Looking for help in all the wrong Places

Read 1 Samuel 28.

The Philistines prepared for war against Israel.  But this time Samuel, the High Priest and spiritual leader of the nation had died.  Threatened and without his spiritual mentor, Saul panicked.  He prayed but God did not answer him.  With a broken relationship with the LORD, Saul sought out a medium to tell his future.

This was a satanic and cheap substitute for a personal relationship with the living God of heaven.  There is no end to these man-made pursuits such as horoscopes, positive self-talk, star and planet calculations, pyramidology, crystals, crystal balls, séances, fortune tellers, Ouija boards, etc.  Each, to one extent or the other, worships the creation rather than the Creator Himself.  This is not a game or an amusing diversion.  In verse 9, the practice resulted in the death penalty in order to rid the nation of such devil-inspired worship that pulled people away from the truth.

Saul knew it was wrong.  So, he disguised himself.  In one of the most unique miracles in the Bible, Samuel appeared.  This was not a validation of the witch.  Indeed, she was shocked that it worked.  Her method had been to dupe her clients with a made up storyline.  But here was Samuel and he spoke. 

Samuel reminded Saul of his rebellion against God that resulted in his alienation.  He reminded Saul that David would be king.  Then, he announced that Saul and his sons would die in the battle to come.

Two truths for us today:

1. Unconfessed sin alienates us from God and hinders our prayers.  Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart the LORD will not hear me."

2. God loves for us to come to him in our time of need and cast our dependence upon Him alone.  Psalm 34:18 "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.