Deeper Reflection
THE STORY OF SAUL in 1 Samuel 28 and of David in 1 Samuel 29 are interlinked, as this sandwich structure shows:

David with the Philistines gathered to fight Israel (vv.1-2)

Saul’s visit to the medium at En-dor (1 Sam 28:3-25)

David with the Philistines gathered to fight Israel (1 Sam 29:1-2).

Saul inquired of the medium because God “did not answer him” when he inquired of Him (1 Sam 28:6-7). As for David, his faith in God wavered and he went off course from God’s will in his 16-month stay at Gath for safe preservation (1 Sam 27:1-7), which resulted in a self-made tangled web (1 Sam 28:1-2; 29:1-2). However, God in His quiet presence and gracious initiative delivered David from his dilemma of having to fight Israel for the Philistines (1 Sam 29:3-11). What David did not know was that this divine rescue was “the LORD has done accordingly as He spoke”, that God “has torn” the kingdom out of Saul’s hand and “has given” it to him (1 Sam 28:17). Saul’s tragic story ends with he and his servants “arose and went away that night” (1 Sam 28:25). But David’s self-made dilemma ends with “David arose early…to depart in the morning to return…” (1 Sam 29:11). A new day dawning! “Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psa 30:5b). David’s 16-month stay at Gath was his “night”, yet his “night” was not like Saul’s “night”. What makes the difference? God and the heart. And God sees the heart.