You turn in your Bibles to 1 Samuel, chapter 28. If you'll allow me to remind you of where we left off context in this narrative of 1 Samuel that we've been going through all year. At this point, King David, for over a year, has been stationed in the Philistine territory of Ziklag. And he's exercising this covert operation against the enemies of Israel while misrepresenting his campaign as being against his own people. And he's using cunning deception to gain the favor of the Philistine king of Gath, Akish. And that inevitable point of time comes where Akish and the Philistines have this expectation that David is going to join them as they are marshalling their forces for war against Israel. And Akish expects David to join his army to defeat David's kin, the Israelites. And this is where we are in the narrative. If you're thinking about what's going on, you're asking yourself questions, how will he ever get himself out of this? Has David's deception finally found him out? What maneuvers is David going to come up with to get himself out of this predicament? For he certainly would never turn against his people. We interrupt this program to bring you a special announcement. Now, those who grew up watching network television know exactly what those words mean. Usually, you're watching some program, some drama, or some football game, and all of a sudden, this announcement rudely comes in that, especially if you're young, you really don't care about. It's obviously something that's very important. But it's of little interest to you in the middle of your drama or in the middle of your game that you're watching. Well, this is what the author of 1 Samuel does here. He intentionally interrupts the narrative. He breaks off this narrative about David right at the peak of interest. And rather than telling us what happens next, he tells us something that is of greater importance and greater drama. Had he followed the story chronologically, what we would find is the sequence that would follow chapter 27 that we did last time. We remember we stopped right at verse 2 of chapter 28. That's what we looked at last time. Well, chronologically, after chapter 27, chapter 29 should come in, which concludes the story of David and Akish. Instead, though, he interrupts the story with the events of chapter 28. Now why does he do this? Why does he take this section, this point here that actually happens later, interrupt the story and bring in this account about Saul that we're going to look at today? And the answer is he wants to put David side by side with Saul. This has been throughout for a same, this comparison that's going on between David and Saul. What kind of king was Saul? What kind of king will David be? Put them right beside each other to show us that as difficult as David's situation is, Saul's is far worse. You think David is in trouble in Philistia, and he is. But wait till you see what's going to go on with Saul. Let's read about it, 1 Samuel chapter 28, and I'll begin by reading verses 3 through 7. Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land. The Philistines assembled and came and camped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they had camped 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 prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, seek out 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 medium at Endor." Here we have Saul facing the greatest moment of darkness, the deepest darkness of his career. His rebellion turns to witchcraft. The title of today's sermon is Saul into Darkness. Let us pray. Commentator Dale Ralph Davis observes on this text, facing ruin, men will sometimes turn in their desperation to any resource that they think will give some hope, some direction. So it is with Saul. The narrative that we just read in the first seven verses gives us the necessary background information so that we understand the story that's going on. Samuel has died. Samuel, remember, he's the prophet of Israel. Saul bans all mediums from the land. This was the law at the time. The Philistines are mounting an attack against Israel. And Saul is scared. But most importantly, we learn that the Lord is giving Saul no word. The Lord did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. King Saul is abandoned by God. The means that God used to lead Saul in the past were all silent. Samuel the prophet was dead. Saul killed the priests who might have used the Urim to give him guidance. Now Saul has reached a point in his life that Samuel had prophesied some 20, 30 years earlier in chapter 15 when he told Saul, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. He said, because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you. Because Saul rejected the word, that is, he did not listen, God would reject Saul. Now at that time, in chapter 15, Saul is about 40 or 50 years old. David is a young man. God rejected Saul at that time, back then. This is 20 years, maybe 18, 20 years earlier. And now here in chapter 28, the prophecy that Samuel said to Saul is finally fulfilled. Though he was rejected by God, all the way back in chapter 15, Saul continues to reign during this period of time. This is now, again, about 20 years. He's at least in his late 60s now. The evidence of God's rejection is lived out in Saul's life as he's being turned over to a reprobate mind. This is increasingly apparent through the narrative. Over these last 20, 30 years of his reign, we see his depravity manifested, particularly in the way that he hunted David. But now Saul faces the greatest misery of his life. And he sinks into the deepest darkness of his career as his rebellion, which Samuel said is like the sin of witchcraft, turns into actual witchcraft. God's law is very