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   Summarized Bible: Complete Summary of the Old Testament   
      
       • Saul seeks help from a medium because the Lord does not answer him   
         (62–63).   
      
       • Occult practices invite God’s judgment and heap contempt on Him   
         because He forbids such recourse (62–63).   
      
       • Saul’s nighttime secrecy exposes the shamefulness of his actions   
         (62–63).   
      
       • Either Satan impersonated Samuel, or God uniquely allowed Samuel to   
         appear to pronounce judgment (62–63).   
      
      
   With the Word Bible Commentary   
      
       • Pressure exposes character: Saul panics while David trusts God’s   
         providence (1 Sa 28).   
      
       • Saul treated God as a tool for rescue rather than as Lord, so God   
         remained silent (1 Sa 28).   
      
       • Saul’s departure from God leads him into darkness and dependence on   
         occult forces (1 Sa 28).   
      
       • God forbids occult practices; dabbling in them opens the door to   
         spiritual danger (Exod. 22:18; Lev. 19:31; Deut. 18:9–14).   
      
       • Saul’s last meal, prepared by a medium, reverses the royal honor   
         Samuel once gave him (1 Sa 28).   
      
      
   Gospel Transformation Study Bible   
      
       • Pressure reveals Saul’s spiritual emptiness; he seeks God only for   
         relief, not repentance (379).   
      
       • God refuses to be manipulated; Saul’s lifetime of rejecting God   
         leaves him hopeless (379).   
      
       • Saul’s last meal with a witch contrasts sharply with his first meal   
         with Samuel (379).   
      
       • The text illustrates the ruin awaiting all who live without God, in   
         contrast to God’s care for David (379).   
      
      
   NIV Application Commentary (One-Volume Edition)   
      
       • David faces an impossible dilemma with Achish, while Saul faces   
         divine silence (247).   
      
       • Saul expelled mediums outwardly but never uprooted the sin from his   
         heart (247).   
      
       • Saul’s fear drives him to necromancy, an explicitly forbidden   
         Canaanite custom (247–48).   
      
       • The woman’s shock indicates that Samuel’s appearance was genuine,   
         not a normal séance (247–48).   
      
       • Samuel repeats the same judgment he gave while living; nothing has   
         changed (248).   
      
       • The account warns against treating prayer, worship, or tithing as   
         magical ways to force God’s favor (248).   
      
      
   Moody Bible Commentary   
      
       • Saul’s terror at the Philistines reveals his spiritual collapse   
         (437).   
      
       • God does not answer Saul because of his long-standing disobedience   
         (437).   
      
       • Consulting a medium marks a new low; Saul crosses enemy lines at   
         night in disguise (437).   
      
       • God allows Samuel to appear in a unique act; the medium’s shock   
         proves she did not summon him (437–38).   
      
       • Samuel rebukes Saul for his past disobedience, especially his   
         failure with Amalek (437–38).   
      
       • Saul is told he and his sons will die the next day, fulfilling   
         God’s judgment (438).   
      
      
   New American Commentary (Bergen)   
      
       • Saul violates a severe Torah prohibition; consulting a medium   
         carried the death penalty (262–63).   
      
       • Saul receives no answer from dreams, Urim, or prophets because he   
         destroyed the priesthood and rejected God’s word (264–65).   
      
       • His disguise and nighttime visit reflect profound desperation and   
         hypocrisy (265–66).   
      
       • All indications in the narrative point to Samuel’s real appearance,   
         permitted by God (266–67).   
      
       • Samuel reiterates Saul’s rejection, rooted in disobedience toward   
         God’s command against Amalek (268).   
      
       • Saul collapses in fear after hearing he and Israel will fall the   
         next day (269).   
      
       • The medium’s meal for Saul mirrors Abigail’s earlier generosity   
         toward David, but from a cursed source (270).   
      
      
   NICOT: The First Book of Samuel (Tsumura)   
      
       • The narrative is placed thematically rather than chronologically to   
         contrast Saul’s darkness with David’s deliverance (614–15).   
      
       • Saul forbade necromancy because he knew its assumed power; its   
         presence in Israel reflects widespread Canaanite influence   
         (617–18).   
      
       • Five technical verbs distinguish legitimate inquiry from occult   
         inquiry (619).   
      
       • Necromancy rituals occurred at night; Saul’s visit fits ancient   
         patterns of summoning the dead (622).   
      
       • The woman’s terror suggests that Samuel’s appearance was unexpected   
         and beyond her control (623).   
      
       • The term “godsâ€� (’ĕlÅ   
   hîm) in the woman’s description reflects pagan   
         terminology for the dead, not Samuel’s nature (624).   
      
       • Samuel’s speech matches his prior prophetic role and confirms   
         divine judgment (626–27).   
      
       • “Tomorrow you and your sons shall be with meâ€� refers to Sheol, the   
         realm of the dead (627).   
      
       • The rapid sequence of verbs in the meal scene heightens the urgency   
         and doom (629–30).   
      
      
   Works Cited   
      
   Beetham, Christopher A., and Nancy L. Erickson, editors. *The NIV   
   Application Commentary on the Bible*. Zondervan Academic, 2024.   
      
   Bergen, Robert D. *1, 2 Samuel*. Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1996.   
      
   Brooks, Keith. *Summarized Bible: Complete Summary of the Old   
   Testament*. Logos Bible Software, 2009.   
      
   Long, V. Philips. “1-2 Samuel.â€� *Gospel Transformation Bible: English   
   Standard Version*, edited by Bryan Chapell and Dane Ortlund, Crossway, 2013.   
      
   Neely, Winfred O. “1 Samuel.â€� *The Moody Bible Commentary*, edited by   
   Michael A. Rydelnik and Michael Vanlaningham, Moody Publishers, 2014.   
      
   Tsumura, David. *The First Book of Samuel*. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing   
   Co., 2007.   
      
   Wiersbe, Warren W. *With the Word Bible Commentary*. Thomas Nelson, 1991.   
      
   --   
   Have you heard the good news Christ died for our sins (†), and God   
   raised Him from the dead?   
      
   That Christ died for our sins shows we're sinners who deserve the death   
   penalty. That God raised Him from the dead shows Christ's death   
   satisfied God's righteous demands against our sin (Romans 3:25; 1 John   
   2:1-2). This means God can now remain just, while forgiving you of your   
   sins, and saving you from eternal damnation.   
      
   On the basis of Christ's death and resurrection for our sins, call on   
   the name of the Lord to save you: "For 'everyone who calls on the name   
   of the Lord will be saved'" (Romans 10:13, ESV).   
      
   https://christrose.news/salvation   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)