A Deafening Silence and a Hopeless Situation

So, can I just say before we get started that this is likely to be the best sermon that you will have heard on this passage.

Because it seems that this is not a passage that is often preached on, and I suspect that not many of you have heard this passage preached on.

But it is the word of the Lord, and we expect to hear from him.

So let me just pray.

Heavenly Father, thank you that you are good.

Thank you for your word.

Thank you that it is alive and all useful for teaching.

Lord, speak to us and help us to really hear what you have to say.

I ask that anything that is just of me will quickly be forgotten, and that you will be glorified here in this place tonight.

So I've titled this A Deafening Silence and a Hopeless Situation.

Okay, maybe not a very inspiring title, but let me reassure you that there is hope.

There is hope at the end, at least.

So, a deafening silence then.

Verses 3 to 14.

Now, silence generally means that there is no communication.

If you are leading a discussion group, as I often do with young people, and you ask a question and you get no answer, there is just silence.

It can be really hard to work out what is going on.

It can be really difficult.

You know, has nobody understood what you've just asked?

Has nobody understood what you've been talking about?

Is everyone just shy or bored?

You know, who knows what's going on?

It can be really tricky when there's silence.

On the other hand, silence can say a lot.

Like for parents whose kids have gone silent, there's a good chance that they're up to something and you need to go investigate what they are up to.

Or in a noisy classroom, if pupils realize that their teacher is silently standing, waiting at the front of the class,

they should know that it's time to be quiet.

And if they don't watch out, there could be trouble.

Silence can speak volumes, and a deafening silence says a lot.

So let's look at this deafening silence that we see in Samuel chapter 28.

If you can have the passage open, that will be helpful as we go through the verses.

There will be some other Bible verses, but I'll put those up on the screen.

So right at the start of our passage, we are given two important facts to understand the rest of the chapter.

One, Samuel is dead and buried.

And two, Saul has expelled the mediums.

Okay, those who believe they can talk to the dead.

He's expelled them from the land.

And it quickly becomes apparent why these details are so relevant.

Next, we see that the Philistines, shown in red here, the enemies of God's people have assembled, ready to battle Saul and the Israelites.

Saul has gathered his army, shown in green here.

And as he looks at the enemy army, he's filled with terror.

He does exactly what he should do and asks God what he should do.

But God is silent.

He doesn't answer through dreams or through the Urim, which was some kind of priestly device to find God's will.

And he doesn't answer through prophets.

Saul is stuck.

What can he do in this situation?

He's tried the normal ways of getting answers from God to no avail.

He feels the need for guidance.

Somehow, he's got to find out what to do.

It's not that he really wanted God.

No, he just wanted guidance, the guidance of God, not God himself.

And it's tempting to want God's stuff.

To want that stuff without really wanting God.

Without really wanting him.

I find that even when writing a sermon,

instead of wanting to take the time to really wrestle with God's word and learn from it,

and have God change me and help me to love him more,

it's tempting to just want God to make it a bit easier.

To just give me the sermon.

To just simply give me the words to say.

So that I have a good sermon,

and I don't look like an idiot standing here,

not knowing what to say.

But God wants us to desire him.

Not just what he can give.

Saul just wants to know what to do.

How to get out of trouble.

And God won't give him the answer.

What can he do in this desperate situation?

Well, as far as Saul is concerned,

desperate times call for desperate measures.

Even though Saul had followed God's law,

and gotten rid of the mediums from his kingdom,

he decides he must now consult a medium to get advice.

So he tells the servants to find a woman who is a medium,

so he can inquire of her.

Somehow, the rules don't apply to him.

And here we see two things.

One, we see that bad rulers can do good things.

Saul did get rid of the mediums.

Our own governments can be similar.

Although they may be bad,

they can still do some good things.

Likewise, doing something good

doesn't necessarily make a government or ruler good.

And then secondly,

we see the utter hypocrisy of Saul.

Saul did not do it.

To have tried to get everyone else to stop doing something,

and then to go and do it himself.

