Reference: Divination
American
The Eastern people were fond of divination, magic, and the pretended art of interpreting dreams and acquiring a knowledge of futurity. When Moses published the law, this disposition had long been common in Egypt and the neighboring countries; and to correct the Israelites inclination to consult diviners, wizards, fortune-tellers, and interpreters of dreams, it was forbidden them under very severe penalties, and the true spirit of prophecy was promised to them as infinitely superior, Ex 22:18; Le 19:26,31; 20:27. Those were to be stoned who pretended to have a familiar spirit, or the spirit of divination, De 18:9-12; and the prophecies are full of invectives against the Israelite who consulted such, as well as against false prophets, who seduced the people, Isa 8:19; 47:11-14; Eze 13:6-9. A fresh impulse to these superstitions was gained from intercourse with the Chaldeans, during the reign of the later kings of Judah and the captivities in Babylon, 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6. See MAGIC, SORCERERS.
Divination was of several kinds: by water, fire, earth, air; by the fight of birds, and their singing; by lots, dreams, arrows, clouds, entrails of sacrifices, pretended communication with spirits, etc., Eze 21:21.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
You shall not allow a sorceress to live.
You shall not eat anything with the blood. You shall not divine, nor conjure spirits.
You shall not turn to mediums, and you shall not seek to spirit-knowers to be defiled by them. I am Jehovah your God.
A man also or woman that has a medium or that is a necromancer, shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with stones. Their blood is on them.
When you come to the land which Jehovah your God gives you, you shall not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch, read more. or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead. For all that do these things are an abomination to Jehovah. And because of these abominations Jehovah your God drives them out from before you.
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times and used fortune-tellers. And he dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He worked much wickedness in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.
And when they shall say to you, Seek to the mediums and to wizards who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to their God, than for the living to the dead?
But evil shall come on you; you shall not know its origin. And mischief shall fall on you; you shall not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come on you suddenly, you shall not know. Stand now with your spells, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have wearied yourself since your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit; perhaps you may bring terror. read more. You are exhausted by your many plans; now let the astrologers stand up and save you, the stargazers, making known what is coming on you into the new moons. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame; there shall not be a coal to warm them; nor fire, to sit before it.
They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, Jehovah says. And Jehovah has not sent them; but they hoped to confirm their word. Did you not see a vain vision, and speak a lying divination? Yet you say, Jehovah says; although I have not spoken? read more. Therefore so says the Lord Jehovah: Because you have spoken vanity and seen a lie, therefore, behold, I am against you, says the Lord Jehovah. And My hand shall be against the prophets who see vanity and who divine a lie. They shall not be in the council of My people, nor shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord Jehovah.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
Easton
of false prophets (De 18:10,14; Mic 3:6-7,11), of necromancers (1Sa 28:8), of the Philistine priests and diviners (1Sa 6:2), of Balaam (Jos 13:22). Three kinds of divination are mentioned in Eze 21:21, by arrows, consulting with images (the teraphim), and by examining the entrails of animals sacrificed. The practice of this art seems to have been encouraged in ancient Egypt. Diviners also abounded among the aborigines of Canaan and the Philistines (Isa 2:6; 1Sa 28). At a later period multitudes of magicians poured from Chaldea and Arabia into the land of Israel, and pursued their occupations (Isa 8:19; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6). This superstition widely spread, and in the time of the apostles there were "vagabond Jews, exorcists" (Ac 19:13), and men like Simon Magus (Ac 8:9), Bar-jesus (Ac 13:6,8), and other jugglers and impostors (Ac 19:19; 2Ti 3:13). Every species and degree of this superstition was strictly forbidden by the law of Moses (Ex 22:18; Le 19:26,31; 20:27; De 18:10-11).
But beyond these various forms of superstition, there are instances of divination on record in the Scriptures by which God was pleased to make known his will.
