The Life of David - Part 5
The Repeating Troubles of David
Copied from the Sermon notes of Pastor Don Elmore
October 11, 2026
Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 28:7
7) “Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her, and enquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
Before we continue our study of The Life of David, we will take a few seconds to look at what was said in a speech just about two weeks ago, September 24, 2026, by Eliot Brandt, the Chief Executive Officer of AIPAC, the Israel[i] Lobby. He said that America is not really a country; it is a province of Israel[i]. He was also caught on tape openly bragging about how the powerful pro-Israel[i] lobby manipulates key figures In Donald Trump’s national security inner circle boasting of how easy it is for him to control the President of the United State and Trump’s national security officials -- National Security Advisor and Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy, Stephen Miller, CIA Director, John Ratcliffe, and others.
The shocking truth is that the nation of Israel[i] (the descendants of Cain, Canaan, and Edom) receives over $18 billion dollars a year from the United States government as well as billions of dollars from Christian Zionists. Why do they need all this money when they have more benefits than we do?
What nation does the Bible give us the history of? Where in the Bible will you find out about the history of the Chinese, the Koreans, the Japanese, the Zulus, the Incas, the Algerians, the Eskimos, the Indians, the New Guineas…very little, or nothing.
The Bible is the brief, important history of the nation of Israel (descendants of Jacob) and their enemies (descendants of Cain, Canaan, and Edom). And it will give us some understanding about the unseen world of evil spirits and how they influence the world.
Are the stories in the Bible of no consequence for us to study? What do they mean? Does it give us any clues to understand what is happening in the world today? Let’s see what we can find as we continue the study of The Life of David.
1 Samuel 28:8, 9
8) And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night: and he [Saul] said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
9) And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath cut off those that have familiar spirits, and the wizards, out of the land: wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die?”
When we left off our study in lesson number four, how was the ancient nation of Israel (descendants of Jacob) doing? Was it doing great, mediocre, or pathetic? I think that it was doing rather poorly.
First, its king, King Saul, had gone to an individual who had a familiar or a spirit of divination. This person was believed to have the ability to foretell the future or read omens. This was the type of individual that Saul personally kicked out of his nation several decades before. And now he is seeking one of them out to give him some information.
Maybe some of us have gone to a witch, or a fortune teller, or someone who studied the tarot cards. When I was a young boy, I went to a fortune teller at a carnival. She read my palm. She was a palm reader. At the time, I hadn’t been told that this was against God’s law to do so. In fact, I was taught (in the Baptist Church) that God’s law was nailed to the cross of Jesus Christ.
Secondly, we have the other anointed king of Israel, David, who finds himself on the other side – the side of the Philistines. He had been living under the protection of the king of Gath (Philistia) for sixteen months. The king believed David’s lies about whom he had invaded and committed genocide and took their cattle, sheep, and food crops. David had invaded the enemies of Israel and not the Israelites, as he had informed the king. David was caught in the web of a lose-lose dilemma of lies.
Thirdly, the battle was about to begin: the Philistines versus Israel with the “hero of Israel” (David) fighting on the side of the enemy (Philistines) and the king of Israel (Saul) secretly going off to enquire with the witch who had a familiar spirit. How much worse could it be?
The king of Israel disguised himself so the witch would not recognize him. If she discovered that he was the king who forbade her to live in his nation, she probably would be too scared to inquire and fulfill his wishes.
The city of Endor, where the witch was living, was about twelve miles northwest of Mt. Gilboa, where the army of Israel was positioned. King Saul and his two of his men made the roundtrip in one day (24 miles). So, they were exhausted when the battle began after they returned.
1 Sanuel 28:10, 11:
10) “And Saul sware to her[the witch] by the LORD, saying, As the LORD liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
11) Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee: And he said, Bring me up Samuel.”
Saul not only broke the law by seeking a witch to inquire of a familiar spirit, but he broke it again when he vowed to protect a witch.
Let’s just stop for a minute and see if any of these pertains in our lifetime. Have any presidents of the United States or their family gotten involved with familiar spirits?