It's like the classic bad politician.

Or even worse,

the hypocritical,

do as I say,

not as I do,

preacher.

It again shows Saul up

for the kind of leader he is.

Now,

even though Saul had enacted God's law on mediums,

his servants

seemed to quite easily

be able to tell Saul

of one such woman

not too far away

in Endor.

So,

he decides to go,

completely forgetting

what God says

in Leviticus

Leviticus 20:6

chapter 20,

verse 6.

And unfortunately,

that has gone off the screen.

But it says,

if a person turns to mediums

and necromancers

whoring after them,

I will set my face

against that person

and will cut him off

from among the people.

In his desperation

to have,

sorry,

in his desperation

to save himself,

Saul is helping to put

the final nail

in the coffin

of his kingship.

Saul knows

that as king

he can't be seen

going to a medium,

so he disguises himself

and he goes out

at night

with just two

of his servants.

He also

needed to hide himself

from the Philistines

whose camp

at Shunem

he had to skirt around

to get to Endor

where the medium was.

So Saul gets there

and he asks the medium

to consult a spirit

but she's concerned

that this is a trap.

She'll be found out

and punished.

Now notice the irony

of Saul's response.

He swears in God's name.

As surely as Yahweh lives,

you will not be punished

for this.

He uses God's name

to promise her

she will not be punished

for something God

has decreed

must be punished.

Then we get to the question

of who

she should bring up

from the dead.

Here we see the reason

that Saul

wanted to go to a medium.

Saul wants Samuel.

If only he could speak

to Samuel.

Samuel would tell him

what to do.

Samuel would be able

to get God's guidance

for him.

As far as Saul

is concerned,

this is his only hope.

Now,

no details

are given

of what exactly

the medium does

and for good reason.

There are two main problems

we tend to have

when thinking about

the occult.

Either

we write it off

as just

silly nonsense

or we become

far too

interested in it.

And if the details

were given,

no doubt

many would try

to reenact

the practice

themselves.

And it reminds me

of a time

in secondary school,

early secondary school,

and for some reason

my form class

at lunchtime

decided to get involved

in some of this stuff.

they decided

to play

with a Ouija board

of their own making.

And I can remember

I just laughed it off

as silly nonsense.

And it was just

silly nonsense.

But yet,

two of the girls

that were involved

afterwards

became really paranoid.

and for a few weeks

they really had

a hard time.

You know,

Satan had used

that situation

to really

affect them

and to

impose on them

and ruin their life

for just a few weeks.

Thankfully,

it was short-lived.

But it just shows us

that we

shouldn't take

these kind of things

lightly.

Then in verse 12

we see

that the woman

sees Samuel

and cries out

at the top of her voice

and said to Saul,

Why have you deceived me?

You are Saul.

Now these verses

throw up all sorts

of questions.

Is this really Samuel?

Did this woman

really know

how to speak

to the dead?

Why is she so scared?

Well,

last question first.

Why is she scared?

Well,

I believe there are

two main options.

Option one,

she is just a scammer,

a trickster,

and never expected

to really see

a ghostly figure.

So when she actually

sees one,

it scares her.

Or,

option two,

which I would

tend towards,

is that she did

believe

she could speak

to the dead,

but on seeing

Samuel

and realizing

who he was,

she also realized

who her client was.

Her client was Saul.

And that is why

she cried out saying,

Why have you deceived me?

You are Saul.

She was scared

that she had been

found out.

and she was going

to be in big

trouble.

So then,

do I believe

that this woman

could really speak

to the dead?

No,

I don't.

I could be wrong,

but I don't see

any reason

to believe

that anyone

but God

can bridge

the chasm

between the living

and the dead.

it's my belief

that mediums

that truly believe

they are contacting

the dead

are more than likely

being deceived

by evil spirits.

So,

was this really

Samuel?

I think so.

Some would argue

that it is instead

an evil spirit

or demon,

but given the message

that is conveyed

and the way

he is described,

I think it is

much more likely

that it really

is Samuel.