(1.) There was divination by lot, by which, when resorted to in matters of moment, and with solemnity, God intimated his will (Jos 7:13). The land of Canaan was divided by lot (Nu 26:55-56); Achan's guilt was detected (Jos 7:16-19), Saul was elected king (1Sa 10:20-21), and Matthias chosen to the apostleship, by the solem lot (Ac 1:26). It was thus also that the scape-goat was determined (Le 16:8-10).
(2.) There was divination by dreams (Ge 20:6; De 13:1,3; Jg 7:13,15; Mt 1:20; 2:12-13,19,22). This is illustrated in the history of Joseph (Ge 41:25-32) and of Daniel (Da 2:27; 4:19-28).
(3.) By divine appointment there was also divination by the Urim and Thummim (Nu 27:21), and by the ephod.
(4.) God was pleased sometimes to vouch-safe direct vocal communications to men (De 34:10; Ex 3:4; 4:3; De 4:14-15; 1Ki 19:12). He also communed with men from above the mercy-seat (Ex 25:22), and at the door of the tabernacle (Ex 29:42-43).
(5.) Through his prophets God revealed himself, and gave intimations of his will (2Ki 13:17; Jer 51:63-64).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And God said to him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the sincerity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me. Therefore I did not allow you to touch her.
And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years. And the seven good ears are seven years. The dream is one. read more. And the seven thin and evil-appearing cows that came up after them are seven years. And the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which God has spoken to Pharaoh; what God is about to do, He shows to Pharaoh. Behold, there are coming seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine. And all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land. And the plenty shall not be known in the land because of the famine following; for it shall be very grievous. And since the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
And Jehovah saw that he had turned aside to see. God called to him out of the midst of the thorn bush, and said, Moses! Moses! And he said, Here I am.
And He said, Throw it on the ground. And he threw it on the ground. And it became a serpent. And Moses ran from it.
You shall not allow a sorceress to live.
And I will meet with you there, and I will talk with you from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs on the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the sons of Israel.
This shall be a burnt offering forever throughout your generations, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before Jehovah, where I will meet you, to speak there to you. And there I will meet with the sons of Israel, and Israel shall be sanctified by My glory.
And Aaron shall cast lots on the two he-goats; one lot for Jehovah and the other lot for a complete removal. And Aaron shall bring the goat on which Jehovah's lot fell, and offer it for a sin offering. read more. But the goat on which the lot fell to be the complete removal shall be presented alive before Jehovah, to make an atonement with him, to let him go for a complete removal into the wilderness.
You shall not eat anything with the blood. You shall not divine, nor conjure spirits.
You shall not turn to mediums, and you shall not seek to spirit-knowers to be defiled by them. I am Jehovah your God.
A man also or woman that has a medium or that is a necromancer, shall surely be put to death. They shall stone them with stones. Their blood is on them.
But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. According to the lot shall the possession of it be divided between many and few.
And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask for him according to the judgment of Urim before Jehovah. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
And Jehovah commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments so that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it. Therefore take good heed to yourselves, for you saw no kind of likeness on the day Jehovah spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,
If a prophet rises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder,
you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead.
For these nations whom you shall possess listened to observers of clouds and to diviners. But as for you, Jehovah your God has not allowed you to do so.
And never since has a prophet like Moses arisen in Israel, whom Jehovah knew face to face,
Up! Sanctify the people and say, Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow. For thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, A cursed thing is in the midst of you, O Israel. You cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the cursed thing from among you.
And Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes. And the tribe of Judah was taken. And he brought the families of Judah. And he took the family of the Zerahites. And he took the family of the Zerahites man by man. And Zabdi was taken. read more. And he brought his household man by man. And Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken. And Joshua said to Achan, My son, I pray you, give glory to Jehovah, the God of Israel, and make confession to Him. And tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me.
The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword, among their slain.
And when Gideon had come, behold, a man told a dream to his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came to a tent, and struck it so that it fell, and overturned it, so that the tent lay along.
And it happened, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream and the meaning of it, he worshiped. And he returned to the army of Israel, and said, Arise! For Jehovah has delivered the host of Midian into your hand.