- Franklin Pierce brought prominent spiritualist mediums into the White House to communicate with the spirit of their late son. His wife, Jane Pierce, fell into deep grief after their son Bennie was killed in a train accident just before Pierce’s inauguration. Not long after moving into the White House, Jane invited the rising star spiritualists, Maggie and Katie Fox, to perform a séance. The sisters typically had séance participants sit around a table and say a prayer with them. They would then engage the spirits via rapping and knocks which the sisters were able to decode.
- Abraham Lincoln’s wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, who had eight seances in the Red Room (with the president present) on the main floor of the White house. The first séance was held in December 1862, ten months after Willie’s (their eleven-year-old son’s) death. The séance was administered by the acclaimed medium Nettie Colburn. During the séance, Colburn entered a trance-like state and contacted Willie. She also told the president that the spirit had a message for him: pass the Emancipation Proclamation.
- Theodore Roosevelt openly admitted to feeling the presence of Abraham Lincoln in the White House corridors, once stating that he often fancied he saw Lincoln in different rooms.
- Harry S. Truman frequently wrote to his wife, Bess, about the eerie atmosphere of the executive mansion. In one letter, he jokingly but seriously wrote about hearing footsteps and believing the floor were haunted by ghosts.
- Ronald Reagan, the 40th President of the United States, is one of those who had some connection with supernatural phenomena. After an attempt on his life in 1981, it became known that his wife, Nancy Reagan, actively consulted astrologers to find out when it was best for the president to take important political steps. Astrology is a type of divination that involves the forecasting of earthly and human events through the observation and interpretation of the fixed stars, the sun, the moon, and the planets.
What about all the presidents of the United States who were members of the Freemasons?
- George Washington (1st President) – Initiated in 1752 at Fredericksburg Lodge No. 4, Virginia; served as Worshipful Master of Alexandria Lodge No. 22 and laid the U.S. Capitol cornerstone in Masonic regalia.
- James Monroe (5th President) – Initiated in 1775 at Williamsburg Lodge No. 6, Virginia; likely received further degrees in a military lodge during the Revolutionary War.
- Andrew Jackson (7th President) – Member of Harmony Lodge No. 1, Tennessee; served as Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Tennessee from 1822 to 1824
- James K. Polk (11th President) – Initiated in 1820 (completion of the first Masonic degree, during which the person is introduced to the values and symbolism of Freemasonry);
These presidents later received Royal Arch degrees.
- James Buchanan (15th President) – Active Pennsylvania Mason and district deputy grand master.
- Andrew Johnson (17th President) – Knight Templar; received Scottish Rite degrees in the White House in 1867
- James A. Garfield (20th President) – Raised (to the final degree, representing the culmination of the Masonic journey) in 1864; assassinated in office.
- William McKinley (25th President) – Initiated in 1865; assassinated in office.
- Theodore Roosevelt (26th President) – Raised in 1901; openly proud of his lodge throughout his presidency
- William Howard Taft (27th President) – Made a Mason at sight in 1909; later Chief Justice of the United States.
- Warren G. Harding (29th President) – Raised in 1920; died in office.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (32nd President) – Initiated in 1911; three of his sons also became Masons.
- Harry S. Truman (33rd President) – Longtime active Mason; served as Grand Master of Missouri.
- Lyndon B. Johnson (36th President) – Initiated into the First Degree only; did not advance further.
- Gerald Ford (38th President) – The most recent president with undisputed Masonic membership.
- Ronald Reagan (40th President) was granted an honorary Masonic membership in 1988, but this was symbolic rather than full membership.
- Joe Biden (46th President) was declared a “Mason at Sight” by the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of South Carolina in 2025, though it is disputed whether he accepted membership.
What about all the presidents of the U.S. who have gone to Bohemian Grove in northern California?
- Theodore Roosevelt: 1901–1909
- William Howard Taft: 1909–1913
- Herbert Hoover: 1929–1933
- Dwight D. Eisenhower: 1953–1961
- Richard Nixon: 1969–1974
- Gerald Ford: 1974–1977
- Ronald Reagan: 1981–1989
- George H.W. Bush: 1989–1993
- Bill Clinton: 1993–2001
- George W. Bush: 2001–2009
Picture of Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon at the Bohemian Grove
The Bohemian Grove each year has the ritual of the cremation of care. At its core, the ritual is about desensitization. Watching something repeatedly, accepting it, normalizing it, allowing emotional response to weaken over time. The ritual represents the destruction of your heart or conscience. The inner knowing of what is right or wrong.
