Daily Devotional for Tuesday, August 15

Saul Visits a Medium

“And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee,” 1 Samuel 28:8.

Sometimes we see ads on television for psychics that claim they can tell us what will happen in the future, give us our lucky numbers, or help us make better decisions based on their abilities. You may have seen signs that offer fortune telling and may think that it is all in fun, but there are many that fall prey to such people and powers. These people are nothing more than ones with an ability to read people and play off their wants, desires, and signals that people unwittingly give to them. Seeking out someone who claims to have these powers is an ignorant attempt to gain some knowledge or help from some source other than God. When Saul could not get an answer from God or any other prophet (1 Samuel 28:6), he turned to such a person in desperation.

While to some it may seem harmless to seek the advice from someone who asserts that they have these psychic abilities, God, however, refers to people that do these things as an abomination to Him (Deuteronomy 18:9-12). This medium that Saul asks to bring up Samuel appears to be surprised herself when she actually sees someone (1 Samuel 28:12). It appears that God allowed Samuel to speak to them, but Saul only received the message that he had already known, that God was no longer with him, and he would lose the kingdom (1 Samuel 28:16-19). This proved that we do not need a medium to tell us what God has already told us.

JUST A THOUGHT: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world,” (1 John 4:1).

Tim Chambers