Jump to:
I Samuel
Chapter
28
{Verses
1:6 - The Crisis}
{David's
Con Job Puts Him in a Predicament}
1~~Now
it came to pass in those days {1004 BC}
{means change of circumstance - another view of what is
happening while David is slaughtering men and women and lying to
Achish},
that
the Philistines 'totally mobilized' {qabats}
their
armies
{pattern of other Greek States joining for battle
from Chapter_29 we see they gather at Aphek}
for
'total destruction'/warfare . . . to fight with Israel.
And
Achish said {sent a special urgent message} unto David,
"'Red
Alert!'
{yada' yada' - idiom literally 'knowing . . . you shall know'},
that
you shall go forth to the bivouac with me . . .
you
and your men/battalion."
{David
Gives an Obscure Answer - Ambiguous}
2~~And
David replied to Achish,
"Therefore
now, you shall know what your servant can do."
{Double talk - what does it mean? Can mean many things!}
And
Achish said to David
{Achish thinks David's statement is positive},
"Therefore
I commission/appoint you
'my
bodyguard for life'
{idiom:
literally 'keeper of my head forever'}."
{Note: David knows he is to be the next king of the Jews, yet now he finds himself the bodyguard to the great enemy of the Jew! Quite a predicament because this is a high honor and comes with great rewards!}
{The
Great Prophet Samuel Dies; Ejection of Mediums}
3~~Now
Samuel had died {muwth} {1017 BC},
and
all Israel continued mourning for him,
and
they buried him in Ramah,
even
in his own city.
At
that time, Saul had caused to remove {cuwr - Hiphil stem}
those
{women} who 'were necromancers'/'had familiar spirits'
{'owb - masculine noun with a feminine ending -
this particular ventriloquist demon always enters a woman},
and
the 'male mediums'/wizards/'demon possessed men'
{yidd@`oniy - the male medium - the compliment to the female
'owb}
out
from the land.
{Note: Samuel was a great man of Israel. He was a prophet, a priest and a ruler/judge.}
{Note: Saul was not tempted or interested in consulting mediums at this point in his reversionism. This will soon change.}
{Good
Logistics for the Philistines and Poor Logistics for Saul - 1st of
His Mistakes}
4~~And
the Philistines
kept
on assembling/gathering {qabats}
themselves
together {troop concentration},
and
marched/'kept on coming' {bow}
and
bivouacked {chanah}
in
Shunem {Shuwnem}
{located on the Little Herman Range on the Mountain of Mor-a (sp)
- where the Shulamite woman of 'Song of Solomon' would later
live)}.
And
Saul kept on assembling/gathering {qabats}
all
Israel together {Jewish army is concentrating also},
and
they bivouacked {chanah}
in
Gilboa.
{Note: This tells us the strategy of the Philistines. This is near the valley of Armageddon. It goes all the way to the Jordan River but also has two mountain ranges in it. One range is called Gilboa from which the battle will get its name. The idea for the Philistines is to get up the slope and have the 'high ground' advantage. The Philistines were fast and their logistics were good. And, this was unfamiliar and unfriendly terrain for Saul's Jewish Army- and away from Saul's great, fortified area in Gibeah.}
{Reversionist
Saul Becomes Afraid}
5~~And
when Saul saw {made a reconnaissance} {ra'ah}
the
army of the Philistines,
he
became afraid {result of being in reversionism},
and
his heart/'right lobe'
'went
into an extreme state of trepidation' {m@`od charad}.
6~~Now
when Saul
{Sha'uwl - name means 'asking or inquiring' comes from the word
'to ask'}
inquired/petitioned
{ sha'al}
{the is a play on words - literally is "and when Saul saul'ed the
Lord"}
of
Jehovah/God,
Jehovah/God
had not answered him {`anah}
{God had not answered in the past and continued not answering
him right now} . . .
neither
by dreams
{dreams (state of unconsciousness) and visions (usually in ecstatics
are in a conscious state) - both are direct revelation by God},
nor
by lights/Urim
{'Uwriym - Levitical High Priests wore a garb with checkerboard
breast plate with 12 squares (1 for each tribe) stones and lights
on shoulder (one lighted up for yes, and one for no)},
nor
by prophets {ba nabiy'}
{Samuel is now dead (verse 3) - but two prophets remain - Gad and
Nathan - who are alive and both are with David - Saul only has false prophets/teachers}.