Question: Why do the most powerful men on earth gather each year in secret to burn effigies under a giant stone owl? What decisions, if any, have been made in the shadows of those redwoods, that shaped the course of world events?
Now, back to our story of the life of David.
1 Samuel 28:12:
12) “And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why has thou deceived me: for thou art Saul?”
Saul wanted to contact Samuel who had anointed him king of Israel. Samuel had given Saul advice on several occasions but had not done so in the latter years of their relationship. Samuel had been dead for about two years. Since God refused to answer him by ordinary means, Saul hoped to get an answer through a demon who imitated Samuel.
This is a very controversial event among Bible students. Was it really Samuel who appeared to Saul or was it a familiar spirit who represented himself as Samuel. Some say it was Samuel, but I believe that it wasn’t Samuel for the following reasons:
1) If God had refused to answer Saul’s requests by legitimate means, He certainly wouldn’t have given him information though a witch who had a familiar spirit.
2) The Bible plainly teaches that communication with the dead can be demon spirits imitating departed loved ones.
3) It is commanded in scores of Scriptures not to traffic with demons or seek communication with the dead, therefore God would not allow Saul to have a séance through a witch.
4) There is no record of God seeking to intercept the communication of demons and men. Saul inquired about a demon and was answered by one. When God gives answers His messages come only through the Holy Spirit in different ways, but never through unlawful or unscriptural ways, as here.
5) The Bible says that Saul died for his previous sins and for sinning against the word of the LORD, which forbid witches and traffic with demons, and for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit.
1 Samuel 28:13-19 describes what happened when the familiar spirit answered Saul. Saul is told that God was going to tear the kingdom out of his hand and give it to David. The Philistines would rout the Israelites and Saul, and his three sons would be killed.
1 Samuel 28:20:
20) “Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth [at his full length upon the earth, Septuagint], and was sore afraid because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.”
This information about his death the next day was such a blow to Saul that he fell down to the ground, being overcome with fear. Because of the words of the familiar spirit impersonating Samuel, it must be remembered that the witch or medium was the one through whom this information came to Saul. He did not see or hear anything himself. He merely accepted the message regarding appearance of an old man and what he said to her. Saul had fasted all day and night up to this point, for they came and returned in one day.
1 Samuel 28:21:
21) “And the woman came unto Saul, and saw that he was sore troubled, and said unto him, Behold, thine handmaid hath obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in my hand, and have hearkened unto thy words which thou speakest unto me.”
The witch was practical and used better judgment in facing the future than Saul.
1 Samuel 28:22:
22) “Now therefore, I pray thee, hearken thou also unto the voice of thine handmaid, and let me set a morsel of bread before thee; and eat, that thou mayest have strength, when thou goest on thy way.”
The witch offers Saul some food to eat before he returns to the battlefield. She knew that to go without food would make him weak and that was not good for the battle. It was like the last meal that they served to a person they are going to execute the next day.
1 Samuel 28:23:
23) “But he [Saul]refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, compelled him: and he hearkened to their voice. So he arose from the earth, and sat upon the bed [bench, Septuagint].”
Saul was thinking that he could make the return trip (about five hours) to the army camp and lead them on the morrow without food shows the extreme desperation of the man without God in his life. However, after much persuasion, Saul got up off the ground and sat on a bench, ready to receive food and go through the last day of his life on earth.
1 Samuel 28:24:
24) “And the woman had a fat calf in the house; and she hasted, and killed it, and took flour, and kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread thereof:”
Arising from her vision and communication with the demon, the woman finally persuaded Saul to eat. It took several hours for her to kill the calf and prepare the meal, and for Saul to eat and return to the army that night.
1 Samuel 28:25:
25) “And she brought it before Saul, and before his servants; and they did eat. Then they rose up, and went away that night.”
So, it was a long day for Saul and his servants who went with him. Twenty-four miles would take about eight to ten hours of marching. If they left at 2 PM then would arrive sometime after supper at Endor, where it took some time to convince the witch to bring up Samuel with the familiar spirit impersonating him. Afterwards, the woman had to kill a calf, dress it, cook it, make bread and feed it to Saul and his servants. Then they had to go twelve miles back to the battlefield. If they left at 11 PM, then would arrive at the camp around 4 AM – 5 AM. What a day!
