Why did God allow witchcraft to seem real by allowing Samuel to rise in 1 Samuel 28?
No doubt sorcery and witchcraft were practised in those days and most of them were fake with the intention to deceive people. But in this case in God allowing Samuel to really get called up by the Witch of Endor, would it not have empowered deception?
1 Samuel 1:1 - 28
NIV - 1 There was a certain man from Ramathaim, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Elkanah son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives; one was called Hannah and the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none.
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Asked April 23 2020
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Philip Wong
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Tim Maas
Multiple commentaries on the cited passage that I have read have suggested that the being called up by the medium at Endor was, in fact, not Samuel. Instead, the being was a demonic spirit. Saul's attempt to summon Samuel, as well as Samuel's appearance, would have violated all the prohibitions (such as in Leviticus 19:31 and Leviticus 20:27) commanded by God against any attempts to communicate with spirits, as well as Saul's own efforts as king to remove all mediums from the land (1 Samuel 28:3). Why would God have "rewarded" Saul by allowing the spirit of Samuel to speak to him through a medium when all of the "authorized" means of determining His will (such as the Urim and Thummim or dreams) had not provided it? In addition, if the being who appeared to Saul had actually been Samuel, Samuel would have been acting in contravention of those previous refusals on the part of God to reveal His will to Saul, which would have been completely inconsistent with Samuel's character and obedience to God during his earthly life.
Aurel Gheorghe
In addition to Tim’s excellent response, I would add three important facts to note in the Witch of Endor story: 1. God exposes all spiritualism as the work of demonic forces (Deut 18:10-15, Isaiah 47:13-14). 2. Saul had already rejected prophet Samuel`s counsel. He had inquired of God and received no answer (1 Samuel 28:6) thus Saul sought out the Witch of Endor because he received no answer from the Lord. What Saul saw was not Samuel. The Bible say that the witch saw “gods ascending out of the earth” (1 Samuel 28:13 KJV) and Saul “perceived” he saw Samuel (1 Samuel 28:14). Saul asks the medium, “What is his appearance?” suggesting that he did not see Samuel himself. Moreover, the apparition taunted Saul by telling him that his crown would go to his rival. This message did not require divine visionary powers as David had already been anointed king. Since the “dead know not anything” (Ecclesiastes 9:5), Satan masquerades as the form of dead loved ones imitating both their forms and voices (Rev 16:14). 3. The result of Saul’s visit to the Witch of Endor was not repentance, confession of sin, and life but despair, discouragement, and death (1 Samuel 28:16, 20-21; 31:3-4, 9-10). Deceived by Satan, Saul surrendered to demons who tormented him throughout his life, and by his actions had severed his connection with God.
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