This evening with God's help we return to the first book of Samuel and we reach now chapter 28. We have already considered verses 1 and 2, last Lord's Day, and we notice here that the inspired writer suspended the story of David and now he brings a story of Saul. And in verses 3 through 25, Dan, we consider tonight this enigmatic narrative. A lot of ink has been spilled trying to resolve the most mysterious aspects of this narrative. And yet, as we consider these verses tonight, I trust the Lord will speak very clearly unto us regarding the danger and the peril of His silence. This is really the major theme that cover all these verses, despite of, again, the most mysterious elements. What we notice here is how desperate to one is to be surrounded by the deafening silence of the Lord. So please, with this in mind, turn your attention with me to verse 3 of 1 Samuel 28. We read all the way down to verse 25. This is God's holy and inerrant word. Hear it with faith. Now Samuel had died and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah in his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. Then the Philistines gathered together and came and encamped at Shunan. So Saul gathered all Israel together, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by the prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, find me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.' And his servants said to him, In fact, there is a woman who is a medium at Endor. So Saul disguised himself and put on all their clothes, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he said, Please conduct a sonce for me, and bring up for me the one I shall name to you.' Then the woman said to him, Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life to cause me to die? And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up for you? And he said, Bring up Samuel for me. When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul. And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. What did you see? And the woman said to Saul, I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth. So he said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he's covered with a mantle. And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. And he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed down. Now Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? And Saul answered, I am deeply distressed, for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you that you may reveal to me what I should do. Then Samuel said, So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with you in the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with Me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground and was dreadful afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no food all day or all night. And the woman came to Saul, and saw that he was severely troubled, and said to him, Look, your maidservant has obeyed your voice, and I have put my life in my hands, and heeded the words which you spoke to me. Now therefore, please, heed also the voice of your maidservant, and let me set a piece of bread before you, and eat, that you may have strength when you go on your way. But he refused and said, I will not eat. So his servants, together with the woman, urged him, and he heeded their voice. Then he arose from the ground and sat on the bed. Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she hastened to kill it. And she took flour and kneaded it and baked and leavened bread from it. So she brought it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose and went away. that night. Thus far the reading of God's Holy Word. Let us pray. Almighty God, we thank You, Lord. We thank You for revealing Your will unto us and registering infallibly Your will in the pages of Scripture, that every jot and tittle, Lord, of Your Word is Your Word for us. And Father, as we consider then Your words tonight, We pray, Lord, that you grant us wisdom. We pray, Lord, that you would apply this word to our souls, that we would, Lord, understand the depth of the tragedy that it is when you are silent, but that we would also rejoice that one experience your silence so that we would continually hear your voice. And in his name, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, guide us tonight once again and feed our souls. In Jesus we pray. Amen. Now boys and girls, have you ever experienced silence from one of your parents? I have. And I tell you that was not very good. I remember those days when Either my mom or my dad would pick me up at school or I would come from school and arrive home and I would come cheerful and trying to make chat and trying to talk with them, but I would get a cold shoulder. And the day would pass by and I would try to reach out again and I would get again the Silas treatment. And then I have butterflies in my stomach because I know I'm in trouble. I did something that didn't please either one of them. Mom's silence or dad's silence is never a good sign, is it? When mom is silent and when dad is silent, it means that we are in trouble. And you see, when we look at this passage tonight, we notice that the Heavenly Father of those who come to Him in faith and repentance is silent. Saul, part of the covenanted people of God, up to this point in the narrative, has never expressed any repentance for all the sins he committed over and over again. regarding his disobedience towards the Lord, regarding