And what about David? He, too, was in a pickle. He had lied to his protector, the king of Gath, so that the king thought that most of Israel was against David. Because the king of Gath believed this, he asked David to fight with him against His people – Israel.
1 Samuel 29:1, 2:
1) “Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel.
2) And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward [rear, Septuagint] with Achish.
David was in a big predicament. How could he fight against his own nation? What was he going to do?
He had lived for sixteen months in the town of Ziklag in Philistia. He had lied to the king of Gath that gave the king the impression that they were buddies. The Philistines were getting ready to fight the Israelites once again and the king of Gath, Achish, wanted David to fight and protect him.
But if David had told him the truth about who he had fought while he was living in Ziklag, Achish would never have dreamed of enrolling him amongst the hosts of the Philistines. It was David’s own doings that had brought him there. David who had so often sought and obtained the assistance of the God of Israel, now found himself leagued with the enemies of God for the destruction of God’s people.
He, who had so distinctly refused to stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, was now enrolled with these very hosts who were about to shed the blood of Saul and his son Jonathan upon the mountains of Gilboa. Such were the terrible circumstances in which David suddenly found himself. He seems to have looked upon them as hopeless, nor do we read of his attempting any remedy.
But things are never hopeless in the life of one of God’s people. For there is always the hope of divine intervention. And this is what saved David this time, once again.
1 Samuel 29:3, 4:
3) “Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years [even this second year, Septuagint], and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day?
4) And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him [Ziklag], and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto this master? Should it not be with the heads of these men?”
God mercifully delivered David from the battle between the Philistines and his own people. God inclined the hearts of the Philistine princes to oppose his being deployed in this battle, and to insist upon him being dishonored, and thus their enmity befriended him, when no friend he had could do him such a kindness. The princes argued that David could be reconciled to Saul if he should kill some of the Philistines.
1 Samuel 29:5, 6:
5) “Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
6) Then Achish called David and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favor thee not.”
Achish said that David had favor in his eyes, but not in the eyes of the princes of the Philistines. So, David would have to return to Ziklag and not proceed to war against Israel.
1 Samuel 29:7, 8:
7) “Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.
8) And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? And what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king [i.e. fight against Israel]?”
No doubt David secretly rejoiced at this deliverance from his sore dilemma, yet he was unwilling that the king of Gath should know it. But it is sad to see the anointed of God dissembling and speaking in such a manner of His people.
1 Samuel 29:9-11:
9) “And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou are good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle.
10) Wherefoe now rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart.
11) So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.”
Now, this should give us hope. If we are in a situation where we have no way of getting out, there is always divine intervention. It was the sovereign grace of God that got David out of his “impossible” situation. David goes back to Ziklag, and the Philistines go to Jezreel to battle Saul and the Israelites.
What happens next? Saul has traveled most of the night after his long trip to consort with the witch. David is spared from fighting against him and the LORD’s people and returns to Ziklag. Maybe now David can get some rest.
1 Samuel 30:1, 2:
1) “And it came to pass, when David and his men were come to Ziklag on the third day, that the Amalekites had invaded the south, and Ziklag, and smitten Ziklag, and burned it with fire.
2) And had taken the women captives, that were therein: they slew not any, either great or small, but carried them away, and went on their way.”
David doesn’t seem to get much rest! He goes from one difficult test to an even more difficult test. The LORD had just turned the hearts of the lords of the Philistines and in consequence, Achish was obliged to part with his services. Has this ever happened to you? Has God ever turned the heart of some worldling against you!
David’s discharge from the service of Achish was just as much a miracle as was his deliverance from the enmity of Saul; it was truly the working of God’s preserving power to rouse the jealousy and enmity of the Philistine lords against David, as it was to shield him from the javelin which demon possessed king hurled at him. And now David had stopped, by divine intervention, from fighting against Saul’s army, but was now facing an even more dangerous situation.
The Amalekites were part of the people that David and his men had made a raid against while they were living in Ziklag. While David and his men were gone, their city became an easy target for the Amalekites to attack and to burn it to the ground. So, David and his men have everything that they had in town destroyed by fire, and their wives and children were either killed or taken captive. At this time, they didn’t know; but none of them were killed; they were taken captive. They had lost everything. They had nothing left.
