Blackout of the Believer's Soul

Saul had already demonstrated his tendency to second-guess God and to disobey God’s direct orders, so God had decided to replace Saul as Israel’s king. David’s anointing took place in I Samuel 16.

And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. I Samuel 15:28

In I Samuel chapters 17-18 we see the development of Saul’s and David’s relationship. David was still quite young, and Saul’s reversionism had not yet reached saturation. David began the grooming process for kingship by becoming Israel’s hero and a close family friend to Saul. As Saul descended into self-induced insanity, David was a comfort to him, at first. That was before Saul became jealous of David’s popularity with the people.

Saul gave his daughter to David as wife, not out of love for David, but because of Saul’s paranoia. He hoped his daughter Michal would become David’s undoing, and he actually set David up for a bloody conflict with the Philistines, which David aced, adding to Saul’s fear and frustration. His intention was that David would be killed.

While David continued to prove himself a hero with integrity and humility before God, and deep respect for God’s anointed (King Saul), Saul spiraled deeper into reversionism, characterized by his insane jealousy of David and general paranoia. Saul was a lame-duck king, and David’s enemy. David spent several years in hiding from Saul’s murderous intentions, though he maintained respect for Saul’s position as king.

Principle: God had promised David the throne, but God had not yet removed Saul. David would not presume to overthrow the sitting king. History would take its course. God was in control. David could wait.

Saul was a mentally disturbed, emotional mess when Samuel died, too proud to confess his sin and renew his fellowship with God and too afraid to move on without divine help. He was bitter, angry and incapable of making a decision. God doesn’t communicate with reversionists (carnal believers), so Saul came up with a plan to seek demonic help. Reversionists are always irrational in their thinking. Powerful reversionists have others under their control. Saul had banned the soothsayers from the land, in accordance with God's law. Now, he decided he was in need of one. We see this in modern society, when Christians abandon the consistent intake and application of Bible Doctrine, but will look for guidance in horoscopes or visit mediums (fortune tellers) for advice. Such "guidance" is always a sham, and leads to disaster. 

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. The Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, he Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”

So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.” The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”  Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.” I Samuel 28:3-12

You see, she didn’t expect to really PRODUCE Samuel. It was supposed to be a demon disguised as Samuel, to appease the fool who came to her for this séance. People in her business survive by trickery, and God is not in the habit of bringing back those who have died, just to reassure a fear-crazed lunatic. This case was different. God had an important message for Saul, and this was one way to make sure he heard it. It frightened the witch to see Samuel appear. She realized she had been tricked.

The king said to her, “Do not be afraid. What do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.” He said to her, “What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground and paid homage.
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. The Lord will give the army of Israel also into the hand of the Philistines.”

Then Saul fell at once full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night. I Samuel 28:13-20

Please notice, v. 19 : “tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.” Samuel was in paradise with God. That’s where Saul and his sons would also be. Saul was carnal (fleshly, self-willed), but a believer. He belonged to God, as did his sons. He lost his temporal fellowship with God because of his disobedience. He lost his kingdom because of his obstinance. He lost his rationality. He did not lose his salvation.

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.  And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. I Samuel 31:1-6

The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. I Samuel 31:8-13

I Chronicles 10:3-6 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together.

From the eyewitness accounts, it appears that Saul committed suicide. In his despair, that is exactly what he meant to do. The Bible, however, gives us another explanation of what happened.

It is called the sin unto death:

So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.  He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death (KJV-slew him) and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse. I Chronicles 10:13-14

The sin unto death removes from earthly life the believer who is so contaminated by his own unconfessed sins that he can no longer function as God’s representative in the world. He is not seeking to recover his fellowship with God and rehabilitate his thinking; he is seeking relief from his self-induced misery, born of habitual sin. Such a person has become a liability to himself and others, and he hinders the Holy Spirit’s ministry to his own soul that would enable him to see the divine viewpoint of life. His life serves only as a bad example to others. Repeat: this is experienced by born-again believers who knowingly continue in sin, against all the warnings of scripture. 

Our omniscient, sovereign, just God knows when a believer or a client nation is beyond restoration to fellowship. In such a case, that person or nation will be removed from the earth. The greater the sphere of influence, the greater the responsibility to demonstrate obedience to God's laws of divine establishment. God's own Name is the issue. He will not be mocked or misrepresented by His own people. He does not disown. He removes.

There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. I John 5:16 KJV