My dear readers,

Answers to Remaining Questions from Calvary Pandan Church Camp 2025 (11)

Question 1: What's the best way to overcome unrighteous anger? (eg: bias towards others/siblings from one's own parents)

Answer 1: We know that anger is an emotion God gave when He created man in His image, since God also expresses anger in the Bible.

Exodus 32:7-10: “And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: ⁸They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. ⁹And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: ¹⁰Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation.”

Therefore, man can never get rid of anger just as he cannot get rid of love. When man was perfect and without sin, all the emotions he received from God were perfect. He possessed righteous anger, just as he possessed pure love.

One momentous day, man fell into sin and all the emotions in man became corrupted. Adam ate the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He sinned against God after God warned man that if he ate from that tree, he would definitely die. Because of sin, man died spiritually immediately. Adam died physically at the age of nine hundred and thirty. From the fall of Adam onwards, any sinner who dies in his sin will be cast into hell by Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus Christ to die for all sinners, and He became the only yardstick of judgment for anyone to enter God’s kingdom in heaven. If a sinner accepts Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour, he will enter heaven when he dies because he has been delivered from the bondage and penalty of sin which is death and hell. Once he is a child of God, all his attributes, such as anger, will be restored, enabling him to experience all emotions rightly. He can express righteous anger based on God’s Word, which he could not do before his salvation.

The Christian can distinguish between righteous and sinful anger. If it is righteous anger, he must control it and not let it result in sinful words or actions. Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.” He must pray for calmness of heart and spirit before speaking, writing or acting. If it is sinful anger, he must repent of it immediately and sincerely and plead for strength from the Lord to overcome this sinful anger. Peace of heart and mind will return in God’s time. Do not say or write or do anything because of sinful anger. It will most likely be sinful, as the motive behind every action will be sinful.

The best way to overcome being bias is to pray for the people one is biased towards as taught by Jesus in Matthew 5:44-45: “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; ⁴⁵That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Question 2: In 1 Samuel 28, Samuel was dead, and King Saul sought to seek Samuel via a woman who had a familiar spirit. How can we understand that the summoned Samuel was not Samuel but a demon or evil spirit in disguise? How shall we discern this passage in light of the scripture?

Answer 2: The encounter between King Saul and the witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28, and Samuel’s appearance, has been a controversial incident for a long time. The issue centres on whether Samuel did or did not rise from the dead and appeared to King Saul and the witch of Endor.

There are four main views [taken from the book by John Davis and John Whitcomb, “A History of Israel from Conquest to Exile” (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1970), pages 254-258]:

a.  Samuel's appearance was not literal, but merely the product of psychological impressions. This view teaches that the witch became emotionally involved and psychologically identified with Samuel, so she was convinced he had actually appeared when called. Daniel Eerdman writes, “This can be explained psychologically only as by an inner vision, the occasion for which was given by Saul’s request to bring up Samuel, and the psychological foundation of which was her inward excitement, in connection with her lively recollection of Samuel’s form which was well known to her from his earthly life, and stood before her mind in vividest distinctiveness.” (Lange’s Commentary, 336).

Critique -- Two objections can be raised against this view. The first is derived from verse 12, which indicates that when Samuel did appear, the medium cried out with a loud voice, apparently surprised or startled by his appearance. Such would not be the case if she merely sought a vision produced by “psychological excitement.” The second is that the general reading of the text leads one to conclude that not only did the woman speak with Samuel, but Saul also spoke with him (cf. v 15). The dialogue was real.

b.  A demon or Satan impersonated Samuel. A visible form of Samuel did appear, but it was in reality an impersonation of him by Satan (Merrill Unger, “Biblical Demonology,” 150; and Matthew Henry, 767). Many who defend this view argue that God would not allow a woman like the witch of Endor to disturb the rest of a godly man like Samuel. We are told Satan can appear as an angel of light to deceive (2 Cor 11:14).

Critique--The basic reading of the text leads one to conclude that it was actually Samuel and not an impersonation. Satan may be able to impersonate, but he does not have the prophetic knowledge to reveal what was given to Saul. If it had been truly a demon, it would not have given Saul this kind of message but one of “positive” prophecy to flatter Saul, as in many cases when false prophets prophesied to kings.

c.  The whole thing was a deliberate imposture practised upon Saul. The witch did not actually see Samuel, but fooled Saul into believing that her voice or that of someone else was Samuel’s. They further argued that only the woman saw Samuel and reported the words to Saul. Saul did not hear or see anything. James Orr says, “The more reasonable view is that the whole transaction was a feigning on the part of the woman. The Septuagint (LXX) uses the word ‘eggastrimuthos’ (a ventriloquist) to describe the woman and those who exercised kindred arts (v 9). Though pretending ignorance (v 12), the woman doubtless recognised Saul from the first. It was she who saw Samuel, and reported his words; the king himself saw and heard nothing. It required no great skill in a practical diviner to forecast the general issue of the battle about to take place, and the disaster which would overtake Saul and his sons; while if the forecast had proved untrue, the narrative would never have been written. Saul, in fact, was not slain, but killed himself. The incident, therefore may best be ranked in the same category as the feats of modern mediumship” (Orr, “Witch of Endor,” in “International Standard Bible Encyclopedia,” 944).

Critique -- The objections against this view are: The Bible does not explicitly say that the woman reported Samuel’s words. On the contrary, it says that Samuel spoke directly to Saul; Orr says that “the king saw and heard nothing”, which is in direct conflict with the text (cf. 1 Samuel 28:15-20: “And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. ¹⁶Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? ¹⁷And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: ¹⁸Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. ¹⁹Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. ²⁰Then Saul fell straightway all along on the earth, and was sore afraid, because of the words of Samuel: and there was no strength in him; for he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the night.”).

It is highly improbable that she was able to forecast the deaths of Saul’s sons, maybe only Saul’s death.

d.  The traditional and most popular view is that this was a genuine appearance of Samuel brought about by God Himself. God alone raised His servants from the dead. The LXX in 1 Chronicles 10:13 says that “Saul asked counsel of her that had a familiar spirit to inquire of her, and Samuel made answer to him”. [The KJV has it as, 1 Chronicles 10:13: “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it;”] Also, the fact that the witch cried out in horror when she saw

Samuel indicates that she was not expecting Samuel to appear in this manner. The fact that Saul bowed to the ground and paid obeisance indicates that Saul really saw Samuel. The dialogue between King Saul and Samuel was genuine. At the end of the conversation, King Saul fell to the earth.

Robert Jamieson suggested three reasons for God bringing Samuel back from the dead: to make Saul’s crime the cause for punishment; to show the heathen world God’s superiority in prophecy; and to confirm a belief in a future state after death (Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, “Commentary on the Whole Bible,” 211). Another reason could be the LORD’s final condemnation of His servant Saul, who was the LORD’s anointed but a man after his own heart, seeking his own glory rather than God’s.