his persecution of the anointed one, David. Sin upon sin, Saul was piling the wrath of God upon him day after day. And now when he is surrounded by his enemies, silence from heaven is all he gets. What a tragic state to be. And that's really what this text is about as we consider these verses tonight. This text is about the tragical silence of the Lord. Of what are its tragical consequences. How the silence of the Lord drives one to pile up sin upon sin. How the silence of the Lord leads one unto total desperation. You see, Christians, as we consider these verses tonight, this is what we learn. That even in His silence, the Lord speaks. And what is He speaking? In His silence, He's exposing the wickedness and foretelling the doom of unrepentant sinners. The silence of the Lord is a disciplinary speech. And in that speech, in that silence, He's exposing our wickedness and foretelling the doom. of unrepentant sinners. We consider then this text tonight under two headings. You notice, first of all, verses 3 to 14, we notice how Yahweh's silence is revealing. And it reveals abominable wickedness. And we notice that particularly as Saul seeks a medium, a sin forbidden by the Lord. But secondly, we notice as well in verses 15 to 25, how Yahweh's silence is also revealing It reveals the imminent doom of unrepentant sinners. Yahweh's silence reveals. It reveals our abominable wickedness, but it also reveals imminent doom. So as we look at the first four verses of this passage, verses 3 through 6, we notice here, again, the stop, the interruption of the David narrative. We notice that David placed himself, because of the frailty of his own faith, in a very, very dangerous and delicate situation. After sinning through lie and deceit, he now is in Philistine territory and Achish thinks that he can count on David as one of his champions against God's people. But in God's sovereign purpose for this text, that story is interrupted. We don't know yet how that story ends and the inspired writer brings us another story. And there is a purpose for that that we will consider eventually. This story is the story of Saul. It begins with this brief context. It tells us again that Samuel was dead. Notice how important it is at this point in the narrative to be refreshed of that information. Samuel is not around anymore. He has descended to the grave and according to the Word of God, his soul returned to the Lord. There is a threat surrounding the land. Verse 4 tells us now that the Philistines are a real threat. They are very close. They are in the area of Shunnan, very close to where the people of God is encamped as well at Gilboa. And here's what's happening. The Lord's not responding to Saul. Now I really want you to pay close attention to verse 6 tonight. Notice that initially Saul is trying all the ordained means of communication with the Lord. He's trying to reach out to the Lord using all that the Lord has given him. Look at verse 6. Saul is inquiring of the Lord. He's using what? The Urim that's appointed. He's counting on dreams. That is how the Lord communicates with his people at this point in covenant history. And he uses the prophets. It's interesting to notice that there's no mention of the priests, because Saul killed them all, remember? All the way back then, in the narrative, Saul commended a member, not of Israel, to go and exterminate all the priests. Only one escaped, and he's now with David. Saul is using all the ordained means in the Old Covenant to reach out and to listen to the voice of the Lord, but the Lord is silent. The Lord is silent. He won't respond to him. Now that's not a surprise for anyone who has been keeping up with all the chapters. We know from chapter 13 that Samuel had already revealed while alive that Saul had been rejected of the Lord. Not only that, after being declared that he was rejected of the Lord, as we have already mentioned, there was no repentance at all. in Saul's life. On the contrary, he was simply in that downward spiral of sin, piling up sin upon sin without any true and real repentance. That's actually, I would suggest, the reason why, if you turn with me to 1 Chronicles chapter 10, you will notice that the writer of 1 Chronicles gives us a commentary of what's going on here. Verse 13 we read, So Saul died for his unfaithfulness, which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not, now listen again to verse 14, but he did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore he killed him and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse. Now this is one of those verses when people say, well, you see how the Bible has contradictions? Here in 1 Chronicles, the text says that Saul did not inquire of the Lord, but in 1 Samuel, it's saying that he did inquire of the Lord. Well, there's no contradiction. 