And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, What shall we do to the ark of Jehovah? Tell us with what we shall send with it to its place.
And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was taken. When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was taken, and Saul the son of Kish was taken. And they looked for him, but he could not be found.
And Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing. And he went. And two men went with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, Please divine for me calling up the dead, and bring me up the man whom I shall name to you.
And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened. And Elisha said, Shoot! And he shot. And he said, The arrow of Jehovah's deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For you shall strike the Syrians in Aphek until it is finished.
For You have forsaken Your people the house of Jacob, because they have become full from the east, and are fortune-tellers like the Philistines. And they clap their hands with the children of strangers.
And when they shall say to you, Seek to the mediums and to wizards who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to their God, than for the living to the dead?
And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, you shall tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of Euphrates. And you shall say, In this way shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her. And they shall be weary. So far are the words of Jeremiah.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
Daniel answered before the king and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot be shown to the king by the wise men, the conjurers, the horoscopists, or the fortune-tellers.
Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stunned for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spoke and said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning trouble you. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream is to those who hate you, and its meaning to your foes. The tree that you saw, which became great and strong, whose height reached to the heaven, and the sight of it to all the earth; read more. whose leaves were fair, and its fruit plentiful, and in it was food for all, under which the animals of the field dwelt, and on whose branches the birds of the heavens had their home; it is you, O king, for you have become great and strong, for your greatness has grown and reached to the heaven, and your rule to the end of the earth. And as the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from Heaven, and saying, Cut the tree down and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots of it in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him; this is the meaning, O king, and this the decree of the Most High, which has come on my lord the king. They shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. And they shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will. And in that they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; your kingdom shall be sure to you after you have known that Heaven rules. Therefore, O king, let my advice be pleasing to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor, whether there will be duration to your prosperity. All this came on the King Nebuchadnezzar.
Therefore a night shall be to you without vision; and darkness without divining. And the sun shall go down over the prophets, and the day shall be dark over them. And the seers shall be ashamed, and the diviners ashamed; yea, they shall all cover their mustache, for there is no answer from God.
Her heads judge for a bribe, and her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for silver, yet they will lean on Jehovah and say, Is not Jehovah among us? No evil can come on us!
And as he thought upon these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take to you Mary as your wife. For that in her is fathered of the Holy Spirit.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they had departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the young child and His mother and flee into Egypt. And be there until I bring you word, for Herod is about to seek the child to destroy Him.
But Herod having expired, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
But when he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea in his father Herod's place, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee.
And they gave forth their lots. And the lot fell upon Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
But a certain man called Simon had long been conjuring in the city, and amazing the nation of Samaria, claiming himself to be some great one.
And when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain conjurer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-jesus;
But Elymas the conjurer (for so his name is, if translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
And certain from the strolling Jews, exorcists, undertook to name the name of the Lord Jesus over those having evil spirits, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.
Also many of those practicing the curious arts, bringing together the books, burned them before all. And they counted the prices of them and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Diligently set forward Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos, that nothing may be lacking to them.
Fausets
Eze 13:7. Used in Scripture of false systems of ascertaining the divine will, such as are allied to idolatry: as necromancy, which evoked the dead (1Sa 28:8); prognostication by arrows (Eze 21:21). The arrows marked with names of places to be attacked were shaken (for "He made His arrows bright," translated, "He shook") together in a quiver; whichever came out first intimated the place selected; or else threw them in the air to see in alighting which way they inclined, toward Jerusalem or Ammon. Inspecting entrails. The healthy or unhealthy state of the sacrificial entrails intimated success or failure. In the Nineveh sculptures the king is represented with a cup in his right hand, his left hand resting on a bow, also two arrows in the right hand, possibly for divination. The "magicians" of Egypt in Ge 41:8, (chartumim, from cheret "a style" or pen,) were sacred "scribes" of the hieroglyphics, devoted to astrology, magic, etc.; else from Egyptian chertom, "wonder workers," or cher-tum, "bearers of sacred spells."
