“And 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.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Samuel 28:15 Mean?
"God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams." Saul's confession to the ghost of Samuel is the most devastating self-diagnosis in the Old Testament: God has left. God doesn't answer. Not through prophets. Not through dreams. Every channel of divine communication is closed. The silence is total.
The three closed channels — prophets, dreams, and Urim (mentioned in verse 6) — represent every available method of divine guidance. Prophets: no prophet speaks to Saul. Dreams: God doesn't visit Saul at night. Urim: the priestly guidance mechanism produces nothing. Every door is locked. Every frequency is silent. God has systematically withdrawn from every channel.
The desperation of consulting a medium (the witch of Endor) is the measure of Saul's spiritual bankruptcy: the man who banned necromancy (verse 3) now practices it. The king who enforced the law against mediums now violates his own law. The desperation overrides the conviction. The silence drives him to the forbidden.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What divine silence are you experiencing — and what forbidden alternatives does it make tempting?
- 2.What does Saul's three-channel closure teach about the comprehensiveness of divine withdrawal?
- 3.How does desperation drive people to the forbidden when the legitimate produces nothing?
- 4.What is the most honest thing you can say about God's current presence or absence in your life?
Devotional
God left. God doesn't answer. Not through prophets. Not through dreams. Not through any channel. Total divine silence. And the desperate king, having exhausted every legitimate option, turns to a witch.
Saul's three-channel silence is the most complete description of divine withdrawal in Scripture: not one method of communication remains functional. Prophets don't speak to him. Dreams don't visit him. The priestly guidance system produces nothing. Every avenue through which God has historically communicated with Israel's leaders is closed to Saul. The silence isn't partial. It's comprehensive.
The turn to the medium is the direct result of the silence: when God won't speak through legitimate channels, the desperate person seeks illegitimate ones. The forbidden becomes attractive when the permitted produces nothing. The witch's house becomes the last resort of the man whose God won't talk to him.
The confession — 'God is departed from me' — is Saul at his most honest: no excuses, no spin, no blame-shifting. God left. I know it. The departure is felt, acknowledged, and spoken aloud to a dead prophet's ghost. The most honest words Saul speaks in the entire narrative are spoken in the most forbidden setting.
What channels of divine communication have gone silent in your life — and what forbidden alternatives are you tempted to pursue because the silence is unbearable?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Samuel said to Saul, why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up?.... This makes it a clear case that this was not…
Why hast thou disquieted me - The complaint is not directed against the woman but against Saul. Indeed, her incantations…
We have here the conference between Saul and Satan. Saul came in disguise (Sa1 28:8), but Satan soon discovered him, Sa1…
Samuel pronounces Saul's doom
15. Why hast thou disquieted me Disturbed me from my rest in Sheôl. Samuel utters this…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture