Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 28:20–end
We are here told how Saul received this terrible message from the ghost he consulted. He desired to be told what he should do (Sa1 28:15), but was only told what he had not done and what should be done to him. Those that expect any good counsel or comfort otherwise than from God, and in the way of his institutions, will be as wretchedly disappointed as Saul here was. Observe,
I. How he sunk under the load, Sa1 28:20. He was indeed unfit to bear it, having eaten nothing all the day before, nor that night. He came fasting from the camp, and continued fasting; not for want of food, but for want of an appetite. The fear he was in of the power of the Philistines (Sa1 28:5) took away his appetite,…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 28:25
Then they rose up, and went away that night--Exhausted by long abstinence, overwhelmed with mental distress, and now driven to despair, the cold sweat broke on his anxious brow, and he sank helpless on the ground. But the kind attentions of the woman and his servants having revived him, he returned to the camp to await his doom.
Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 29
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 28:25
They rose up, and went away that night - The transactions of this chapter occupy one night only.
1. Saul came by night to En-dor, Sa1 28:8.
2. He consulted the woman, and had his conference with Samuel the same night; for no time whatever appears to have been lost after his arrival at En-dor.
3. He was overcome by the heavy tidings which he heard; and which for a time appear to have deprived him of all power.
4. The woman kills a calf; dresses a part; makes and bakes bread; and Saul and his servants eat. And,
5. They rose and went away that night, Sa1 28:25. The next day, in all probability, the battle happened in which Israel was defeated, and Saul and his sons lost their lives.
There is a…
Read the whole note in the consoleJohn Gill on 1 Samuel 28:25