1 Samuel 30:3, 4a:
3) “So David and his men came to the city, and, behold it was burned with fire; and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives.
4a) Then David and the people that were with him…”
What do you think that David and his men did? What if one of you men returned from a trip and when you came home you discovered that your house was destroyed by fire and your wife and children were nowhere to be found. You had lost everything and you had nothing. You didn’t even know where your wife and children were. What would you do? Would you do the same thing that David and his men did?
David and his men were returning from the Philistines’ camp and were not having to go to battle against Saul and his army. I imagine they were quite joyful on their trip to Ziklag. But when, after a three-day journey, they saw Ziklag burnt to the ground and their wives and children gone, what did they do?
What fear had their wives and children experienced when they were taken captive by the people who were the grandson of Esau? Let us now see what the remainder of verse four says that talks about what David and his six hundred men of war did:
1 Samuel 30:4:
4) “Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.”
David and his men experienced such a loss that they wept until they couldn’t weep anymore! Has this ever happened in your life? Have you ever cried yourself to sleep? I would not be surprised if it occurred to a few of you.
I was told that men do not cry. Here David and his mighty men and the rest of his army cried till they could no longer cry! Men do cry. What happened next?
1 Samuel 30:5, 6a:
5) “And David’s two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam, the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite.
6a) And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters…”
David’s two wives were taken captive, and his own men were talking about stoning him to death! What?! It wasn’t king Saul, who failed to kill him twenty-one times; it wasn’t the Philistines; it was David’s own men. If you want to be a leader of Israel, you must be tested. Repeatedly. David’s life was on the line many times…close to fifty.
In this sermon we went from Saul, who went to a witch to discover what was to happen to him; to David who was set free from the Philistine army; to when he returned to Ziklag, the city was burnt and their wives and children were gone. Then David’s men thought of stoning him! Who would like to live the life that David lived?!
And what about their wives and children? What kept the Amalekites from killing all or even some of them. David committed genocide on their towns when he conquered them when he was living in Ziklag a few months before. It had to be divine intervention that kept the Amalekites from killing anyone that they took captive.
And what were the wives and children thinking at this time. They were kidnapped and they thought that their husbands were fighting with the Philistines against Saul and the Israelite army. Because they thought that their husbands would be fighting this battle, they would not be returning to Ziklag for several days, or weeks, or months, or even years, if they were still alive or not a prisoner.
Did they have the fear that they would be raped? Or made slaves to their enemies? Or would they eventually be killed? Their wives and children (and the Amalekites) didn’t know that their husbands were sent back before the battle even started. But would their husbands and fathers know where they were? Were they to spend the rest of their lives as slaves if they didn’t know where to look for them?
And what about David? David was greatly distressed: for the men of his own army spoke of stoning him. Poor David; one trouble was added to another. Heartbroken over the loss of his family, and the burning of his city, additional distress was occasioned by the murmuring and mutiny of his men. They considered the entire blame rested upon their leader, for having journeyed to Achish and left the city of Ziklag defenseless, and because he had provoked the Amalekites and their allies by his genocide attack upon them, who had now availed themselves of the opportunity to avenge the wrong.
Do we do the same thing? When we are in trouble, to fly into a rage against those who are in any way the occasion of our troubles, when we overlook the Divine providence and have no due regard to God’s hand in it.
When we started this sermon, King Saul went to a witch and wound up terrified at what he found out. Future King David got out of his terrible situation into a much worse one. His own army thought of stoning him.
No wonder David wrote this in the psalms:
Psalm 31:9-10:
9) “Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my souls and my belly.
10) For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.”
What a great nation(s) Israel was and is! The main difference is it is the only nation(s) that has/have God on their side. What a great God we serve. When we obey Him, we will be great; when we disobey Him, we will be awful.
Israel was in a worse situation that we are in now. Most of the cities in the kingdom were soon to be occupied by the Philistines. Its king would soon be dead. And its future king is homeless, owning nothing, with his wives and children kidnapped and his men thinking of stoning him.
What makes Israel a great nation? It is the LORD God of Israel. I look forward to living in that kingdom in all its glory with the king of kings sitting at its head once again.
To be continued.
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel.
