What Does 1 Samuel 28:3-25 Mean?
1 Samuel 28:3-25 describes how King Saul, terrified by the approaching Philistine army and cut off from God’s guidance, secretly seeks a medium to summon the prophet Samuel from the dead. This moment marks a tragic fall for Saul, who once obeyed the Lord but now turns to forbidden practices in desperation. The story shows what happens when we ignore God’s voice and wait too long to seek His help.
1 Samuel 28:3-25
Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. And the Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her." And his servants said to him, "Behold, there is a medium at En-dor." So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, "Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you." The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, "As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing." Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul." The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have summoned you to tell me what I should do." And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines. Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was terrified, and said to him, "Behold, your servant has obeyed you. I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to what you have said to me. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them.” But he refused and said, “I will not eat.” But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he listened to their words. So he arose from the earth and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fattened calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, And she brought it before Saul and before his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away that night.
Key Facts
Book
Author
Samuel, with additions by Gad and Nathan
Genre
Narrative
Date
Approximately 1010 - 1000 BC
Key People
- Saul
- Samuel
- David
- The Medium of En-dor
Key Themes
- Divine rejection due to disobedience
- The danger of seeking guidance apart from God
- The consequences of spiritual isolation
Key Takeaways
- Rejecting God’s word leads to silence in times of crisis.
- Desperation drives us to forbidden places when we ignore God.
- True kingship comes from obedience, not power or position.
Saul’s Desperation and the Weight of Disobedience
This moment in 1 Samuel 28 comes after Samuel’s death, which marked the end of an era - Samuel, the faithful prophet who anointed both Saul and David, had been God’s voice to Israel.
Saul had once obeyed the Lord by removing mediums and spiritists from the land, as commanded in Leviticus 19:31 and Leviticus 20:27, which warn against turning to the dead for guidance. Now, with the Philistines gathering at Shunem and Israel camped at Gilboa in fear, Saul finds himself alone and cut off from God - no dream, no prophet, no answer through the sacred Urim. His earlier obedience means nothing now because he had already been rejected as king for disobeying God’s command about Amalek in 1 Samuel 15.
So when Saul secretly seeks a medium at En-dor, it shows how far he’s fallen - from king to fugitive, from faith to fear, from hearing God to chasing shadows.
The Medium of En-dor and the Weight of a Kingdom Lost
The encounter at En‑dor confirms that Saul has lost both the kingdom and God's presence.
Saul once obeyed God by driving out mediums and spiritists, honoring the law that called such practices detestable (Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:27). Now, in fear of the Philistine army, he violates his own decree and seeks a medium, showing how far he has fallen morally and spiritually. His disguise is symbolic, hiding both his identity and the truth of his broken relationship with God. This act of desperation fulfills the earlier word from Samuel: 'Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you from being king' (1 Samuel 15:23).
When the woman cries out, 'You are Saul!', it’s a moment of shocking exposure - she recognizes the king who outlawed her trade, now come in secret to beg for help. The fact that Samuel appears at all is startling, but Samuel’s words carry no comfort, only judgment: 'Why do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy?' (1 Samuel 28:16). This echoes the irreversible decree from 1 Samuel 15:28: 'The Lord has torn the kingdom from you today and given it to your neighbor, David.' There is no second chance here, only the fulfillment of divine justice. The mention of David is not incidental - it marks the shift in God’s plan, from Saul’s failure to David’s coming reign.
Saul’s desperate act reveals a king who once led Israel but now cowers in the dark, begging for words he refused to hear when they came from God’s true prophet.
Saul collapses, drained of strength and hope, having heard the sentence he already knew was coming. The woman, ironically, shows more compassion than the king’s own conscience did - she feeds him, offering bread and meat in a final act of human kindness. But this meal is no ordinary supper. It mirrors the sacred meals of covenant, now twisted into a last meal before death. Saul eats, not because he’s ready to fight, but because he’s too weak to stand. The night ends not with courage, but with silence - Saul departs, knowing he will die by morning.
The Final Echo of Rejection: When God's Silence Speaks Loudest
This moment marks the end of Saul’s reign and the final echo of a heart that rejected God’s word and now hears only silence.
