For forty years, Saul had made a show of trusting and serving
God, while depending on his own abilities to motivate the people and gain God’s
favor. With Samuel dead and having
killed the priests, and having driven David away, Saul suddenly realized he was
on his own. Terrified, he disobeyed God
again, using Satanic practices to get Samuel’s guidance and blessing. Samuel reminded him that he was in that
situation as a result of his own actions, and that he would have to suffer the
consequences, in I Samuel 28:15-19. “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.
Then said Samuel,
Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and
is become thine enemy? And the LORD hath
done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine
hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: Because thou obeyedst not
the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore
hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel
with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy
sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand
of the Philistines.”
God made no allowance for the times he had been under the
demonic spirit’s control or to use the modern term, was insane. While not exactly the same thing, person’s
attitude and spirit are very closely related, and cannot take control of a
person unless he allows it. Saul had
steadily allowed a wicked attitude to control his mind until he had reached a
point where he went temporarily insane when opposed, and had he continued,
would probably have eventually gone completely insane, but it was a result of
his choices. As a result of his choices,
Saul, and his sons would all be killed.
Like many selfish and controlling people, Saul panicked when
his efforts to manipulate others failed, leaving him with no options. He
went into an absolute funk when he heard what God said, refusing to eat or do
anything, as I Samuel 28:20-23a tells us.
“Then Saul fell straightway all
along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and
there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all
the night.
And the woman came
unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine
handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have
hearkened unto thy words which thou spakest unto me. Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also
unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee;
and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.
But he refused, and
said, I will not eat.”
Finally his servants and the woman convinced him that he was
being childish giving in to his fear that way, and that not eating would only
make him feel worse, in I Samuel 28:23b-24.
“But his servants, together with
the woman, compelled him; and he hearkened unto their voice. So he arose from
the earth, and sat upon the bed. And the
woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took
flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof: And she brought
it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up,
and went away that night.” After
eating, he felt enough better to go home and try to make plans.
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