No Hope, No God, and No Time
1 Samuel 28:1-25; Ephesians 2:12-14a
Turn to 1 Samuel 28. We are getting there, only three chapters to go after this week. I am not sure yet where we are going after we have completed our 1 Samuel series. Though during our church read of late which has been in 2 Samuel, there are some fascinating stories in 2 Samuel. If we do go there, I would likely take a break for a time. But if you have read our story in 1 Samuel 28 this week you know that this is such a fascinating story. We read last week that David had gone over to the Philistine camp as an alley. So, as I read through most of this chapter, think about those three “no’s,” and where they come to play in the life of Saul.
1 Now it happened in those days that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, “Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men.” 2 And David said to Achish, “Very well, you shall know what your servant can do.”
3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists. 4 So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in Gilboa. 5 Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. 6 So Saul asked of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. 7 So Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a woman who is a medium at En-dor.”
[(vs 8-14) So Saul disguises himself and comes to the woman and he asks her to bring up Samual, at first, she is afraid, but then she does as requested, and Samuel appears]
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.”16 And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your adversary? 17 So Yahweh has done accordingly as He spoke by my hand, for Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David.
19 Moreover Yahweh will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me [i.e. Saul will die]. Indeed Yahweh will give over the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”
20 Then Saul quickly fell full length upon the ground and was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; also there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day and all night.
[and it concludes with the woman convincing Saul to eat before he and his men leave]
If there was ever a New Testament verse that was descriptive of Saul in this chapter, it is Ephesians 2:12:
“[W]ithout Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
Ephesians 2:12b (LSB)
And the playing out of this story goes from bad to worse for Saul, as really, up until this time in the book, Saul, though he has been agitated by David, no fault of David, but David’s accolades have really bothered Saul ever since really the slaying of Goliath. But other than that, Saul has been doing his kingly thing. He has still been fairly successful against the Philistines, and certainly, from a human standpoint, not a whole lot has gone wrong for Saul. And he seems to like the role as king, as it has all the perks of riches and women. And he has kept a few ties with his religious beliefs. I mean, he has not thrown them out the window entirely. So, when it is all said and done, it might be said at his funeral, that he lived life with a bang. He made a few mistakes along the way, had a few challenges, but he was still king, and still had his family. Maybe he was buried with his Benjamin jersey on with a big #1 on the back, “C” on the front. Maybe a few battle trophies in his casket, his trusty spear. His tombstone may have said, “Here lies a great king,” or “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” So, what could be all that bad?
One the most common sayings at funerals are the words, he or she finally has found their peace, or they are finally without pain. Problem is, all these cliches merely come from a human perspective, which has absolutely no bearing on our eternal condition. As unfortunately, modern-day funerals really find themselves more and more in opposition to truth, as many today have absolutely no desire to grant God His right to both give life and take life, or His right to determine the eternal state of the deceased. And what we will study this morning with King Saul is a real live description of what happens when someone dies without Christ, including all the internal fear that should be experienced by the one passing away. If you ever want to be disliked by people, try speaking at a funeral where the vast majority are unbelievers and you share with them truth about God. You find out quick that death and God do not go together well anymore.
One the strangest opportunities I have had speaking at a funeral was preceded by a funeral I did for a father of a lady at Peoples. Her Mom and Dad were not believers, but just a few months prior to his death, her father was saved, and I spoke at his funeral. Most everyone there would have been unsaved, even another daughter who was unsaved with her husband. His name was David. David was extremely wealthy, influential, owned a number of businesses overseas. And surprisingly enough he fell quite sick a few years later and as he was dying, he called me and said this to me, “You spoke at my father-in-law’s funeral. I do not know yet, if I agree with all that the Bible says, but could you speak at my funeral and share the same message because I think people need to hear it.” I then was able to share the gospel with David again in his bed in St Catherines, and he promised that he would think deeply about it. And then a few days later he died. So, I do not really know where David is today.