clear in Deuteronomy 18. Deuteronomy 18, verses 10-12. It says, "...there shall not be found among you anyone who practices divination, or tells fortunes, or interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a medium, or a necromancer, or one who inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord." Now Saul knew this and he upheld the law because he banished the mediums and the necromancers from the land, so he knew this. But now he's fearing the brutal enemy's onslaught and he's not hearing a word from the Lord. So what he does is he hypocritically violates God's commandment and he turns to Satan for answers. His reprobation manifests itself now in full-fledged apostasy as he turns to the dark world of Spiritism. Let me say this, that this biblical prohibition extends to us today. No Christian No Christian should ever find themselves involved in any of these things. Astrology, numerology, divination, Ouija boards, spiritism, tarot cards, horoscopes, psychic readings, or superstition. And if you're involved in any of those things, you need to repent. because they are leading you into darkness. Including you, if you do these things, quote-unquote, just for fun. Oh, I know these things aren't real. We just do it for fun. You're not to play games with darkness. God doesn't warn us about these things because they're silly games. He warns us about them because they lead us into darkness. He warns about them because they are dangerous. And the end of such things is death. Now as the narrative continues, Saul goes and he disguises himself because he knows his own law. So he's violating his own law and as he visits this medium at Endor, interestingly the people knew that she existed. They told him where to go. He disguises himself, he goes by night and he asks her to bring back the prophet Samuel from the dead. The woman fears the law of the land. Look at verse 9. She objects. She says, surely, she doesn't know this is Saul yet. Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why are you laying a trap for my life and bring about my death? But Saul swore to her by the Lord, as the Lord lives, he says, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing. Now, Saul could say that because he was the king. He made the law, and he determines the punishment. So he's saying, don't worry, no punishment's going to come. And he had the authority to say that. But what he was not considering is the punishment that would come from God for her doing this. You see, she should be afraid. She should be punished. Yet he swears by the Lord. As the Lord lives, you will not be punished. How can he say that when God says this is an abomination? And I hope you could see the irony here of Saul swearing an oath by Yahweh even while he seeks help from something that is an abomination to Yahweh. Brethren, we may not be out there seeking mediums. But how often do we do something like this? Maybe not as discernible as going to a fortune teller, but how often do we presume upon the grace of God to cover us when we knowingly do something that God forbids? We continue in some sinful activity, knowing that it's wrong but still doing it. The words that Samuel said to Saul apply to us as well. In our disobedience, rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. So yes, you may not be going to a medium or a fortune teller, but your rebellion is as that. May God forbid that any of us presume upon the grace of God that sin may abound. For in the words of Paul, how shall we who are dead to sin live in it any longer? So the medium, she's temporarily calmed by the fact that she's not in danger, and she calls upon the spirit of Samuel. And when Samuel actually comes, or at least in her vision, Samuel appears, she's shocked. She cries out. She suddenly realizes that she's been set up. And this is King Saul. Somehow she realizes, she recognizes the king. Look at verse 13. I think Saul says, do not be afraid. What do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a god, an Elohim. She's not even sure what it is. It's Elohim, this god coming up out of the earth. He said to her, what is his appearance? And she said, an old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. Whatever it is that she's seeing, she's surprised by it. Now some believe because she's surprised that she was actually a charlatan, and that she was surprised because she had never seen a spirit, a real manifestation of a spirit before. In this case, at least, this was not trickery on her part. She may have faked many before, but now she's scared a spirit comes and shocks her. But what is this spirit? Was it Samuel? Some say it was a demonic spirit imitating Samuel. Others say that God permitted a glorified Samuel to rise for this moment, just like he did with Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration. Whatever is the case, it's clear what God is doing here is answering Saul, giving him what he wanted. Saul wanted to see Samuel and God is permitting something to happen for him to see that. And it demonstrates how far gone Saul is at this point. God gives things to desperately lost people, even things that are against his prescriptive will. This is scary. This is an example of what God says He will do in Ezekiel 14, verse 4. He says this, anyone of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face and yet comes to the prophet, he says, I, the Lord, will answer him according to the multitude of his idols. Now, I've heard people say, you know, I've gone to this medium or this psychic, or I practiced some form of mysticism, and it was really accurate. And they claim that God actually used that. And yes, indeed, God used that. But to what end? And for what end? I ask you, would God violate His own law