describes death as "the last enemy" Nothing speaks more powerfully of the corruption of God's good creation than death. As we witness Saul's death and that of Jonathan and his brothers, it is appropriate for us to pause and recognize the tragedy of human death.

        Now the Bible doesn’t say a thing about the fact that Saul took his own life. But we shouldn’t think for a moment that the act had any sense in it. It magnifies the tragedy; it does not lessen it.  Such an act does not make things better. It never does. But we know where it comes from.  It comes from hopelessness.

        Utter hopelessness is the darkest of all human experiences. It is the belief that there is absolutely no prospect of a future with anything positive in it. Hopelessness, when it overcomes a person, strips away motivation or enthusiasm for living because there is nothing, absolutely nothing, good to look forward to.

         Hopelessness is the experience of believing there is no future worth having.  But the problem is that the human experience of hopelessness generally does not line up with reality – especially for us as Christians.  But the experience of hopelessness can be a kind of blindness.

        And even Christian believers are not immune from experiencing dark times. So sometimes we need to be helped to see the goodness of God's sovereign purposes, the truth that "for those who love God all things work together for good" so that "the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:28, 18). 

       When we feel hopeless, we need to be reminded of the truth that God loves us and proves it in Jesus Christ.  The voice of Jesus is the voice of forgiveness and the voice of hope.  He tells us that God has not become our enemy. So if we hear a voice saying God has become our enemy, we can know that it’s not the voice of Samuel.  It’s the voice of the great accuser, Satan.

       Do you remember the movie Hoosiers about the small town team that won the Indiana State Championship?  Gene Hackman, who plays the high school coach and his rural team arrive in Indianapolis for the finals.  His undersized team is overwhelmed by the prospect of meeting larger and supposedly more sophisticated big city players and playing in front of a huge crowd. 

       After being the Coliseum for a short time, Hackman senses his player’s anxiety.  He walks them out on the arena floor and engages them in measuring the height of the basket, the width of the court and the location of the foul line.  They discover that the measurements are exactly the same as those of every other court they’ve played and won on.  Nothing has changed except the number of seats. 

      Sometimes when we are afraid, we need this same kind of reality check.  God is still in charge and God is still on our side.

      The Philistines may relish for a brief moment their "good news." I’m sure they had a big party after their victory at Gilboa.  But that Philistine "good news," can’t last. The real news is to come from "the other side," from God. God still intends a future that Israel can scarcely imagine and the Philistines will be unable to resist.

       In the same way, God intends a same great future for us.  So we should never feel defeated even before we are defeated.  We should never give way to our fears.  2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that God has not “given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

      Yes. our issues are real but our reality in God hasn’t changed a bit.  God is still big and God is still for us.

       Hold on to that.  Not your horoscope.