SERIES J --- THE WARRIOR KING --- LESSON 10

THE WITCH OF ENDOR

THE WOMAN OF ENDOR

From 1 Samuel 28:3-25

The mediums, wizards, witches, fortune-tellers and other such persons had been banned from Israel about the time when Samuel died. That was a time of great sorrow in Israel; the people deeply mourned for Samuel as he was buried at Ramah, his hometown. There came a time however, when Saul felt he needed the very people he had banned. It was when the Philistines came to war against Saul and kept David from joining them. The Philistine army set up camp at Shunem. Saul and his army set up their camp at Gilboa. But when Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and the size of the army that had come against him, he was terrified. Saul asked Adonai what he should do, but Adonai refused to answer him, either by dreams, prophets or Urim. At last Saul told some of his men to find a woman who could call back spirits from the dead so that he could consult with her. ‘There is such a woman at Endor,’ Saul was told. Saul put on a disguise so the woman would not recognize him, changed his clothes and went by night to see her. ‘I want you to call back a man from the dead,’ he said to her. ‘You know that King Saul executes people for doing such things,’ the woman protested. ‘Why should I do this for you and get myself killed?’ But Saul swore solemnly to her by Adonai, ‘as surely as Adonai lives, you will not be punished for this.’ ‘Which person do you want returned from the dead?’ the woman asked. ‘Samuel,’ Saul answered. But when Samuel appeared, the woman screamed. ‘Why have you deceived me?’ she demanded. ‘You are Saul!’ ‘Please do not be afraid,’ Saul told the woman. ‘What do you see?’ ‘A god-like form rising from the earth,’ she answered. ‘What does he look like?’ Saul asked. ‘Like an old man wrapped in a robe,’ said the woman. Saul knew now that this was indeed Samuel and he bowed down with his face to the ground. ‘Why have you disturbed me this way?’ Samuel demanded. ‘I’m in trouble,’ said Saul. ‘The Philistine army is here, ready for war. YHVH will not answer me by prophets or dreams. I must know what to do, so I called for you.’ ‘Why ask me if Adonai has turned against you?’ returned Samuel. ‘Adonai has already taken your kingdom from you and has given it to David, just as He said He would do. This has happened because you would not obey Adonai’s Commands when He wanted to destroy the Amalekites. Tomorrow you and your sons will be killed and will be here with me in death and the army of Israel will be conquered by the Philistines.’ Saul fell to the floor, for he was terrified by the things Samuel told him. He was very weak, for he had not eaten all that day and night. The woman saw how terrified Saul was and how weak he had become. ‘I risked my life to obey your orders,’ she said. ‘Now you must listen to me. Let me get you something to eat so that you may be strong enough to travel home.’ Saul at first refused to eat, but his companions joined the woman in urging him until he got up from the floor and sat on a couch. The woman quickly butchered a calf she had been fattening. She also kneaded dough which she made with flour and baked some unleavened cakes. Then she served this food to Saul and his companions. When they had eaten, they left that same night to walk back to their camp.

COMMENTARY

WITCHES AND VENTRILOQUISM

The Old Testament contains strict commands that witches and sorcerers should be destroyed. YHVH alone would give His people spiritual guidance. But when the aging Saul faced a great Philistine army, he went to a medium for help. The medium herself was shocked when, in answer to Saul’s call, the spirit of Samuel appeared. Samuel’s message was harsh. Because Saul had not remained true to YHVH, he and his warrior sons would fall in battle the next day. Magic and divination; predicting the future; were widely practiced in the ancient Near East. The Sumerians looked for signs in the stars and planets while the Babylonians read meaning in the flight of a bird or in the birth of twins. The Egyptians saw visions in a bowl of water and warded off demons with magical charms. All of these ancient peoples shared a deep belief in the existence of ghosts and devils who affected the course of their daily lives. Both kings and commoners turned to magicians for protection from these supernatural powers and for the prediction of future events, ventriloquism was a useful skill practiced by many of these ancient diviners. They knew how to [throw their voices] so that the sound seemed to be coming from the spirits who were trapped beneath the earth. When the [spirit voices] had delivered their message, the diviner offered to interpret it. Egyptian priests in the temple of Horus, the falcon god, used a similar technique. Worshipers who brought offerings before the image of the god were allowed to ask it a question. A hidden priest gave the idol’s answer, using ventriloquism to make his voice come from the mouth of the image. But the Law of Moses forbade the Israelites to engage in these forms of divination. Anyone caught practicing witchcraft was immediately condemned to death by stoning. But not even the death penalty succeeded in wiping out every trace of witchcraft. Magic and divination remained alive, practiced by many Israelites in secret. Even after Saul had rid the country of witches, his servants knew where to find a woman at Endor with the power to call up the spirits of the dead.