And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not. The silence covered all the appointed means of divine guidance: dreams, the Urim, and prophets. This happened before the battle as the Philistine forces gathered, leaving Saul feeling alone and defenseless, and he was afraid.
The reason was that Saul by stubborn rebellion had cut himself off from God, separating himself through persistent, unrepented wickedness and forsaking God. He had rejected the guidance God had provided by rejecting Samuel's counsel, exiling and driving David away, and killing the Lord's priests. He approached God while burdened with guilt after massacring the Lord's priests and other righteous people.
He did not come humbly in repentance seeking pardon and reconciliation, but sought only escape from his enemies and then sought help elsewhere from a woman who served Satan. God does not turn away a person who seeks Him sincerely and humbly, but Saul's return required penitence and contrition. Saul's later consultation with the woman of Endor was not an inquiry of the Lord, for God did not bypass the appointed means to deliver a message through her.
God did not make Samuel appear, Saul himself saw nothing, and Samuel remained at rest in the grave, so the consultation did not bring Samuel back from the dead. God does not give Satan power to resurrect the dead, and Satan cannot resurrect the dead, but his angels can impersonate the dead. The spirit appearing as Samuel was such a deception, formed from Satan's knowledge of Samuel, that accurately foretold and announced Saul's fate.
When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not. The silence covered all the appointed means of divine guidance: dreams, the Urim, and prophets. This happened before the battle as the Philistine forces gathered, leaving Saul feeling alone and defenseless, and he was afraid.
The reason was that Saul by stubborn rebellion had cut himself off from God, separating himself through persistent, unrepented wickedness and forsaking God. He had rejected the guidance God had provided by rejecting Samuel's counsel, exiling and driving David away, and killing the Lord's priests. He approached God while burdened with guilt after massacring the Lord's priests and other righteous people.
He did not come humbly in repentance seeking pardon and reconciliation, but sought only escape from his enemies and then sought help elsewhere from a woman who served Satan. God does not turn away a person who seeks Him sincerely and humbly, but Saul's return required penitence and contrition. Saul's later consultation with the woman of Endor was not an inquiry of the Lord, for God did not bypass the appointed means to deliver a message through her.
God did not make Samuel appear, Saul himself saw nothing, and Samuel remained at rest in the grave, so the consultation did not bring Samuel back from the dead. God does not give Satan power to resurrect the dead, and Satan cannot resurrect the dead, but his angels can impersonate the dead. The spirit appearing as Samuel was such a deception, formed from Satan's knowledge of Samuel, that accurately foretold and announced Saul's fate.