Spoiler alert: 1 Samuel doesn’t end well for Saul.

In Chapter 28 we have the story of Saul visiting the witch at Endor. He visits a medium to conjure up the spirit of Samuel. There are so many side issues to explore in this story, which is why I like the voice of Walter Brueggemann when it comes to Old Testament commentary. Brueggemann is good at sticking to the story and refusing to jog down rabbit trails.

His conclusion on this passage is the Interpretation commentary is helpful to me. What we need to remember is this passage is about anguish. Saul has exhausted all sources and is desperate to know what to do. Samuel was his only voice from God for so long, and Saul had long ago rejected God, that it is all crashing down on him. He is completely lost.

The point, for Brueggeman, is that the narrative has Samuel at the center. Samuel’s call to follow only Yahweh has dominated the text and here is Saul back to “square one,” so to speak. Saul has to come to terms with his refusal to obey Yahweh.

Brueggemann ends with this thought:

To diffuse the narrative into a pluralism in which other powers have force or significance is to misread the story and diminish its voice for our own demanding religious situation. The narrative is a reflection on how hard and dangerous is the single voice to which Saul failed to give heed.

In other words, we won’t be able to answer all the questions as to the apparition, the use of a medium, etc.,  because that’s not the story. When reading the text, it’s really a good idea to stick to what the narrative is giving us and realize there will just be a lot of other questions at times.