1 Chronicles is just giving us a commentary of what's happening here. Why does the writer of 1 Chronicles says that Saul did not inquire of the Lord? This is a commentary of Saul's soul. He is indeed using the right means that the Lord has appointed, but he's using the right means without the right disposition and the right state of soul. This is a terrifying reminder that people may be exposed to the means of grace. And the Lord will be silent for them if they are not reconciled with Him through Christ. Let me say this again. Verse 6 is a terrifying reminder that people can come and go from the church. They can open and close their Bibles. They can open and shut their eyes in prayer. And the Lord will not speak with them if they are not reconciled with the Lord through Jesus Christ. It's terrifying. That's Saul's estate. Now, this text also reminds us how Saul indeed obeyed the Lord in different circumstances. Again, at the end of verse 3, we notice that Saul had put all the mediums and the spiritists out of the land. Why did Saul do that? Well, the reason why Saul did that is because the Lord commended Saul. Turn with me to two passages tonight. Please turn with me to Leviticus chapter 20. As we notice in two texts, these are just sample texts of how the Lord hates the practice of spiritism or the practice of trying to talk to the dead. The Lord hates this practice so much, this is such a sinful, abhorrent, blasphemous practice that the Lord appointed death penalty for anyone who would do it. Leviticus chapter 20, please look at verse 27. A man or a woman who is a medium or who has familiar spirits shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them. Do you notice how the Lord rejects and condemns and hates this sin? Please turn with me as well to Deuteronomy chapter 18. Verses 10 and 12 we read, There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. So notice how the Lord rejects, the Lord hates this practice. It's very clear in the Word of God. And that's the reason why then we see in verse 3 that saw was used of the Lord to clean up the land. There are no mediums available. Well, what should we expect from Saul at this point? He seeks the Lord, the Lord does not respond. He used the ordained means, the Lord does not respond. Shouldn't Saul do a soul-searching examination at this point? Should not Saul ask questions like, have I sinned against the Lord? What does justify the Lord not answer my call? Am I in transgression against Him? Why is the Lord now my enemy? Why has the Lord turned His face upon me? You see, these very simple soul search questions should lead Saul to that repentance that up to this point has not happened in his life. But what we notice is that instead of acknowledging his sin, Saul wants to cut corners. He wants a medium. He wants to pursue that exactly not only which the Lord condemns, which the Lord hates, but He wants as well, but He will also pursue that which He Himself was used as an instrument to eliminate from the land. Now isn't it surprising that His servants know where to find one? Does that tell us of the state of the soul of the people of Israel at that moment in history? I trust that anyone of us here tonight must be ignorant to the paths and trails that lead to anything sinful. As those who love the Lord and love His righteousness and pursued His righteousness, would anyone inquire us of the steps that he or she should take to pursue something that is wicked? We would be completely ignorant of that, but not so servants. Verse 7 says, immediately they respond. There is, in fact, a woman. We know about a medium in Endor. They know it's hateful to the Lord. but they know as well where to find that which is hateful to the Lord." It's not a good sign. Now, as someone who does something that is wicked, Saul disguises himself. That's what verses 8 and 9 describe to us. He goes to meet this woman. And he does that by night. He tries to conceal his identity. He seeks to look for God where God is not. He seeks to listen to the voice of the Lord using a means that God already said, it's an abomination to me. That's insane, isn't it? But that's what he does. The silence of the Lord is leading Saul into even deeper sin. Does that remind you of Romans 1 when the Apostle Paul talks about the Lord giving sinners over to their sin? The Apostle Paul reminds us that the Lord is silent towards the wicked. The Lord gives them over to their own paths and trails. That's deception upon deception, the fall into their own pit. And sadly, this is what's happening here with Saul. It's sin upon sin. And he tries to reach out to the Lord through sin. The woman is very fearful, as we have already observed. Notice even how the language of the pagans to bring one up. Right? The idea is this, this is the realm of the dead is somewhere underground. That's a very pagan notion of afterlife. And so one is to bring, is to be, if one wants to contact the dead, the dead must come from the underground up. Saul even uses the very same language. Verse eight, he says, bring up for me the one I shall name to you. Saul becomes a pagan as he seeks to contact the Lord by a means that the Lord has clearly forbidden. There is some sort of even greater wickedness. Look at verse 10. Now that Saul swears upon the covenantal name of God, think about breaking the third commandment. That's a clear illustration here. Saul breaks the third commandment, sworing, making a vow in the name of the Lord that he would not punish the woman if she would do what he wants. He's not only fostering, cultivating, inducing her to sin, but she's granting her safety. and she's swearing using the name of the Lord on something that is wicked and blasphemous and detestable before the name of the Lord. Do you realize, Christian, how the silence of the Lord is leading Saul even deeper? If we thought that Saul had reached the bottom of his sinful life, there is another record being set here. He broke that bottom and he's digging even deeper because the Lord is silent. Well, the text tells us that something happens. The woman sees someone. If you're reading