{Note: Remember this is long before the Canon of Scriptures was complete in circa 96AD. Until that time, God communicated to man through a number of means - direct revelation to prophets, teaching from angels, gift of knowledge (understanding doctrine without studying it - supernatural spiritual gift), dreams, and through the teaching of the written word by priests. Saul had killed off the priests and the real remaining High Priest was with David. So Saul's 'false high priest' had a 'false Urim' and neither truly communicated with God.}
{Verse
7-10 - Saul's Reversionistic Expediency - Road to 'Witch of Endor'}
7a~~Then
Saul spoke unto his 'staff'/servants {a staff meeting},
"Make
a reconnaissance for
a
woman/mistress { 'ishshah}
'of
a ventriloquist demon'/'of a familiar spirit' {'owb},
for
the purpose that I may go to her
{frightened Saul will bravely go through Philistine lines to Endor
very unusual situation for a coward to be brave!},
and
inquire of her."
{Note: In the first half of this verse, Saul should be looking at the logistics of the Philistines, instead he is messing with a demon-possessed woman. Saul's purpose will be disclosed in verse 11 - he wants to talk to the now dead prophet Samuel.}
{Reconnaissance
Report}
7b~~And
his staff/servants said to him {Saul},
Behold,
there is a woman/mistress {'ishshah}
'of
a ventriloquist demon'/'who has familiar spirits' {'owb}
at
Endor."
{Note: After the reconnaissance is made, they find that there are no mediums in the land because Saul himself kicked them out of the land in verse 3. Endor is 10 miles away and six miles behind the enemy lines. Lastly because of the reconnaissance, Saul should have realized he could have out-flanked the Philistines at night with his army and defeated the Philistines - as Gideon had done years before and defeated his foe. This battle had been documented in the book of Judges - Saul forgot his doctrine!}
{Saul's
Outer Disguise}
8a~~And
Saul disguised {chaphas} himself,
when
he put on other clothes.
Therefore,
he went,
and
two men {soldiers} with him,
and
they came to the woman {Witch of Endor}
by
night {secrecy of the 'mission'}.
{Note: This is not a stroll in the park. This is crawling and hiding and avoiding patrols. This is moving under cover and using the terrain properly to avoid the enemy. This is a very dangerous mission. Saul is afraid. Cowards in the soul usually do the wrong things! But often they do BRAVE 'wrong things'! He is going to lead a battle tomorrow. He should be planning the battle. But he is wasting the night to have a séance!}
{Saul's
Inner Disguise}
8b~~And
he said,
"Please/'I
pray you' {qacam - a respectful entreaty},
'contact
the dead'/divine for me
by
the 'necromantic demon'/'familiar spirit' {'owb},
and
cause to come up {from Hades}
the
one whom I shall mention unto you."
{Note: In reversionism, Saul is desperate to get her help. So, now he 'disguises' his desperation by turning to good manners to get what he wants from her. Saul knows the woman has a demon and he mistakenly thinks this demon can go to Hades and bring back Samuel to him. From doctrine Saul knows that Samuel is waiting in Abraham's bosom - waiting for Christ to come and take believers in this compartment to heaven with Him.}
9a~~And
the woman {referred to as the 'Witch of Endor'}
replied
unto him
{she will not recognize Saul until verse 12},
"Behold,
you know { yada`}
what
Saul has accomplished/decreed,
how
he has caused to remove {cuwr - Hiphil stem}
those
{women} who 'were necromancers'/'had familiar spirits'
{'owb - masculine noun with a feminine ending -
this particular ventriloquist demon always enters a woman},
and
the 'male mediums'/wizards/'demon possessed men'
{yidd@`oniy - the male medium - the compliment to the female
'owb}
out
from the land.
{Note: God is reminding Saul that at one time he was a believer and knew this stuff was bunk. The next day, Saul would die the sin unto death. This is a grace warning from the ultimate source of God.}
9b~~Therefore,
why do you lay a trap/snare
for
my soul {nephesh} . . .
to
cause me to be put to death {muwth}?
{Note: Saul was a very, very big man. RBT says he was maybe the only 7-foot tall man in the area, yet the woman supposedly had not recognized him. One reason may be that reversionism lives a lie. So, Saul may have been very good at this deceit. Or another possibility was the woman knew who he was and was just playing dumb - but she will know by verse 12.}
10~~And
Saul made a vow {shaba`}
to
her, by Jehovah/God, saying,
"By
the life {chay} of Jehovah/God
{violation of the 3rd Commandment - not to take the Lord's name
in vain (using the name of the Lord to get YOUR own way)},
there
shall not happen to you
'punishment
{`avon} {for violating Saul's law}
'because
of this business'/'because of this word' {dabar}."
