the death of Samuel, he displayed special theocratic zeal by a systematic raid upon all necromancy in the

land, in accordance with Leviticus 19:31; 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10, etc. Such outward conformity to the law

of God, not only from political motives, but from those of such religiousness as he was capable of, seems to

us one of the most striking psychological confirmations of the history of Saul.

The reason why the scene of battle was laid so far north, distant alike from the cities of the Philistine princes

and from the residence of Saul, was, in all probability, that the Philistines now wished to obtain such

undoubted supremacy in the north of Palestine as they seem to have virtually possessed in the south. A

great victory in Jezreel would not only cut the land, so to speak, in two, but give them the key both to the

south and to the north. With this view, then, the Philistines chose their ground. Where the great plain of

Esdraelon shelves down to the Jordan it is broken in the east by two mountain -ranges. On the southern side

of the valley, which is here about three miles wide, are the mountains of Gilboa, and at their foot, or rather

spur, lies Jezreel, where the spring which gushes down is gathered into a pool of considerable size. On the

northern side of the valle y is Little Hermon, and at its foot the rich village of Shunem (the "twain rest").

Behind and to the north of Little Hermon runs another narrow branch of the plain. On its other side is the

mountain where Endor lay amidst most desolate scenery; and in one of its many limestone caves was the

scene of Saul's last interview with Samuel. Nor is it void of significance to us that Endor was but a few miles

from Nazareth; for it is the close contiguity of these contrasting scenes which often sheds such lurid light

upon events.

From his camp on the slopes of Gilboa and by the spring of Jezreel, Saul had anxiously watched the

gathering hosts of Philistia on the opposite side at Shunem, and his heart had utterly failed him. Where was

now the Lord God of Israel? Certainly not with Saul. And where was there now a David to meet another

Goliath? Saul had successively "inquired of Jehovah" by all the well-known means, from the less to the more

understanding to perceive its meaning. Had his been real inquiry of the Lord,230 he would have felt his

desertion, and even now returned to Him in humble penitence; just as Judas, if his repentance had been

genuine and true, would have gone out to seek pardon like Peter, instead of rushing in despair to self-

As the event proved, Saul did not really inquire of the Lord, in the sense of seeking direction from Him, and

of being willing to be guided by it. Rather did he, if we may so express it, wish to use the Lord as the means

by which to obtain his object. But that was essentially the heathen view, and differed only in detail, not in

principle, from the inquiry of a familiar spirit, to which he afterwards resorted. Accordingly the latter must be

regarded as explaining his former "inquiry," and determining its character. In this sense the notice in 1

Chronicles 10:14 affords a true and spiritual insight into the transaction. Already the utter darkness of

despair had gathered around Saul. He was condemned: he knew it, felt it, and his conscience assented to it.

What was to happen on the morrow? To that question he must have an answer, be it what it may. If he could

not have it from God, he must get it somewhere else. To whom should he turn in his extremity? Only one

person, sufficiently powerful with God and man, occurred to his mind. It was Samuel, - the very incarnation

to him of Divine power, the undoubted messenger of God, the one man who had ever confronted and

overawed him. It seems like fate which drives him to the very man who had so sternly, unrelentingly, and in

the hour of his triumph, told him his downfall. But how was he to meet Samuel? By necromancy - that is, by

devilry! The Divine through the anti-Divine, communication from on high by means of witchcraft: terrible

contrasts these - combined, alas! in the life of Saul, and strangely connecting its beginning with its ending.

But no matter; if it be at all possible, he must see Samuel, however he had parted from him in life. Samuel had

announced his elevation, let him now come to tell him his fate; he had pushed him to the brow of the hill, let

him show what was beneath. And yet who could say what might happen, or to what that interview might

lead? For deep down in the breast of each living there is still, even in his despairing, the possibility of hope.

It is the most vivid description in Holy Scripture, next to that of the night of Judas' betrayal. Putting on the

disguise of a common man, and only attended by two companions, Saul starts at dark. It was eight miles

round the eastern shoulder of Hermon to Endor. None in the camp of Israel must know whither and on what