Divination(exorcism, fortune telling, occult science, soothsayer, wizard)
Summary
The practice of seeking to foretell future events or discover hidden knowledge through supernatural means, strictly forbidden to Israel as an abomination to the Lord.
☩Biblical Prohibition
Moses warned Israel not to learn the abominations of the nations: 'There shall not be found among you any one that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.' These practices were among the reasons God drove out the Canaanites. Israel was to be blameless before the Lord and listen to prophets whom God would raise up.
☩Methods of Divination
Various forms of divination are condemned in Scripture: hydromancy (divination by water), belomancy (by arrows), hepatoscopy (examining livers), teraphim (household idols), necromancy (consulting the dead), and astrology. The king of Babylon used several of these at a crossroads to determine which way to march.
☩False Prophets
False prophets who practiced divination proclaimed peace when there was none. Jeremiah denounced those who divined lies in God's name. Micah declared that the seers would be ashamed and the diviners confounded, covering their lips because there was no answer from God.
Related Verses66 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Divination," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Divination," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).