just to give you the answer that you seek? Or is it you know that you're doing wrong, and God is turning you over to it? He's giving you what you want because you rebelled and would not listen to His prescribed means, that is, His Word. We see this going on in Romans chapter 1, verses 24-32. The rejection of God's truth results in God giving them up. He says, God gave them up to the lusts of their heart, to impurity, to dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. He says, and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not be done. And then he lists those things that he turns people over to, the things that they want. Unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, gossip, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful. Inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. What Paul is describing here is the frightening end of a hardened heart, having heard the truth, willfully resisting the truth time and time and time again. And Saul is the prototype of this. Saul is the prototype of every individual who is ultimately turned over to sin because they have hardened their hearts. Those in the words of Hebrews 10 willfully keep sinning after receiving a knowledge of the truth who can only expect the fire of judgment to come upon them as it comes upon the enemies of God. Friends, if there is ever a text in the Old Testament that illustrates this and that calls you who are resisting Him to repent and believe and do not harden your hearts, it's this text. Do not harden your hearts, for today is the day of salvation. Repent and believe the Gospel. I'm going to come back to verse 15 in a moment, but I want to finish the story with you. In verses 17 to 19, Apparition of Samuel affirms exactly what the living Samuel said years earlier. Look at verse 17. This is this spirit speaking here. The Lord, he says, has done to you 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 and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day." In other words, that prophecy that I gave you 20 years ago is now being fulfilled today. And he goes on to then prophesy exactly what will happen on the very next day. These Philistines were coming and attacking and Saul so feared them, verse 19. He says, moreover, the Lord will give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. Again, in other words, Israel is going to fall in this battle that you so fear Israel is going to fall, and both you and your son Jonathan are going to die on that battlefield tomorrow. Now, if he came in scared, imagine how he went out. He falls to the ground. He's filled with fear. He hasn't eaten. in all day, and this woman graciously offers him a meal. At first he refuses, but then his servants together with the woman urge him to eat, and the words end in verse 24 and 25. Now the woman had a fatted calf in the house, and she quickly killed it, and she took flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread of it, and she put it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. And they rose and went away that night. They have a meal. It's a feast, actually. It's unleavened bread, a fattened calf. It's eaten at night. All of these point to some kind of a counterfeit Passover, almost. They rose and went away that night. Now, it's not merely the author's intention to tell us what time of day, although the time of day is important, especially if this is a false Passover, a false last meal, a false last supper. But there's significance to the fact that it's at night, that Saul came to the meeting by the cover of night and left at night. It's reminiscent to us of another night where there was another Saul-like character who had a meal and then went out at night after that meal. In John 13, verse 30, it says of Judas, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out and it was night. knowing that he was going that night to betray Jesus, his Lord and Master, Judas, went out into the night. It was night. It's significant there. And it's significant here in this text that Saul came to and went from the medium at Endor at night. The divine author of Scripture is telling us more than just the time that this is occurring. He's placing these events at night because they are among the darkest in the history of the world. There will be only one night that's darker. Saul, think about it. This young stud, this tall man with such potential, comes to Israel and they rejoice. This is the people's choice. And now he's groveling on the floor before a witch. Judas, this young professional, follows Jesus for three years, now is going to betray him with a kiss. Both men, remorseful, but to whom repentance could not be found. Both men, that night committing spiritual suicide in the darkness of night. And both men, in the matter of a day, will take their own lives. Tragic. How tragic. I think the verse, though, that captures the hopelessness of darkness that Saul is going into, more than any other text, is in verse 15. In verse 15, Saul's words to this ghost of Samuel are among the most miserable words in all of Scripture that anyone could say. Look at verse 15. He tells Samuel, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me." And here's the words, the dark words. And God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Saul is living this brutal reality of his decisions. He has discovered to his detriment that if one despises the Word of God, if one despises or discounts or refuses to listen to God's Word, that God will take that Word away from them. If one persistently refuses to obey God's Word, then they will endure His silence forever. And there is no more hopeless place to be in than to be, in this situation, abandoned by God. Think about it. If the primary judgment