from the King James, you're probably reading there, when Saul asks, what do you see? And she says, I see a spirit. In verse 13, he says, she says, I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth. If you're reading from the King James, he says, I saw a God ascending out of the earth. Again, a very pagan notion. But the association is that that which she is seeing is Samuel. Verse 12 says, when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. Now here we have reached the point where there is a lot of debate. There is a lot of discussion. What is this woman seeing? Is she really seeing Samuel? Or is she seeing a devilish being that is pretending that it's coming up in the form of Samuel. Now, there are at least three different views regarding this specific problem in this text. The very first view is that this is a diabolical being in the form of Samuel. that it was the view that was had by the church since the early church fathers, and even to the Reformation theologians. If you do have, for example, a copy of the Geneva Bible, the 1560 Geneva Bible, you will notice that there is this footnote in the Geneva Bible explaining this text, that this was Satan, who to blind his eyes, the eyes of Saul, took upon him the form of Samuel. and has come, as he can do, as an angel of light." So, in other words, to the editors of the Geneva Bible, this is not Samuel himself, but it is a diabolical, a devilish being who Taking the form of Samuel is now deceiving Saul and leading him to believe that there is a true conversation with one who died at this moment. That was the position of Luther. That was the position of John Calvin. That was the position of the overwhelming majority of the Puritans and Dutch theologians in the 17th century. But then the 19th century comes and things take a turn. And then a second position comes. And it is this. It is the idea that this is indeed Samuel. Samuel is in some sort of way appearing to Saul through a miracle, and I'm using here the very same language that one of the advocates of this position uses, Caelan Dellich, through a miracle wrought by the omnipotence of God. William Blakey, a Scottish commentator of the late 19th century, put it this way. What is happening here is that God is supernaturally clothing His spirit in something like His spirit, the spirit of Samuel. God is clothing Samuel's spirit in something like of his old form and bringing him back to earth to speak to Saul. If you have the Reformation Study Bible, very modern Reformation Study Bibles, that's probably what you have there in the footnote for you. There's also a third position. A third position that says that we don't know. That this is a very mysterious text and that it's hard to understand it. The text is involved in mystery. Ronald Youngblood who is a very respected Hebrew scholar put it this way. He says, an element of mystery suffuses this chapter and it would be presumptuous to claim to have successfully plumbed its depths. So what should we do of this section? Well, let me submit to you tonight that regardless of the position you take, If you take the standard Reformed position, or if you take the modern position, this will not detract from the main teaching of this text, which is to teach us tonight that when Yahweh is silent, that's a dangerous, terrifying, and desperate position. And that position will lead us unto more sinful acts. These are the two main truths. If you think this is really Samuel, you have good company. If you don't think that this is Samuel, you are in good company. Maybe, indeed, we should listen to young blood and understand that this is a very difficult and hard text to understand. But regardless of the position you take, this is what is undeniable. God is not speaking with Saul. And because of this silence, he's being led into a hopeless state, into a desperate state, and piling up sin upon sin. Yahweh's silence continues to reveal the abominable wickedness of Saul, who sinned against the Lord in the past, did not repent, remained in sin, and is seeking through a sinful mean to listen to the voice of the Lord. Let us have that, therefore, that firm in our minds tonight. The silence of the Lord is desperation. The silence of the Lord is terrifying. The silence of the Lord is an inevitable consequence of a life in unrepentant sin. A life of unrepentant sin will necessarily lead to the silence of the Lord towards one. And when that happens, it is sin upon sin that begins to be piled up. There is sin upon sin that piles up. We see that in the next section, verses 15 to 25. We notice here that this conversation is taking place between Samuel and Saul or the vision and Saul. And what we notice is that in this conversation, there is not really much disclosed. Initially, we notice that Saul expresses his reasoning for doing what he's doing. It is interesting to notice how even Samuel uses pagan language in the vision. He says, why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? That's how Samuel addresses Saul. He uses the very same pagan jargon that the medium has used and that Saul himself has used. But then Saul gives to Samuel the gist of what is this conundrum, what is this difficulty, what is going on that's leading him to such a desperate action. And in this Samuel responds in two ways. The first one is there is a brief recapitulation. Why are you here? Why have you come here? It's almost like an accusation, isn't it? Verse 16 and 17, the Lord has