The clearest application from 1 Samuel 28 concerns the matter of listening to and obeying the LORD. Where he has spoken, we must submit to what he has said.
When it comes to the spiritual world, we are not to seek out or engage in any attempts to contact the dead. This is not because there is no power in such activities, but because they are forbidden. The secret things belong to the LORD, and we must be content with what he has revealed. We do not need special words from our ancestors or loved ones who have already passed away.
Hopefully, it should be obvious to Christians that we must stay away from the occult and so ouija boards and seances should not be a major temptation. But there are other places where we tend to go to look for blessing or approval when we don’t like what the Bible says. Looking for advice is one way we do this. While looking for advice is generally a good thing to do, it can also become a way of sidestepping Scripture. When the Bible is clear on a particular topic, and you want a different word, all you have to do is ask enough people and eventually you’ll find someone who agrees with you. Another thing we do is to affirm God’s truth but still deny it’s applicability to our own life. We tend to think that our situation and our times are exceptional. We think to ourselves: I can’t serve God because I suffer from depression. I can’t commit to worship because I’m just too busy. I can’t change my lifestyle because it is too difficult and will upset too many people.
Because of our sinful natures, we will always find it difficult to obey the voice of God. We will always be tempted like Saul to look for another word—a word of blessing that allows us to do what we want. But this is not the way of our King and this is not the path to which he calls us. Being wholly righteous and good, Jesus walked in God’s ways and in speaking to us this morning, he once again shows us a mercy we don’t deserve: the mercy of hearing God’s Word. The mercy that comes through the proclamation of the Gospel. As those who belong to him, let us respond to that proclamation with faith and obedience. Let us commit ourselves once again to works of service, confident that our LORD knows what is best for us, and confident that his Word is both true and for our good. We can be certain that his Word is sufficient to guide us in this life and that God will always do what he says.
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land.