1 Samuel 28:15
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.
Cross-reference
1 Samuel 28:11 records Saul's request to bring up Samuel — the very spirit now speaking to him.
1 Samuel 28:8 describes Saul's disguise and request to the medium — the action that prompted Samuel's question 'Why have you disturbed me?'
In 1 Samuel 28:6, God's silence is first reported — the same reason Saul gives here for summoning Samuel.
1 Samuel 28:4 sets the Philistine threat that drives Saul to summon Samuel's ghost—the immediate cause of his distress.
1 Samuel 16:14 explicitly states the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul—the very event Saul laments here.
In 1 Samuel 23:4, God again answers David's inquiry — highlighting the contrast with Saul's unanswered plea.
In 1 Samuel 23:2, David inquires and God answers — contrasting with Saul's failed inquiry here.
1 Samuel 18:12 confirms the LORD left Saul, reinforcing his cry that God has turned away from him.
1 Samuel 16:13 shows David receiving the Spirit that has departed from Saul—highlighting the transfer of divine favor.
In 1 Samuel 30:8, David inquires and receives a direct answer — the opposite of Saul's experience in this verse.
In 1 Samuel 31:1, the battle Saul fears here unfolds — he dies on Mount Gilboa, fulfilling the distress he describes.
In 1 Samuel 23:9, David uses the ephod to seek God — a resource Saul no longer has, showing his lost access.
In 1 Samuel 23:10, David prays directly to God — unlike Saul who can only consult a dead prophet.
Jeremiah 2:17 declares that forsaking God brings the distress upon oneself—exactly what Saul acknowledges here: his trouble is self-inflicted.
Jeremiah 21:2 shows another king, Zedekiah, seeking divine guidance in crisis, echoing Saul's desperate inquiry when God is silent.
Amos 8:11 describes a famine of hearing God's words — the very silence Saul laments as God's judgment.
Micah 3:7 depicts seers ashamed with no answer from God, mirroring Saul's complaint of divine silence.
Psalm 51:11 pleads that God not take His Spirit away—a prayer against the very judgment Saul now suffers.
In Psalm 27:3, David expresses confidence despite armies — contrasting with Saul's fear and despair in this verse.
In Luke 16:23-26, the dead are conscious and separated by a chasm — echoing Samuel's disturbed state but also showing no crossing allowed.
2 Corinthians 4:8 shows Paul perplexed but not despairing — contrasting Saul's despair that drove him to witchcraft.