departed from you. The Lord has become your enemy. Why are you asking anything from me? And you know that that is true because I already told you in the past. I told you that the Lord has abandoned you. I told you that the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand. and you know that he was going to give the kingdom to his neighbor. We have here simply a repetition of 1 Samuel 15 all over again. There's nothing new in this section. But then we reach verse 19. Some of the scholars consider verse 19 as a prophecy, as if the vision, Samuel, here would be predicting the future. Others will look at this and say, well, you don't really need to be a prophet to predict that Saul is going to die. He is abandoned by the Lord, he's surrounded by Philistines, and he's going to war, he's going to die. You don't need to be a prophet to know these things. Well, but that's what exactly is being said to him. The piling up of sin upon sin will lead him ultimately to destruction. There is a revelation, if you will, of his ultimate doom. Verse 19, Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with you, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. You will die and your sons will die. Why is that? Because of your unrepentant sin. Because you remain in the stubbornness and hardness of your heart. The Lord has declared your destruction because you are persevering in the path of wickedness. The end of the story is really dark. It's literally dark. Verses 20 to 25, we notice that there is a gesture of kindness coming out of the medium. The woman offers a meal to Saul who is exhausted and completely discouraged. His soul is destroyed. He knows the doom that is to come upon him. And she offers, she makes this kind gesture. But notice how the narrative ends in verse 25. There's nothing bright. Saul eats, Saul departs, and it was night. He comes into the night, and he leaves in the night. He comes in secrecy, and he departs in secrecy. He comes seeking for light, but all he sees is darkness. The narrative ends without any hope. Saul will be defeated. What a tragedy. What a tragedy. There's a lot of doom and gloom in this text. But how can we apply this to our lives and our souls? Let us remember 2 Peter, Peter writing in his second letter reminds us that there is no prophecy that comes from personal opinion, from private elucidation. All scriptures is profitable for our instruction and our edification. How can we be edified in this scenario? Let me propose three applications for us tonight. First of all, Let us take seriously the silence of the Lord. Let us take seriously God's silence. God's silence is dreadful. That's the main lesson in this whole narrative, isn't it? What a terrible thing it is to be in the silence of the Lord. It removes all hope. It removes all godliness. But most of all, it exposes our sin. Now let us make no mistake because sometimes the Lord is silent not because we committed some sin, but because the time of response has not come. Or sometimes the Lord is silent in our impression, but He's speaking loudly and because of our own stubbornness we're not seeing or listening to His speech. We're not using the right means to pursue His will. And that may give the impression that the Lord is silent when He is indeed speaking, or that we may be in sin when the time for the response has not come. And yet, this text reminds us that there is a third possibility. That the Lord may not be responding because there is sin in our life. Perhaps you sit here tonight and you are waiting to listen an answer from the Lord. You're seeking the Lord and you are using the appointed means for that. And there's only silence towards you. And the question for you tonight is, is there any sin in your life that needs to be repented of? Perhaps there isn't. Perhaps it's just a time of waiting. But perhaps there is. It was Saul's case. You see this text raises our awareness to how sin separates us from the Lord. How sin in our lives is a terrible, terrible thing. It indeed cuts our communion with the Lord and when that happens it leads to all sorts of hopeless actions and to more sinful patterns. Sometimes the silence of the Lord is precisely to make us aware of our sinfulness. and to lead us unto repentance. It's one of the lessons of this text. Perhaps you sit here tonight without guidance and direction. Perhaps you sit here tonight in total desperation. The Lord has indeed been silent towards your prayers and you go to the Word and you can't make sense of the text. You see, if you turn with me to John chapter 13, there was one who was precisely in that state and who also walked into the night without any hope. John chapter 13. Here's the Last Supper. The Lord is preparing to partake of the supper with his disciples. And in verse 27, we read that the Lord is announcing that there is a betrayer. He says, Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him, him Judas. Then Jesus said to him, What you do, do quickly. But no one at the table knew for what reason he said this to him. For some thought, because Judas had the money box, that Jesus had said to him, Buy those things we need for the feast, or that he should give something to the poor. Now look at verse 30, another one that departs in the night just like Saul and there is no hope for him. He partake of the communion of the Lord. He takes the bread, says the Lord, but there's no spiritual prophet for him. He's lost. He is separated. Silence to