Beginning of the End - Ellen G. White

even though he looked for counsel from God, "the Lord did not
answer him, either by dreams or by Urim, or by the prophets."
The Lord never turned away anyone who came to Him in
sincerity. Why did He turn Saul away unanswered? The king had
rejected the counsel of Samuel the prophet; he had exiled David, the
chosen of God; he had killed the priests of the Lord. Could God
answer him when he had cut off the channels of communication that
Heaven had established? Saul did not want pardon for sin and
reconciliation with God--he only wanted deliverance from his
enemies. By rebellion he had cut himself off from God, and he could
return only by confessing and forsaking his wrongs.
"Then Saul said to his servants, 'Find me a woman who is a
medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.'" The Lord had
forbidden attempts to talk with the dead, and the sentence of death
was pronounced against anyone who practiced such unholy arts.
Saul had commanded that all wizards and those who arranged spirit
contact should be put to death, but now, in desperation, he resorted
to that which he had condemned as an abomination.
A woman who had an evil spirit was living in hiding at Endor.
She had promised Satan to fulfill his purposes and, in return, the
prince of evil revealed secret things to her.
Pretending to be someone else, Saul went by night with two
other men to find the sorceress. Oh, what a pitiful sight! The king of
Israel led captive by Satan! Trust in God and obedience to His will
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