1 Samuel 28:16
ESV
And Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy?
NIV
Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the Lord has departed from you and become your enemy?
NASB
Samuel said, 'But why ask me, since the Lord has abandoned you and has become your enemy?
CSB
Samuel answered, "Since the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy, why are you asking me?
NLT
But Samuel replied, 'Why ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy?
KJV
Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
NKJV
Then Samuel said: “So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy?
What does 1 Samuel 28:16 mean?
King Saul is so distraught about the upcoming battle with the Philistines that he resorted to calling on a necromancer to ask Samuel for help. To her great surprise, Samuel appears (1 Samuel 28:8–14). Some interpreters believe this was a false apparition: a demonic imitation of Saul who delivers a truthful, but terrifying message. Others think this is the only time in Scripture where God allowed the actual spirit of a dead person to be recalled to earth.Samuel's answer to Sauls desperate plea for help is what common sense would predict. Saul already knows the answer to his own question because Samuel gave it to him while he was living: The Lord has turned away from you. Even worse: God has become your enemy. The problem is not the Philistines; it's that the Lord is against you (1 Samuel 28:17–18).
As God's people, we often do something similar. We don't like the truth in God's Word, either about our sin or how God means for us to treat others. So, we continue to seek answers that will justify our sin. Or, at least, some hint that the consequences for our wrong choices won't be that bad, after all.
The Bible tells us God will never leave us or forsake those who have accepted Jesus to be their savior and Lord (Hebrews 13:5). We cannot lose our salvation (John 10:27–30; Ephesians 1:13–14). Christians will never lose the Holy Spirit, but we can lose the Holy Spirit's protection and guidance. If we continue to live a sinful life without repenting, the Holy Spirit may stop convicting us, and even, maybe, let us die before we do more damage (Ephesians 4:30; 1 John 5:16).
We don't know if Saul was saved, but if he was, he's reached this point of God taking his life as a response to sin. Saul had years to repent, perhaps to soften God's judgment. The next day, He and his sons will die (1 Samuel 28:16).
