King James Version, with Nii Okai's journal notes · 15 notes
1And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battle, thou and thy men.
2And David said to Achish, Surely thou shalt know what thy servant can do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine head for ever.
What made Achish trust David so much? He even added here that David will be keeper of his head. I guess it is also because every leader really needs good and valuable people to help keep the system running and to lighten the burden of the king.
Leaders carry a lot of burden, and skillful people always stand before the king.
Unless Achish was himself playing the game of politics in order for David to fight against his own people with all his might, in which case
David also was playing the game very well and promised to do just that.
3Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him, and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away those that had familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land.
So Saul was not all bad, all bad.
He had even cast out all sorcerers from Israel.
But his ills were all too many.
4And the Philistines gathered themselves together, and came and pitched in Shunem: and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they pitched in Gilboa.
5And when Saul saw the host of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled.
6And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
Even in rebellion, when Saul enquired of the Lord, the Lord answered. As when he rebelled the first time, and afterward consulted with the Urim and Thummim, and he asked the priest to withdraw his hand because some news came which confirmed what he wanted.
In such a state of rebellion, and still getting results, he presumed God was an idol and shrine who works as a slot machine, with no personality and emotions.
He thought God was there to be used and to receive sacrifices and fat of rams. Even devils are smart enough to seek allegiance, even through entrapment, by not telling those who seek after them the full terms of the contract they were getting themselves into.
God, on the other hand, was true and genuine in service and lays his cards on the table, unlike the devil/s, who hide them and compel people to serve them afterwards by force.
7Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
When he was told by Samuel that rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, he thought it was a figure of speech; he thought it was figurative. He did not know that it was literal.
Now here he was, consulting a witch.
God is quite merciful and understanding, especially when it comes to the context within which things happen and sins are committed.
God was wroth mightily with Saul and took his throne from him. Yet after Saul came worse kings than him. Indeed, Saul was like an angel compared to these kings, like Ahab, and Manasseh, who was actually a full practicing wizard.
Yet God did not take the throne from them. In fact, Manasseh was one of the longest reigning kings of Israel, if my memory serves me right.
Why was God so seemingly merciful on these more wicked kings? Because of context.
They did not know better; they inherited the throne as people born into royalty, not as people taken from being nobodies like Saul, and now Saul is rubbing shoulders with God. Same with David, who was picked up from taking care of sheep to being shepherd over God's people.
The context is very different, and so their punishments for the same sins were very different.
For instance, Gideon, after being picked up from the winepress and bringing victory to Israel, refused to cement his rule by becoming king, even though the people pressed him for it.
He recognised it was all God and asked them to continue serving the Lord as their KING.
8And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
9And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?
10And Saul sware to her by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
Interesting, how could he swear 🤬 by the Lord even as he was about to disobey the command of the Lord?
He was indeed a very desperate man 👨
11Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel.
12And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul.
13And the king said unto her, Be not afraid: for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth.
The heavens were closed over Saul, yet the arms of darkness were wide open.
The dark realm was wide open for him to tap divine secrets. He was not submitted to God really; otherwise, when God refused to reveal anything to him, he would have just conceded and resigned himself to the will of God.
But not Saul, the man who by his authority intruded and made a breach into spiritual things.
He lost his throne because of this disregard for spiritual protocol.
14And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up; and he is covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and he stooped with his face to the ground, and bowed himself.
I suspect this might not be Saul's first time of using the services of a necromancer.
How else did he know to discern what the woman 👩 was saying?
15And 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.
Is this not the same thing he did the first time,
whiles waiting for Samuel to enquire of the Lord on his behalf before the war?
Now Samuel failed to show up at the appointed time, and Saul himself intruded into the priest's office.
Because of that, the Lord rejected his kingdom from continuing.
Now fast forward, there is war again; he needs a word from the Lord, and here again there was no word.
Neither from the Lord, from dreams, nor from the Urim and Thummim.
So what does he do? He seeks a witch doctor and intrudes into the spirit realm.
Saul is like that kind of child or worker who would disregard your instructions in order to have his way, and later come to you expecting you to favour him.
16Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?
17And 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:
18Because 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.
Again, God is not erratic; he stated clearly why Saul was disqualified.
19Moreover 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.
This was a familiar spirit, and yet her prophecies were accurate and on point.
This spirit had access to the past, present and future very accurately.
I suspect the spirit spoke through the woman 👩 and not Samuel directly appearing to Saul like some apparition.
No, it was through the woman.
We discern this from how that the woman had to describe what she was seeing.
If it was an apparition visible to Saul and all present, then there was no need asking the woman what she saw.
He still went to war with this information. Why so? Was this the real Samuel? He talks of Saul and his sons being with him in the land of the dead.
Samuel mentions being disquieted, as one being woken out of sleep who wants to return back to sleep. But then he mentions Saul being with him as one gone to a place, rather than the grave.
These terms are figurative, because obviously it was his spirit that was conjured up, and the spirit is alive, at rest in a place.
I do not think spirits are lying down in a place sleeping.
20Then 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.
Saul and this his needless and foolish fastings. Being weak even in times of war. Or maybe he was desperate for answers and victory, but he ought to have applied wisdom.
21And 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.
22Now 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.
23But he refused, and said, I will not eat. 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.
Saul, Saul, so extreme at times. He was very weak from not eating, yet he was going into battle the very next day.
He was offered and he refused, and had to be coaxed into eating something.
He did the same to his men when he commanded none to eat till they had won the battle.
Meanwhile, he could have gotten greater victory ✌️ if he had allowed his men to eat.
Here he was again not eating, though this time he did not command the entire army.
But rather he himself was in a fast. Yet he sought the face of demons.
24And 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:
Oh, what a moment! A simple woman, living a life and making a living through witchcraft, has the king of the land with her in her house. The destiny of the nation was unfolding before her, a simple one as herself.
Power play was unfolding right before their eyes.
25And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.