Judas. The silence of God is a terrible sin. Luther put it this way. He says, And that where the Word of God is missing, there is no help at all for the soul. There is no more terrible disaster with which the wrath of God can afflict a man than a famine of the hearing of His Word. Let us take seriously this warning of the Lord tonight. At the same time, a second application for us tonight. How can we see Jesus in this text? You see, this text reminds us of how dangerous, how terrible, how distraughting is the silence of the Lord. But we also are reminded that one experienced that silence so that we who are in him would not. Oh, my brothers and sisters, I am sure that you are very well reminded of what happened in Matthew 27, verses 45 and 46. Do you remember the darkness? Darkness surrounded the land. The same darkness to which Saul went into, the same darkness to which Judas went into, darkness came upon Golgotha. And we heard, or those who were surrounding Golgotha that day heard the words, Why hast thou forsaken me, my God, my God? The Lord Jesus experienced the silence of His Father. Mysteriously, beyond human comprehension, there was something happening at that moment at the cross, as the Savior took upon Himself our sins, that the Father turned His face from His beloved and only begotten Son. We can't comprehend, but we know the depth of the agony because of the words of the Savior. And Jesus experienced that so that you would not. so that the Lord would never be silent to you. So that the words we find in Hebrews chapter 1, remember, when the writer to the Hebrews addressed his original readers, reminded them, God is speaking to you and God has constantly spoken with you. He has never been silent with you, your true people. He said, God at various times and in various ways has spoken time past to the fathers by the prophets and has in these last days spoken to us by His Son. O Christian, if you are in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no silence for you. Understand that tonight. If you are in Christ, if you are united with the Savior, He took the silence of the Father to Himself, upon Himself, and now the mouth of the Lord is open to you because He took your sin upon His is His own blessed and divine person and paid for your sins in His own blessed and divine person, you now have the mouth of the Father speaking to you in all its clarity and with all its revelation. What a great comfort that is for us tonight. Yes, the silence of the Lord is terrifying, is desperation, the silence of the Lord is destructive, and yet for those who are in Christ there is no silence, for God continues to speak to us through His Son. A third application, so we can wrap up tonight. What should that lead us then unto? If the voice of the Lord is available to me and to you because of Christ, how should we respond to that? Would we respond to that like Saul, seeking the voice of the Lord and the answers of the Lord in ways that the Lord has said, I will not talk to you like that. I will not use these means to speak with you. Should we give into this kind of foolishness just as Saul did in this narrative? No. You see, if we are reminded that it's in Christ and through Christ and for Christ that the Lord is speaking to us, we are to go to Christ to talk to our Lord. The way is open. He paid the price for it. He shed His blood, Christian, so that when you bow your knees to talk to Him, He will listen to you. He may not respond when you want the response. But because He has paid the price for your sin, and because the door to heaven is open, and because the call to enter His presence with boldness is clear in His Word, that's what we do. And what do we do when we don't listen to the answer? When the speech is not clear to us? Oh, we don't despair. We do just as we are singing in Psalm 80. We keep going back to the Lord. We pray more. And we read more and we trust more. And even if He continues not to respond, we continue to go to Him until, according to His grace, His mercy, His compassion, and His promise, He responds to His adopted sons and daughters. The silence of the Lord is terrifying. It exposes our weakness. It exposes as well the doom of unrepented sinners. But there's no silence for those who are in Christ. For those who are in Christ, the speech is clear. The speech is available. Let us go to Him and be comforted and instructed in the voice of the Father. Let us pray together. Almighty God in heaven, we thank You for Your Word tonight for even though it is mysterious, Even though, Lord, it may has difficult aspects to understand, yet you speak so clearly through it. Lord, thank you for warning us this evening about the danger, the destructiveness that it is, your silence. Thank you, Lord, for warning us tonight how unrepentant sin lead to this deafening, to this silence that leads us unto even more destruction. But also, Lord, thank you. Thank you for having your mouth open to us through Christ, who took the silence we deserved to receive so that we would have communion with you now and in the world to come. Lord, guide us, treasuring, seeking, and desiring to listen to your voice through your appointed means, not through superstition or any other way that you have not appointed, but through the words, through the sacraments. May you continue to instruct and guide your people, and may they continue to seek your guidance and instruction through the appointed means. In Jesus' name, Lord, we pray.