Well, it was a massive funeral in St Catherines, for David was well known and was only in his mid-fifties. And I only knew of a handful of Christians there, but there could have been more. And I had promised David that I would give the gospel and share the message he requested. And as a preacher, if you think some might fall asleep here at Elim, you get pretty used to either the boredom, anger, or looking out the windows when you introduce God at a funeral, other then in a general way or something that conveys that God will save everyone. But David saved me! For I was able to introduce the sermon like this, “I met with your friend David a few days before he died. He told me to preach this sermon, but he was uncertain at the time if he believed it yet himself. But he wanted you to hear it.” Without exaggerating, instant attention! I have never experienced such a focused unsaved audience before in my life. I will never forget it. Now, as we come to the end of Saul’s life, we are confronted with the gospel and the truth about life and death. And what we have here in 1 Samuel 28 is a play-by-play description of dying without God. With no nice cliches, no fancy sayings on the tombstone, no unreal wishes, just the facts. Fact #1:
NO HOPE
Saul hears of the approaching of his enemy, the Philistines. And the positioning of the Philistines was fearful. And there was a hopelessness that came upon Saul, it says his heart trembled greatly. And I thought that hopelessness is a little beyond fear, for sometimes when we fear something, there is still the hope that it may not happen. But hopelessness is defined as “without any expectation” of a good result. And it is where a person has convinced himself that all is lost and there is no chance of something better happening. We talked about some of the struggles with Charles Spurgeon last Sunday. Yet his faith and the truth that he knew sustained him through such difficulty.
But with Saul, he did not possess that kind of faith and knowledge. Yet why was Saul so hopeless this time around when he has had success before fighting against the Philistines? Well, we have suggested that partially it is because of the positioning of the Philistines here, and the fact, as we will see next week, the size of the Philistine army. But there was something else unique here in this battle. That it was not only the Philistines lining up against Israel, but there was an extra 600 men, in fact 601, David and his men. We read (vs 2) that David agrees to go out with the Philistines in battle, and both sides gather their armies and then:
“Saul saw the camp of the Philistines and was afraid and his heart trembled greatly.”
1 Samuel 28:5 (LSB)
It was likely that Saul was aware David’s 600 men with them. So, here Saul faces the terror of the Philistine army and their king, and he sees the one who he knows the Lord is blessing, David, standing with King Achish. Now it is interesting in our story that the narrator does not deal with the dilemma that David finds himself in, until chapter 29 of what he would do now that he has somewhat attached himself to the Philistine army. But for now, we see David agreeing to come alongside King Achish, and therefore, we understand the hopelessness of King Saul. Any of you who watch sports, we all have our favourite teams. And there is within us that “die hard” spirit where you believe that your team could pull off a victory, even if they may be considered an underdog.
But this is a done deal, or some might say that without some kind of divine intervention, Saul and his boys are going down. As all the things that Saul had in his possession to take charge and gain victory were now gone. Everything he relied on in the past would no longer help him. He at one time was this tall, strong, good-looking man, and now is older and likely slower and less confident, especially as he looks at the enemy. So, now he needs help. So, what do we do in such situations when we need help? what does the culture even do at times when they find themselves this desperate? They cry out to God. Yes, even the unbeliever may cry out to God in desperation. But for Saul there is:
NO GOD
For Saul has been living his life without God, though God is alive and well and has been sovereignty working out His purposes. And Saul, of course, does not live outside of that sovereignty, no one does. But Saul does not enjoy or give praise for this great work of God. Yes, Saul might cry out to God in desperation, but Saul does not have a living, thriving relationship with God. And an interesting fact that we are told at the beginning of this chapter is likely another reason for Saul’s state, and that is Samuel is dead. And if we were reading this for the first time, we might think that this is odd, for we were told that Samuel died a number of chapters ago. But this is significant for Saul, as Samuel would have represented Saul’s spiritual roots, his beginnings, so to say. After all, it was Samuel who had anointed Saul as king in the first place, the plan of God, and remember Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit at one time.
So, it could be very likely that Saul would be thinking, if only Samuel was here. As we might think at times of heartache or struggle, if only that strong spiritual mentor in my life was still here. If only I could bear my heart to that Samuel one more time. And especially when Saul sees the feared army of the Philistines and David now with them. Samuel would represent to Saul someone who could give him some comfort. Another strange piece of information we are given early in this story is not only that Samuel is dead, but that (end of vs 3), “And Saul had removed from the land those who were mediums and spiritists.” This command from Saul was obviously back in his better days, when we had higher hopes for Saul and likely he had for himself. A little more confident time when Samuel communicated God’s words to Saul.
“If you will fear Yahweh and serve Him and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of Yahweh, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow Yahweh your God.”