of hell is the absence of the presence of God, then, quite literally, this is hell on earth. And this is the endpoint of sin, by the way. We know it, right? In Romans, the wages of sin is death. We know the soul that sins will die, and we understand that. We understand that generally. We understand that spiritually. We understand generally death came into the world because of sin, and we understand, we get that. We get the spiritual implication. The soul that fails to repent and trust Christ will die, both physically, go into the grave, and then spiritually in hell for eternity. We all understand that. We know that's true. But what we often miss is how sin kills even now. Last Sunday, our brother Lewis warned of the nature of sin, the pervasive nature of sin, and he illustrated for us, in the northern kingdom of Israel, how sin worked to destroy the people. And he warned that sin builds, it grows, and it kills. And he showed us how the sin that built up its walls to protect itself, that Elijah separated and removed from Israel, now made repentance in Israel difficult. How could the people repent without the Prophet calling them to repent? The Prophet is gone. So it's sin building walls, and finally that endgame of sin is to make repentance impossible. See, the endgame of sin is not just physical death. Yes, you go in the grave, as awful as that is. And it's not just spiritual judgment in hell, as dreadful as that is. It is that judgment comes into the world in this life. John 3.19, this is the judgment. Light came into the world, but the people loved darkness rather than light because their works were evil. We fail to see how the judgment of death begins in this life, when God turns someone over to their sin. And that sin builds and grows and kills, physically yes, eternally yes, but don't be fooled, it kills today. And this is illustrated in Saul's descent into darkness. His death was not on the battlefield in chapter 31. His death is here, in this chapter. And we look at David and we see his sin, and his sin is equally bad in the midst of this. He's going around with this deception, but salt is far worse. We're going to see next time how God's going to arrange the circumstances to get David out of this conundrum he got himself into. God is going to deal with David with grace, so he doesn't have to break his word to Achish, and he doesn't have to fight his own people. But Saul's fate is going to be quite different. He will die physically, and after that, eternally. But at this moment, Now in chapter 28, he is abandoned by God. And Saul was as good as dead even while he lives. It's terrible, hopeless misery to be abandoned by God, to no longer be able to hear him. how tragic it is when we think about those around us, our loved ones, our co-workers, our family, who love darkness so much that they just gleefully trek through life, thinking that all is well until the day when their soul will be required of them, and they will stand before God. You see why it is so important that you repent today, that you believe today, that you follow Jesus now, He will graciously receive all who come to Him in faith. Don't presume upon grace. Don't presume that you could repent later. The more that you love darkness now, the deeper pit you dig for yourself. And the more difficult it is for you to repent and come out of it. Don't forget the story of Esau. Remember? He sought repentance with tears, but it was not granted him. Spurgeon wrote of a man who was on his deathbed who called him. He wrote this, he said, he had, when in health, wickedly refused Christ. Yet in his death agony, he had superstitiously sent for me. Too late, he sighed for the ministry of reconciliation and sought to enter into a closed door, but he was not able. There was no space left then for repentance, for he had wasted the opportunity that God had long granted him. Don't let that be you. Repent while it is today. Do not harden your heart. I hope you see why it was necessary to interrupt our regular broadcast with this important news. We'll come back to David next time. I'm not going to get into chapter 29 today. David's trouble is not light by any means, but Saul's is infinitely worse. May you deal with God. May you go before him and deal with him. May it serve as a reminder, too, for us who are in Christ, that as we look at our circumstances, as David's circumstances were so bad, when we look at our circumstances, how much better off we are in Christ than those who are lost. No matter how bad your circumstances are in this life, in Christ you are infinitely better off than the most prosperous, healthy, happy person in the world. as they enjoy their prosperity, completely unaware that they're under judgment. Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in this life, be sure, that afflictions and trials and darkness will press in on us, just as it is with Saul. And sometimes, if we're honest, that pain and suffering is going to seem endless. And God is even going to seem distant at times. May you not, like Saul, in your desperation, give in to the temptation to turn anywhere but God. Two notes of hope in this very dark chapter that I want to close with. And I'm going to draw both from two very dark portions of Scripture. First, turn to Psalm 88. Psalm 88, said to be the darkest of all Psalms. The reason is because in many of the psalms they start out dark but then the psalmist prays and they end, he's delivered. But here, the terrible plight of the psalmist is that he takes his complaint to God and he ends at the end of the psalm unrelieved of his suffering. He's full of troubles. His life draws near death in verse 3. Look at verse 4. I am counted among those who go down to the pit. I am a man who has no strength, like one who's set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand. He's crying out to God in his pain and his suffering. He's abandoned by his friends. And his experience goes unrelieved even by the end of the psalm. Look down at verse 14. Oh Lord, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me? Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors. I am helpless. Your wrath has swept over me. Your dreadful assaults destroy me. You surrounded me like a flood all day long. They close in on me together. You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me. My companion, I have become darkness." In all of his anguish and pain and suffering, he calls upon God and it seems like even God is against him. His pain and his suffering go unrelieved. But I'll tell you, I am so glad that Psalm 88 is in the Bible. I mean, if ever there was a single text of scripture to combat that wicked doctrine of the prosperity gospel, it's this one. He leaves unrelieved. So how does Psalm 88 offer any hope, Pastor? You said this is hopeful. Where is the hope for deliverance here from darkness? Well, a few ways. We'll look at verse 1. The psalmist addresses God as the God of my salvation. See, he knows that he is saved. His hope is in God alone. He repeats that in verse 13. But I, O Lord, cry to you In the morning, my prayer comes to you." See, he's not turned away from the Lord. In the psalm's final verses, there's no happy ending to the trial, but he's still praying to God. Unlike Saul, who committed spiritual suicide by turning to Satan, the psalmist sticks with God even in the midst of the darkest time of his life. Though he feels on the verge of death, he still sees God's hand working. He sees God's hand behind the suffering. Look at verses six through eight. He says, you, he's talking to God here. You have put me in the depths of the pit and the regions dark and deep. Your wrath lies heavy on me and you overwhelm me with all your waves. You have caused my companions to shun me. You have made me a horror to them. So he sees even in the midst of his suffering that God is orchestrating this suffering which brings meaning to his suffering. See, this is not just some random act of an unmerciful universe. This is not even a merciless companion that's turned away from him. This is a sovereign God who has a divine purpose even for suffering. And then lastly, look at his argument in verses 10 to 12. Basically, he says, Lord, I want to praise you, but I can't if I'm dead. Look at verse 10 and 11. He says, do the departed rise up and praise you? Verse 11, is your steadfast love declared in the grave? See, there remains in him, despite the deep darkness that he's experiencing here, a desire to praise God. Saul did not have this. The psalmist does. As dark as Psalm 88 is, realize it's a song of worship. Israel used this song to worship God. This is worship. This shows you that whatever situation you find yourself in, as dark as it might be, God's people can always sing. Our songs may yearn for the life to come. We may sing yearning for the glorious day when all tears are wiped away, when we don't have any pain and suffering. The one who presently stores our tears in his bottle wipes away everyone for all eternity. That may be our song. Our song may be in a minor key. But brethren, we can still sing. And we can pray as a people who hope against hope. Finally, brethren, listen, as difficult as our suffering might be on earth, and as unrelieved as you might feel in your suffering, maybe you hope that the pain that you're experiencing would have gone away by now. Maybe you feel that your grief is clinging to you to this day. As difficult as it is, realize two things. One, it's never what we deserve. We deserve far worse. And number two, it's never close to the darkness that Christ suffered. When he hung from the cross, the apostle Matthew records in chapter 27, Matthew 27, verses 45 and 46, he writes this, now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, that is, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? See, the good news for you is that like Saul, you might feel forsaken by God. You might feel that God is silent. He's not answering your prayer. He's not delivering you from the trouble that you're in. But unlike Saul, you're still trusting Him. You're not going over to the dark side. You're not seeking after Satan for an answer. The good news for you is this, that the Son of God, your Lord Jesus Christ, endured in His body on the cross all of the darkness of God's absence in your place. And He did this for you. So that you do not need, like Saul, to go into darkness. He bore your hell. Jesus was abandoned by God so that you would not be. He suffered God-forsakenness for every time you feel forsaken by God. And brethren, like Saul did, Jesus went away that night. He went away into a tomb of darkness. But unlike Saul, who met eternal darkness the next day, Jesus rose from the dead. So that we who believe in Him need not go like Saul into darkness. So that the people of God, we as the people of God who walked in darkness can now live in the light of life. And brethren, as we come to this Christmas season and we see all the lights, may all the lights just be a reminder to you in this season of light of the light of the world who has come. And for you who this season is going to be particularly difficult, extra hard because of the reality of this dark world that we live in. You who might be affected deeply by circumstances that were beyond your control, brought on by sin, don't let that darkness keep you from singing, even if it be in a minor key. Don't let the darkness keep you from singing of the light who has come into our darkness to grant us the light of life. Amen.