Daniel was made "master of the magicians" (Da 5:11); chokmim, wise men, our wizards (Ex 7:11);" sorcerers" (mekaskphim), "mutterers of magic formulae" (Isa 47:9-12). Jannes or Anna in Egyptian means "scribe," a frequent name in papyri of the time of Rameses II. Jambres, the other name of an Egyptian magician preserved by Paul (2Ti 3:8), means "scribe of the south." The earliest prohibition of witchcraft is Ex 22:18, "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Witchcraft was an appeal to a power alien from God. So it was accounted rebellion against Jehovah. Saul's disobedience and rebellion against God's will led him, though zealous to extirpate witches so long as God's law did not interfere with his impatient self-will, at last to consult the witch of Endor; Samuel's words as to his disobedience in the case of Amalek proving prophetic, "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" (1Sa 15:23; compare 1Sa 28:3-20).
So Saul died for his transgression (Hebrew shuffling evasion of obedience) ... and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it (1Ch 10:13). "Wizards," yid'oniym, from yaada "to know" (Le 19:31). Consulters of "the dead," 'oboth (Le 20:6), "those having familiar spirits" which they consulted to evoke the dead; literally, "bottles" (leather) inflated by the spirit; compare Job 32:19, "my belly is as wine which hath no vent ... ready to burst like new bottles." The pythonesses (margin of Ac 16:16) spoke with a deep voice as from the belly; by ventriloquism (Septuagint so translated "them that have familiar spirits," ventriloquists) they made a low voice sound ("peep and mutter") as from the grave or departed person's spirit (Isa 19:3; 29:4).
Scripture has written for all ages (Isa 8:19-20):"when they shall say, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits; and unto wizards that peep and that mutter, should not a people seek unto their God? (should they seek) for the (good of) the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony ... if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." This tests and condemns modern spiritualism, the sign of "the latter times and the last days" (1Ti 4:1), "seducing spirits and doctrines suggested by demons" (2Ti 3:1-8). The phenomena seem supernatural and Satanic, and the communications often lying, as was to be expected from "the father of lying" (Joh 8:44). The Angekoks, Esquimaux sorcerers, when converted, have declared that their sorceries, when they were heathen, were not mere impostures, that they were acted on by a power they could not control; but when they believed in Jesus they had neither the will nor the power to do what they used in their pagan state.
Brainerd states the same as to the Indian diviners, namely, that all their former powers of divination departed the moment the word of God entered their souls. Satan's design in spiritualism is, judging from the alleged spirit communications, to supersede Scripture with another authority (namely, spirit communications) in matters of faith. Satan and his demons are the real speakers in these pretended communications from the spirits of the dead. The "associate spirit" of spiritualism answers to the Scripture "familiar spirit" of the wizards. The pythoness and the witch of Endor were each a "medium" between the consulters and the powers of darkness. The consulters are put en rapport with the latter, not really with the departed dead. Scripture (Ec 9:5-6, "the dead know not anything ... neither have they any more a portion forever in anything done under the sun"; 2Ki 2:9; Lu 16:19-31) implies that it is not the spirits of the dead that make the alleged communications, though these communications assert that it is; this assertion is from a lying spirit, such as was in Ahab's prophets (1Ki 22:22).
The dead do not return, they are personated by evil spirits. Spiritualism is virtually condemned in De 18:10; 2Ki 17:17; 21:6. "Sorcerers" are especially mentioned as about to abound with "lying wonders," and to be adjudged to damnation, at the Lord's coming again (2Th 2:9-11; Mal 3:5; Re 21:8; 22:15). The three frog-like demons out of the mouths of the anti-trinity, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, shall "work miracles" to tempt the ten kings under Antichrist to the last battle for the kingship of the world, against Christ, in "the great day of God Almighty" (Re 16:13-14; compare Zec 13:2; Mt 24:24; Re 13:14-15). Paul was "grieved," so far was he from seeking and welcoming like spiritualists the pythoness' testimony to him (Ac 16:17-18); for the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of divination cannot dwell together in the same soul.