1 Samuel 12:14 (LSB)
As here Saul had all the hope in the world, at that time. All the opportunity at the beginning of his kingship to serve God. I mean, who would not want that opportunity, to thrive and serve and succeed under the hand of Yahweh God. What a great future! But those days are gone, Samuel is dead, and there is no other prophet that has ministered to Saul. It seems his spiritual connections are few and far between. Maybe Saul should not have murdered the eighty-five priests, as here in his hopelessness, Saul had cut ties with his spiritual resources. And we might read all this, and think this is a strange thing for Saul to do. But there are thousands of folks who at one time named the name of Christ, yet their connection was not really with Christ, as there was never any real relationship between them and God. So, Saul, at a point of desperation, what does he do? He does what many might do at a funeral when the reality of death strikes people. They might lament and even temporarily crave some kind of closeness with God. So, too Saul decides to call upon God, but:
“So Saul asked of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him.”
1 Samuel 28:6a (LSB)
I guess it may be presumptuous to think that God can be called upon to pull us out of trouble simply because we cry out to Him, when there is no sincere desire to have a relationship with Him. So, when you are hopeless and you don’t have God, where do you go? I was thinking the Internet. To someone or somewhere that might have an answer for me! Help! So, Saul says to his men as God is silent, seek out a medium for me, as there must be a good website out there on spiritual guidance with some help. So, Saul asks the woman to bring Samuel up for him. And we have no background to really help us with this, of calling someone up from the dead, and that Samuel was resting; other than just accept the fact that God chose to allow Samuel once again to speak with Saul, obviously a unique event in the Bible. Now, we do know from the Scriptures that such practices are wrong. Apart from the warnings in the Old Testament, the New Testament speaks of finding wisdom and guidance from God. The account in Acts where a slave girl is possessed by a spirit of divination and Paul casts out that spirit. We also read about Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8), and Bar-Jesus, a sorcerer (Acts 13). Paul wrote:
“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”
1 Corinthians 11:13-14 (LSB)
Many in our world today try to find comfort from looking to some kind of mystical help. And this is why I often warn of trying to find hidden answers from even the Bible through numbers, or names, or stars. James simply wrote:
“But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
James 1:5 (LSB)
Yet the prophet Hosea wrote:
“My people ask their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand declares to them;
For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,
And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.”
Hosea 4:12 (LSB)
I have watched a few of the tributes given to John MacArthur after his death. I sent out a few from John Piper and Joni Eareckson Tada. I was also reading one from Alistair Begg and he said that what he appreciated so much from John MacArthur was his simple commitment to being a defender of the truth. Begg quoted C. S. Lewis who spoke against trying to find something secretive from the Bible saying that any attempt in preaching at originality will fail. Lewis said to just tell the truth and preach the Scriptures, for:
“The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8 (LSB)
If you leave this place each Sunday morning thinking that Mark does not bring to us any enlightening secrets from the Bible, but just the plain truth. I would say that’s good because that is what we need. And here in the life of Saul as he flounders around to find some kind of divine truth, he simply misses God and without that relationship he tries to call upon Samuel who is dead. And then we are given a conversation between Saul and Samuel. Again, an occurrence here that is so unique in the Bible, other than maybe the conversation of Lazarus and the rich man in the New Testament. And here are the words of Saul to Samuel:
“I am greatly distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and God has turned away from me and no longer answers me, either by the hand of the prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.”
- Samuel 28:15b (LSB)
And the harsh words from Samuel (vs 16) are, “Why then do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your adversary?” Here we have Saul turning to Samuel at the eleventh hour of his life. When he could have come to Samuel years earlier, if his heart was truly sincere, or considered his relationship with God years ago. And so, what we have with Saul who is without hope and without God, now finds himself without time as Samuel tells him of his death, he has:
NO TIME
Not that Samuel could have helped Saul spiritually. True, Samuel could bring to Saul the truth about salvation. Just as I can preach to you this morning the truth of God’s Word, but I cannot save you, your parents cannot save you. And what we see in this story is the reality of death, though we may be surrounded by family, maybe even surrounded by those who love God. Those who have told us about God and faith and salvation. But the real reality is this, that when you die, no one can help you except God. And when Saul’s time had run out, he finds himself here alone spiritually. And who is left to help him, this pagan woman. And here Saul is told that he will die by this pagan woman. It may not always be the case when we die, as we may have those around us who care. And even those who may die in a hospital or an old folks’ home without family, will likely have someone there who is kind and caring and who will try to comfort them as best they can. But the truth is that no one can save you but God.
“[W]ithout Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
Ephesians 2:12b (LSB)
Please turn with me to that passage in Ephesians 2.
“[R]emember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace.”