But would God

really use

an evil situation

like this

to speak?

I think so.

Just like

when the chief priests

were plotting

to kill Jesus

and Caiaphas,

who was the high priest

that year,

said,

you know nothing

at all.

You do not realize

that it is better

for you

that one man

die for the people

than that the

whole nation

perish.

He did not say

this on his own,

but as high priest

that year,

he prophesied

that Jesus

would die

for the Jewish

nation.

Now,

it is hard

to imagine

what Saul

was thinking here.

How is anything

good

going to come

from this?

But such

is Saul's

state of mind,

that he sees

speaking to Samuel

as his only hope.

God's silence

has driven him

to despair.

And there will be

times in our lives

when God

will seem

silent.

And we will be

in good company,

like with Job

and King David.

in Job

Job 30:20

chapter 30

verse 20

it says this,

I cry out

to you

for help

and you do

not answer

me.

I stand

and you

only look

at me.

Job

feels

God's

silence.

And then

King David,

my God,

my God,

why have

you forsaken

me?

Why are you

so far

from saving

me,

from the words

of my groaning?

Oh my God,

I cry by day

but you do

not answer

and by night

but I find

no rest.

This is what

King David

writes in

Psalm 22.

So I say

don't despair

if God

seems silent

to you.

You are

in good company

and if we

now look

at the

hopeless

situation

that Saul

is in,

let me

reassure

you

that there

is

hope.

So

a hopeless

situation

verses 15

to 25.

So

we come

to Samuel

and verse

15

and this

is what

he says.

Why

have you

disturbed

me

by bringing

me up?

Now I

can't help

but think

that he

is not

best

pleased.

Saul

explains

his

situation.

He

explains

that God

has departed

from him

and no

longer

answers

and he

wants

Samuel

to tell

him what

to do.

Samuel

in turn

explains

that in

reality

God's

silence

is speaking

loud

and clear.

God

had already

spoken

and

this

is God

fulfilling

that prophecy

spoken

through

Samuel

in chapter

15.

18.

He

adds

that the

next day

Saul

and his

sons

would be

dead

and that

the

Philistines

will

defeat

Israel's

army.

If

Saul

was in

despair

before

he

must

now

be in

complete

and

utter

despair.

So

much for

trying to

get

guidance

through

illegitimate

means.

Saul

collapses

in

hopelessness

having

not

eaten

and

refuses

to

eat

but

is

eventually

persuaded

by the

woman

and his

two

men

to

eat

something.

They

succeed

in

making

Saul

a little

more

comfortable

as he

faces

complete

disaster.

this

food

has

been

described

as a

meal

fit

for

a

king

eaten

by a

man

not

fit

to

be

king.

This

one

hope

that

Saul

had

this

hope

that

to

speak

to

Samuel

would

fix

things

has

really

blown

up

in

his

face.

This

is

now

a

truly

hopeless

situation.

It

is

clear

for

all

to

see.

The

hopelessness

has

been

laid

bare.

Now

let me

just

say

there

are

two

kinds

of

hopeless

situation.

There

are

the

truly

hopeless

situations

like

Saul's

and

there

are

situations

that

merely

seem

to

be

hopeless.

Often

though

the

problem

is

that

one

appears

to be

the

other

and

vice

versa.

Often

people

are

lured

into

a

false

sense

of

security

feeling

that

everything

is fine

and

dandy.

And

Jesus

gave

an

example

in

the

parable

of

the

foolish

rich

farmer.

in

Luke

Luke 12 · chapter mention

chapter

12

and

this

is

what

he

said

and

he

told

them

this

parable

the

ground

of a

certain

rich

man

yielded

an

abundant

harvest.

He

thought

to

himself

what

shall

I

do?

I

have

no

place

to

store

my

crops.

