COMPLAINT:
Did Saul inquire of the Lord (1 Samuel 28:6) or not (1 Chronicles 10:13-14)? Is there a contradiction?
RESPONSE:
1 Samuel 28:6 says:
…when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by the prophets.
1 Chronicles 10:14 reads:
…he did not inquire of the LORD…
How can both be true? Has the questioner found a real contradiction in the Bible?
A person may ask someone a question, but if it was not heard, can it really be said that an inquiry was made? Technically, a question was asked, but from a practical perspective, it was not.
1 Samuel 28 says Saul made an inquiry before the LORD, but also says the LORD did not answer. Why did the LORD not answer?
Though Saul made inquiry before the LORD, the LORD did not hear him. Notice the following:
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the LORD will not hear. (Psalm 66:18)
…even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. (Isaiah 1:15)
…your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. (Isaiah 59:2)
There are times when God will not hear prayers. The LORD did not answer Saul because he was in sin and unrepentant. The evidence of this is found in both texts, as Saul went out and consulted a medium (1 Samuel 28:7; 1 Chronicles 10:13; cf. Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:10-14).
There is no contradiction.
A response to 1001 Bible Contradictions.
