Ben's narrative reading: the king they asked for

Ben offers his narrative reading: the medium's usual trade is bogus, but God met Saul there with a true word — the final nail, since Saul and his sons die within three chapters. The story's purpose is to show the king Israel asked for (1 Samuel 8's 'give us a king like the other nations,' a 'reverse American revolution') against David, the king after God's own heart; Saul's very name means, in effect, 'you chose.'