{Note: Saul in reversionism is as low as a believer can get - and still live - yet here he 'uses' the name of God to get what he wants.}
{Verse
11-14 - Séance of Endor - the Séance that Went Wrong}
11a~~Then
the woman responded
{at some length with the gist given},
"Whom
shall I cause to come up {from Hades} to you?
{Note: This witch does get possessed with a demon, but she does not have the ability to bring a human up from Hades. But, as a good charlatan, she lies and pretends that she has the very power for which this 'sucker' asked!}
11b~~And
he kept saying {a number of times},
"Cause
Samuel to come up before me."
{Faker
is Surprised with Reality from the Grace of God}
12a~~And
when the woman
kept
on seeing/recognizing Samuel
{Dramatic interruption of an otherwise 'normal' séance
implied Samuel was far away and getting closer and closer
and the witch is seeing this},
she
uttered a series of loud screams {za`aq}
{over and over she was screaming - she is now in terror -
and you might say God is also 'grieving or quenching the demon'
the demon is not in control of the séance}.
12b~~And
the woman kept on speaking to Saul, saying,
"Why
have you deceived {ramah} me?
You
. . . {are} Saul!"
{implies her soul is now free from slavery
to the demon and thinks for herself - she sees the 7 ft man
and now recognizes Saul}
{Note: Apparently this woman only contacts her demon when in a trance. So she goes into a trance and maybe her demon then tells her that the man is actually Saul. The demon knows this is not a normal even and the Witch now realizes this, but Saul thinks all is still just a 'normal séance. From here on, RBT says the witch lost her problem - her demon possession is gone - and she becomes a normal woman. Saul's problem remains however.}
13a~~And
the king {melek} {Saul}
kept
saying to her,
"Stop
being afraid
For
what have you have seen {that frightened you}."
13b~~And
the woman said unto Saul,
"Godhead/Gods/'Elohiym
{'elohiym - plural}
I
have seen coming up from the earth".
{Note: She had been a necromancer and a faker with a ventriloquist demon. So when Samuel really approached in his 'spirit-form body' - she sees that he is stronger than her demon so she assumes it is a member of the Godhead. But she is incorrect. This is Samuel. Since she was an unbeliever to this point, she may not have recognized this great bible teacher.}
{Arrival
of Samuel}
14a~~And
he {Saul} said unto her,
"What
is his appearance?"
14b~~And
she kept on saying
{probably upset and repeating herself},
"An
old man { zaqen 'iysh}
is
coming up {closing in}
being
wrapped up in a "prophet's robe" { m@`iyl}."
14c~~And
Saul perceived/knew that it was Samuel,
and
he bowed his head with his face to the ground
{position of repect - respecting the prophet's authority too late}
and
prostrated himself {flattened himself before Samuel}.
{Verse
15-20: Saul's Dialogue with Samuel}
15a~~Then
Samuel kept saying to Saul,
"Why
the heck {stronger expletive here really}
have
you caused me to be disturbed/bothered/disquieted {ragaz},
by
causing me to be brought up?"
{Samuel was in perfect happiness in Abraham's bosom and was
not happy to be disturbed}
{Note: This is the only recorded time a human spirit actually came back to talk with someone alive. There were physical resuscitations and then the first resurrection was Jesus Christ. But this is the first and only time a believer temporarily held in Abraham's bosom was brought up before the transfer to heaven with the resurrected Jesus Christ.}
15b~~And
Saul answered,
"I
am under terrible pressure
{idiom: literally: Pressure {tsarar} . . . to me . . . exceedingly'}.
Because
the Philistines make war against me.
Furthermore,
Godhead/'Elohiym
'has
deserted me'/'has departed from me'
{Saul in his reversionism makes a blasphemous statement},
and
no longer answers me
neither
by prophets,
nor
by dreams.
Consequently,
I have called you {qara' - by séance},
that
you might 'teach me'/'cause me to learn' {yada`}
what
I 'shall do'/'shall manufacture out of this' {'asah}."
{Note: Saul rejected Samuel as his bible teacher for the last 18 years. So this is humorous that he now wants Samuel's teaching now that Samuel has departed.}
|
|
|
|