Saul once had access to the Lord through prophets, dreams, and the Urim, but 1 Samuel 28:6 tells us plainly: 'When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.' That silence wasn’t an accident - it was the fulfillment of what Amos 8:11-12 warned about: a day would come when 'not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.' Saul had long ignored God’s voice through Samuel. Now, in his greatest hour of need, that voice was gone.
His turn to a medium - the very thing he once outlawed - shows how completely he had collapsed morally and spiritually. He who once upheld God’s law now breaks it in secret, disguised and afraid, seeking answers from the dead because he refused to listen to the living God. It’s deeply ironic that the man who cast out spiritists now depends on one, revealing that disobedience isolates us from God’s presence and leaves us scrambling in the dark.
Samuel’s appearance confirms what Saul already knew deep down: judgment had come. 'The Lord has turned from you and become your enemy,' Samuel says (1 Samuel 28:16), and then delivers the final word: 'tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me.' There is no reprieve or second chance; only the certainty of death and defeat. This marks the end of Saul and warns all leaders: rejecting God’s word costs everything, not just a kingdom.
Saul’s desperate call to the dead reveals a soul already separated from the living God.
And so Saul stumbles away, fed by a pagan woman but spiritually empty, heading toward the battle he cannot win. His story sets the stage for David’s rise - not because David was perfect, but because he learned to listen when God spoke.
From Rejection to Redemption: The Path to a True King
Saul’s tragic end highlights the consequences of rejecting God’s word and sets the stage for a king who would walk a very different path.
The law had warned clearly: 'Let no one be found among you who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or a medium, or a necromancer' (Deuteronomy 18:10-11), because such things are detestable to the Lord. Saul, once Israel’s champion of that law, ends up breaking it in desperation, showing how far even a king can fall when he turns from God. His story confirms what Scripture always shows: human leaders fail, but God remains faithful.
The Lord had already said of David, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my own heart, who will do all my will' (Acts 13:22), marking a sharp contrast between the rejected king and the coming one who would lead with devotion.
While Saul sought the dead in the dark, Jesus, the true King, conquered death and speaks with God’s full authority. His perfect obedience undoes the failure of kings like Saul and opens the way for all of us to be restored to God.
Application
How This Changes Everything: Real Life Impact
I once met a man who ran a small business and prided himself on integrity - until money got tight. He started cutting corners, ignoring his values, telling himself it was temporary. But over time, he found himself lying to customers, hiding things from his family, and losing sleep. One night, alone and afraid, he said, 'I felt like Saul - begging for answers in the dark, turning to anything that might help, because I’d stopped listening to the one voice that mattered.' That’s the danger of slowly walking away from God: one small compromise leads to another, until we’re desperate, isolated, and surprised when silence is all we hear. Saul’s story is a warning to all of us: when we ignore God’s voice in small moments, we won’t hear Him in the big ones.
Personal Reflection
- When have I ignored God’s clear guidance in the past, only to scramble for help when things got hard?
- What 'forbidden shortcuts' am I tempted to take when I feel afraid or out of control?
- How can I choose to listen to God today, even when I don’t see immediate results?
A Challenge For You
This week, when you feel anxious or uncertain, pause and open your Bible or a devotional instead of reaching for distractions or quick fixes. Also, name one area where you’ve been ignoring God’s direction - and take one practical step to obey Him, no matter how small.
A Prayer of Response
God, I confess I’ve sometimes ignored Your voice, chasing other solutions when I was afraid. Forgive me for the times I’ve treated You like a last resort instead of my first choice. Help me to listen to You daily, even in crisis. Speak to me through Your Word, and give me courage to follow - even when it’s hard. Thank You that You’re still with me, even when I’ve wandered.
Related Scriptures & Concepts
Immediate Context
1 Samuel 28:1-2
Sets the stage by noting Samuel’s death and Saul’s fear, leading to his desperate act.
1 Samuel 28:26-27
Saul departs in silence after hearing judgment, moving toward his defeat at Gilboa.
Connections Across Scripture
Leviticus 19:31
God commands Israel not to turn to mediums, highlighting Saul’s moral collapse.
Isaiah 8:19
God rebukes those who consult the dead instead of the living God, echoing Saul’s failure.
Luke 16:31
Jesus teaches that Moses and the prophets are sufficient, unlike Saul who sought beyond them.