A message from the dead

God has forbidden us to communicate with the dead in an effort to discover truth.

There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD.  (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus described the afterlife and revealed that God places some restrictions on the dead who wish to communicate with us.  (Many believe this is a parable and not something that actually happened.  I have discussed that in this post: Lazarus and the rich man – parable or actual event? )  When the rich man saw Abraham and Lazarus he asked that Lazarus be allowed to come to him to give him some relief from his suffering.

Samuel and Eli

There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite. He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.  (1 Samuel 1:1,2)

Hannah desperately wanted a son and promised God that if he gave her a son she would give him back to God to serve him.

And she vowed a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.”  (1 Samuel 1:11)

God answered her prayer.  God gave her a son and she named him Samuel.  When he was old enough she brought him to the house of God and gave him to Eli the priest.

And when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young.Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli.  (1 Samuel 1:24,25)