Read: 1 Samuel 28:3-18
The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. (v. 17)
Who do you go to when you need some wisdom or direction? Moms and dads naturally fit the bill—especially after the teenage years. Grandparents, of course, provide this. Many of us have a friend who is patient with messy lives, has a light touch, and enough life experience to offer meaningful wisdom. I can also think of at least two TV programs that include wise neighbors who share helpful words over the fence.
After Samuel’s death, Saul was desperate for wise counsel and did the unthinkable, the unjustifiable—he visited a medium. Half-crazed by anxiety and fear, Saul seemed unconcerned with the rules prohibiting involvement in seances and sought out a woman believed to be able to call up Samuel from the dead. Regardless of whatever actually happened, Saul believed he communicated with Samuel, and came away with the same vivid message Samuel gave him in 1 Samuel 15:28: “The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.”
Truth has a way of ringing loud and clear in our lives. We cannot hide from it. Saul certainly didn’t want to hear or believe these words, but in his distress the hard truth from his wise counselor rang loud and clear. When God’s Word rings true in our lives—and let’s hope it is not nearly this hard to bear—let us hear it and respond at the first opportunity.
As you pray, seek to hear God’s truth well, the first time.
About the Author
Katy Sundararajan is a specialized minister in the Reformed Church in America. She has garnered her pastoral perspectives from posts as a college chaplain, a missionary, an international student advisor, and a higher education and leadership ministries program coordinator.
