1 Samuel 28:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do."

NIV: Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" "I am in great distress," Saul said. "The Philistines are fighting against me, and God has departed from me. He no longer answers me, either by prophets or by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what to do."

NASB: And Samuel said to Saul, 'Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?' Saul replied, 'I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has abandoned me and no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.'

CSB: "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Samuel asked Saul. "I’m in serious trouble," replied Saul. "The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He doesn’t answer me anymore, either through the prophets or in dreams. So I’ve called on you to tell me what I should do."

NLT: Why have you disturbed me by calling me back?' Samuel asked Saul. 'Because I am in deep trouble,' Saul replied. 'The Philistines are at war with me, and God has left me and won’t reply by prophets or dreams. So I have called for you to tell me what to do.'

KJV: And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do.

NKJV: Now Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.”

Commentators speculate over this and the following verses. At issue is the question of whether this was literally Samuel—the actual spirit of the dead prophet—or a demonic apparition imitating him. Perhaps the medium fooled clients by pretending to speak for their dead relatives. This type of fraud still happens today. Or maybe she sometimes succeeds in presenting murky, demonic representatives of the afterlife. We don't know. All we can be sure of is that God allows this incident for His own purposes.

The spirit speaks words echoed by fictional spirits of the dead in later years: why have you disturbed me? The sense is that Samuel was resting in the afterlife. The Israelites of the Old Testament understood that the spirits of those who died went to a place of the dead called sheol where they remained until some undetermined future moment. It's evident Samuel doesn't want to be here.

Saul describes why he has gone to such God-defying lengths to contact Samuel. He needs someone to tell him what to do. His distress is genuine. The Philistine army vastly outmatches the Israelites. God will not answer any of his attempts to seek help or revelation. Saul truly feels lost and alone and cut off, and he is desperate for Samuel to give him any answer, at all (1 Samuel 28:5.

Samuel reminds him why God has cut him off: Saul consistently refused to follow God's instructions in wartime. He let his fear of the enemy, and his own men, influence his actions (1 Samuel 13:8–14; 15:10–35). Saul knows this. David will be king. In fact, Saul and his sons will die tomorrow (1 Samuel 28:14–19).

First Samuel 28:15–19 brings bad news to King Saul. A large Philistine army has faced off against the Israelites. Saul needs guidance, but God is silent. He visits a medium, and she's shocked when Samuel's spirit appears (1 Samuel 28:1–14). Samuel repeats his former message: because of Saul's disobedience, God will give the crown to another. But then he adds a warning: Saul will die the next day, along with his sons. Saul, who has been fasting, will collapse. The woman and his servants will get him to eat, and he will leave to face his fate (1 Samuel 28:20–25).

Israelites and the Philistines prepare for war. The Philistine king Achish demands that David fight with him against Israel. Terrified at the amassed Philistine army and unable to reach the Lord for help, Saul finds a medium to contact Samuel's spirit. Samuel repeats that the Lord has taken the kingdom from Saul and adds that Saul and his sons will fall, along with Israel, the next day. The medium serves Saul and his men a large meal, and the men leave under the cover of darkness. David is saved from having to fight his own people, but Saul and his sons do die. David will soon be king (1 Samuel 29; 31).

David and his men have escaped Saul (1 Samuel 27) and begun been fighting Israel's enemies under the protection of the Philistine king Achish (1 Samuel 28). Now, Achish wants David to fight Israel with him. Saul sees the Philistine army and is terrified. He finds a medium to call up Samuel's spirit. Samuel tells Saul that he, his sons, and Israel will fall. Fortunately, the other Philistine kings refuse to fight with David, and Achish sends him home. But Saul's sons are killed. Mortally wounded, Saul will take his own life (1 Samuel 29; 31).

First Samuel introduces the key figures who led Israel after the era of the judges. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally part of a single text, split in certain translations shortly before the birth of Christ. Some of the Bible’s most famous characters are depicted in this book. These including the prophet Samuel, Israel’s first king, Saul, her greatest king, David, and other famous names such as Goliath and Jonathan. By the end of this book, Saul has fallen; the book of 2 Samuel begins with David’s ascension to the throne.