3Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Raman. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
This is one of the intriguing stories of the Old Testament. One clear lesson from this account is that the LORD wants faithfulness. Saul has wandered away from the Lord. He has never really been a solid believer. And in this incident we see his true colors shining. He is desperate and wants an answer. The Lord no longer answers him in Saul’s timing. He is impatient again! So, although he has cleaned Israel’s house of the mediums and spiritists, he seeks one out in a desperate attempt to get answers. I am saddened to hear of people who go to fortune tellers or the horoscope to get answers, instead of asking the Lord and being patient. Why would we ask the enemy for answers? How could we think of getting a glass of clean water from the intake pipe of a sewage treatment plant? In the end, Saul gets the answer he knew he was going to get. I personally don’t think it was Samuel that Saul talked with. The text says that Saul identified the spirit as Samuel, but the spirit never confirms that identification. I don’t think the dead can talk to us. I think dead is dead (or should I say silent to this world). They are fully alive, but not able to communicate with us. But link Monk, I could be wrong, but I don’t think so!
The Arnold Journey 