Then

he

said

this

is

what

I'll

do

I'll

tear

down

my

barns

and

build

bigger

ones

and

there

I

will

store

my

surplus

grain

and

I'll

say

to

myself

you

have

plenty

of

grain

laid

up

for

many

years

take

life

easy

eat

drink

and

be

merry

but

God

said

to

him

you

fool

this

very

night

your

life

will

be

demanded

from

you

then

who

will

get

what

you

have

prepared

for

yourself

he

thought

he

had

it

all

but

without

God

his

situation

was

truly

hopeless

as

Jesus

said

in

Mark

Mark 8:36

chapter

8

verse

36

what

good

is

it

for

someone

to

gain

the

whole

world

yet

forfeit

his

soul

so

those

are

situations

that

are

truly

hopeless

that

appear

like

they

are

not

hopeless

but

on

the

other

hand

we

have

what

appear

to be

hopeless

situations

that

are

actually

far

from

it

in

Acts

Acts 7 · chapter mention

chapter

7

we

see

Stephen

preaching

to the

members

of the

Sanhedrin

after

being

falsely

accused

of

speaking

blasphemous

words

against

Moses

and

against

God

okay

and this

is what

it says

in

Acts

Acts 7:30

chapter

7

verse

30

sorry

verse

54

when

the

members

of the

Sanhedrin

heard

this

they

were

furious

and gnashed

their teeth

at him

but

Stephen

full of

the Holy

Spirit

looked up

to heaven

and saw

the glory

of God

and Jesus

standing at the

right hand

of God

look

he said

I see

heaven

open

and the

Son of

Man

standing

at the

right

hand

of

God

at this

they

covered

their

ears

and

yelling

at the

top

of

their

voices

they

all

rushed

at him

dragged

him

out

of

the

city

and

began

to

stone

him

meanwhile

the

witnesses

laid

their

coats

at the

feet

of a

young

man

named

Saul

a

different

Saul

while

they

were

stoning

him

Stephen

prayed

Lord

Jesus

receive

my

spirit

then he

fell

on his

knees

and cried

out

Lord

do not

hold

this

sin

against

them

when

he

had

said

this

he

fell

asleep

humanly

speaking

Stephen's

situation

was hopeless

he was

about to

be stoned

to death

for simply

speaking

the truth

there was

no possibility

of escape

but we

don't see

someone filled

with fear

and hopelessness

like Saul

instead

we see

Stephen

is filled

with

forgiveness

and hope

this is

the difference

God

makes

this is

the difference

Jesus

makes

and there

are Christians

in these

times today

who face

persecution

and death

in a similar

way to

Stephen

Jesus

is still

making

that

difference

so as we

look at

Saul

at the

very end

of our

passage

we see

a man

forsaken

by God

going out

into the

dark

of the

night

I hope

we can

see

how easily

this could

be us

without

Jesus

and I

wonder

what kind

of situation

you are

in

if God

seems

silent

or you

feel

forsaken

let me

point you

to Jesus

God

has

spoken

through

his word

and through

sending

Jesus

those

same

words

we

saw

King

David

using

earlier

Jesus

cried

out

my

God

my

God

why

have

you

forsaken

me

if

we are

trusting

in

Jesus

we will

never

be

forsaken

because

he

was

let me

just

finish

with some

of the

words

of the

song

we'll

be

singing

next

I'm

forgiven

because

he

was

forsaken

I'm

accepted

he

was

condemned

I'm

alive

and well

his

spirit

is

within

me

because

he

died

and

rose

again

let

me

just

pray

Lord

I

thank

you

for

your

word

Lord

I

thank

you

for

Jesus

I

thank

you

that

he

came

he

died

and

he

rose

again

Lord

I

thank

you

that

he

was

willing

to

be

forsaken

so

that

we

don't

have

to

be

and

Lord

I

thank

you

that

we

can

put

our

trust

in

Jesus

and

we

can

know

that

we

will

never

be

forsaken

and

Lord

I

pray

that

that

would

be

true

of

every

one

of

us

here

tonight

Lord

help

us

to

know

Jesus

help

us

to

know

your

word

alive

in

our

lives

we

pray

this

in

Jesus

precious

name

Amen