Ephesians 2:12-14a (LSB)
Christ Himself, or we could say “Christ alone” is our peace, not your Mom or Dad, not your best friend, not one of the elders. But Christ Himself is your peace with God. For (vs 13) it is His blood alone, the only thing that could save you. “The blood of Christ” is the only means by which a person can enjoy nearness to God. And the core of this nearness or we could call salvation, as the outcome of this relationship is that we would be forever with the Lord, forever near Him, forever at peace with Him.
“[S]o that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 2:7 (LSB)
And the duration of this grace and kindness is forever, for the ages to come. And why is it grace? Because it is the gift of God.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
Ephesians 2:8 (LSB)
And then look (vs 14), Jesus Christ is our peace as His presence with us reverses our hopeless situation. As what Paul is saying here is that Christ can bring peace into the heart of the individual. And this is not accomplished by a sacrifice that we make. It is not accomplished by a work, or by any amount of goodness. But is completely given by grace to those who believe and therefore have been forgiven. And therefore, those who have a living relationship at death with the living God. Both David and Saul were sinners, yet David believed. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans about David:
“Now to the one who works, his wage is not counted according to grace, but according to what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes upon Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.’”
Romans 4:4-8 (LSB)
David, even at his time in history, without the New Testament, amazingly seemed to understand that a person needed to be forgiven. And as Paul states, had to be saved outside of works, outside of the law. Salvation by Christ alone and that our acceptance by God comes to us only because of a righteousness given to us by Christ. John MacArthur said:
“I am no more righteous, in the sense of satisfying a just God, in other words, I cannot achieve a righteousness that satisfies His requirement. Any attempt at self-righteousness, no matter how noble the effort, no matter how frequently the ‘God’ vocabulary is used and the divine is brought into it—any attempt at self-righteousness, Paul classifies as ‘skubalon’ [rubbish] in Philippians 3.”
John MacArthur, Irreconcilable Differences: Catholics, Evangelicals, and the New Quest for Unity, Parts 1-3
I dare say that if Samuel has asked Saul at this point why God should save him, Saul would have been quick to speak of all his times when he was obedient and when he thought he was righteous. And it is true that upon becoming a Christian you and I are being changed into the character of Jesus Christ, the process of our sanctification. As Paul says in the Ephesians passage that we become the workmanship of Jesus Christ. Yes, we are being changed and renewed. But no amount of righteousness could ever save us, none would ever be good enough. As the only righteousness that counts to be able to stand before God, to be at peace with Him is the righteousness given to us by Christ through faith in Him, so that, upon death, we would have hope because we have peace with God.
No one wants to be Saul in these stories, as he seems to spend most of his life being envious of David, ignoring the plans of God, and having a great love of himself. Hard to see and understand and rejoice in the purposes of God when you are so enthralled in your own life. Yet the Apostle Paul viewed the Christians’ life as so different from that saying:
“I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
Galatians 2:20 (LSB)
It is not hard when reading these stories amongst all their struggles that David was captivated with God and Saul was captivated with himself. So, where is your heart this morning? Where do you turn to find hope? Do you have a relationship with God that you would describe your life as incredibly hopeful in God. That you know you have this relationship with Him. And time for you is not an issue, whether in life or in death, for you are secure for eternity. Or do you consider yourself fearful, to the point of being hopeless. Because you are uncertain of your relationship with God. You are not sure that you have peace with Him. And even time is not on your side. Because we have no idea of when the Lord may say our life is over, as this is God’s complete right. As it is God alone who determines our days.
In a few weeks, we will read that even David will lament the death of Saul, as he likely loved Saul more than most people did. In fact, if you read 2 Samuel 1, the narrator gives nine verses to a lament by David for Saul and Jonathan. Not sure which of these words may have been on Saul’s tombstone, but here are some that David used about Saul: mighty, a shield, the sword of Saul, beloved, pleasant, swifter than an eagle, mightier than a lion, and that he was clothed in scarlet. And David told the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul. Yet only God alone could save Saul, and only God alone can save you. And if the Lord is speaking to you today, do not be like Saul and harden your heart. If you have your bulletin, please turn to the quote (pg 3) by Charles Spurgeon.
“My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, he is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what Christ is, in what he has done, and in what he is now doing for me.”
Charles Spurgeon
Let’s pray. Lord, as we leave this place once again, and as we live in a world that tries to fulfill our every need through things that perish and give no hope. Make us a people who hope in Your purposes, who rejoice in You. A people who are secure in Your presence. And a people who rejoice in an eternity with Christ. And all God’s people said, amen.