"the LORD answered him not" 1Sam28

"And when Saul enquired of the LORD, the LORD answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets" (1 Sam. 28:6)

Saul, as we've seen him do again and again, tries hard, but in the end has a fatal misunderstanding of the LORD. He has been seeking to kill David because of his own paranoia and his inability to maintain a relationship with God, which was a requirement for his appointment as King of Israel. That's why he is judged a little harsher, his actions have greater consequences. But as he makes mistakes, albeit, understandable mistakes, he still cannot understand or refuses to repent.

In the above quote, Saul is in trouble and is looking for advice from the Lord. Great. But, he is not getting any answers. So he goes to all the right sources. Urim, means of revelation connected to the temple. So he went to the high priest and the tabernacle, the holy place. Check. He went to the prophets. Check. But still no answer. So he goes to "familiar spirits." The spirit of Samuel answers and says that the "LORD is departed from thee, and become thine enemy." (28:16)A thing which, apparently, Saul was aware of, since God wasn't answering the telephone, his cellphone, or email.

But, it takes two to tango. The Lord had departed Saul because Saul was the first to leave Him. God had become Saul's enemy because Saul turned against Him first, seeking to kill His anointed, David, as well as other sins and disobedience. And, the means of repair is easy. Saul just has to return to God, whom he had departed from. He has to become God's friend, whom he had made an enemy. This is called repentance.

Yet, nowhere in the scriptures does it say that Saul repented. He was sorry for his mistakes, but he did not sacrifice to make himself clean, or confess his sins. He had forgotten the way back to God.

Sometimes the same things happen to us. We feel like the Lord is far away, and isn't coming back. That's when we have to say sorry first. We're the ones who made the mistake, and we all know it. We cannot wait, we cannot afford to wait, for Him to come to us. We have to drop everything, even pride, and go to where He is. Besides, usually where we are isn't all that fun, or happy. Why stay there?"