God condemns those who "remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments" (Isa 65:4) for necromancy, to consult the dead. The warning in Isa 8:19-20; Mr 5:3, applies to all times. The witch of Endor was "mistress of a spirit by which the dead are conjured up" (1Sa 28:7, ba'alath 'owb). Saul's request, "bring me him up whom I shall name," explains the previous "divine (qacomi) unto me by the familiar spirit." The witch's recognizing Saul as soon as Samuel appeared proves that her art was not mere jugglery: "Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul"; she was in a state of clairvoyance. On the other hand, her "crying with a loud voice," startled at the sight of Samuel, shows that his appearance differed essentially from anything she had ever by demon art effected before. She tells Saul, "I saw gods (a supernatural being) ascending out of the earth ... an old man covered with a (prophet's) mantle" (me'il).
Saul apparently did not see Samuel's person, but recognized the "mantle." Saul's inconsistency is convicted by Samuel: "wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" If God was departed from him he should have been the more afraid to increase Jehovah's displeasure by breaking the laws in consulting the dead, as if they were less under God's control than the living. Abject superstition never reasons. Samuel's prophecy of his and his sons' death on the morrow, and Israel's defeat by the Philistines, proves Samuel's appearance to have been of God, and not by demoniac agency nor an illusion (Sir 46:20). God for special reasons awakened His servant out of his repose ("why hast thou disquieted me," etc.) to appear, not at a conjuring call which He forbids, but to show the witch and the king the terrible penalty of disobedience and witchcraft, as he (Samuel) had long ago declared in more general terms when alive (1Sa 15:23; 28:17-19).
Jehovah's principle is (Eze 14:4,7-8), "every man that setteth up his idols in his heart and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart ... I will answer him by Myself" (by My own special interposition), answering the fool according to his folly, making the sinner's sin his own punishment. In Egypt books containing magic formulae belonged exclusively to the king,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And let it be that the young woman to whom I shall say, Let down your pitcher, please, so that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give your camels drink also. Let her be the one that You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. And by it I shall know that You have shown kindness to my master.
And it happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. And they, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. And they, the magicians of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts.
You shall not allow a sorceress to live.
You shall not allow a sorceress to live.
You shall not turn to mediums, and you shall not seek to spirit-knowers to be defiled by them. I am Jehovah your God.
And the soul that turns to mediums, and to spirit-knowers, to go lusting after them, I will even set My face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idol-worship. Because you have rejected the Word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king!
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idol-worship. Because you have rejected the Word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king!
And Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him in Ramah, even in his own city. And Saul had put away the mediums and the spirit-knowers out of the land. And the Philistines gathered themselves and came and pitched in Shunem. And Saul gathered all Israel and they pitched in Gilboa. read more. And Saul saw the army of the Philistines, and he was afraid, and his heart greatly trembled. And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah did not answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets. And Saul said to his servants, Seek me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servant said to him, Behold, there is a woman who is a medium, at Endor.
And Saul said to his servants, Seek me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servant said to him, Behold, there is a woman who is a medium, at Endor. And Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing. And he went. And two men went with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, Please divine for me calling up the dead, and bring me up the man whom I shall name to you.
And Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing. And he went. And two men went with him. And they came to the woman by night. And he said, Please divine for me calling up the dead, and bring me up the man whom I shall name to you. And the woman said to him, Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off mediums, and the spirit-knowers, out of the land. Why then do you lay a snare for my life, to cause me to die? read more. And Saul swore to her by Jehovah, saying, As Jehovah lives, there shall no punishment happen to you for this thing. And the woman said, Whom shall I bring up to you? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And the woman saw Samuel, and cried with a loud voice. And the woman spoke to Saul, saying, Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul! And the king said to her, Do not be afraid. For what did you see? And the woman said to Saul, I saw gods coming up out of the earth. And he said to her, What is his form? And she said, An old man comes up, and he is covered with a cloak. And Saul saw that it was Samuel, and he bowed his face to the ground, and prostrated himself. And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am grievously distressed, for the Philistines are warring against me. And God has left me and does not answer me any more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. And I have called you so that you may make known to me what I should do. And Samuel said, Why then do you ask me, since Jehovah has left you and has become your enemy? And Jehovah has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For Jehovah has torn the kingdom out of your hand and is giving it to your neighbor, to David.
And Jehovah has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For Jehovah has torn the kingdom out of your hand and is giving it to your neighbor, to David. Because you did not obey the voice of Jehovah, nor execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore Jehovah has done this thing to you now.
Because you did not obey the voice of Jehovah, nor execute his fierce wrath on Amalek, therefore Jehovah has done this thing to you now. And, Jehovah will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. Jehovah also shall deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
And, Jehovah will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. Jehovah also shall deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. And Saul immediately fell headlong on the earth, and was sorely afraid because of the words of Samuel. And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread all day nor all night.
And it happened after this, David inquired of Jehovah, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And Jehovah said to him, Go up! And David said, Where shall I go? And He said, To Hebron.
And David inquired of Jehovah, and He said, You shall not go up, but go around behind them and come upon them over across from the weeping trees.
And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar. He even built them for it inside, for the sanctuary, for the Holy of Holies.
And Jehovah said to him, With what? And he said, I will go forth and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And He said, You shall entice him and succeed also. Go forth and do so.
And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper room in Samaria, and was sick. And he sent messengers and said to them, Go, ask of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise! Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, Is it not because no God is in Israel that you go to ask of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? read more. And therefore so says Jehovah, You shall not come from that bed on which you have gone up, but shall surely die. And Elijah left. And the messengers turned back to him. And he said, Why have you now turned back? And they said to him, A man came up to meet us and said to us, Go, turn again to the king who sent you, and say to him, So says Jehovah, Is it not because no God is in Israel that you go to ask of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from that bed on which you have gone up, but shall surely die.
And it happened when they had gone over, Elijah said to Elisha. Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken away from you. And Elisha said, please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times and used fortune-tellers. And he dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He worked much wickedness in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.
And Saul died for his sin which he committed against Jehovah, against the Word of Jehovah, which he did not keep, and also for seeking of a medium, to inquire, and
Behold, my breast is as wine which has no vent; it bursts like new wineskins.
Hear the voice of my prayers, when I cry to You, when I lift up my hands toward Your Holy Place.
For the living know that they shall die; but the dead do not know anything, nor do they have any more a reward; for their memory is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; nor do they any longer have a part forever in all that is done under the sun.
And when they shall say to you, Seek to the mediums and to wizards who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to their God, than for the living to the dead?
And when they shall say to you, Seek to the mediums and to wizards who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to their God, than for the living to the dead? To the Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because no light is in them.
To the Law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this Word, it is because no light is in them.
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy its wisdom. And they shall seek to idols, and to the enchanters, and to the mediums, and to the future-tellers.
And you shall be brought down; you shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust, and your voice shall be like a spiritist, out of the ground, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come on you in their fullness for the multitude of your sorceries, and for the great power of your enchantments. For you have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge, it has perverted you; and you have said in your heart, I am, and there is no one else. read more. But evil shall come on you; you shall not know its origin. And mischief shall fall on you; you shall not be able to put it off. And desolation shall come on you suddenly, you shall not know. Stand now with your spells, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have wearied yourself since your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit; perhaps you may bring terror. You are exhausted by your many plans; now let the astrologers stand up and save you, the stargazers, making known what is coming on you into the new moons.
a people who remain among the graves, and sleep in the tombs, who eat swine's flesh, and broth from hateful things in their vessels;
Did you not see a vain vision, and speak a lying divination? Yet you say, Jehovah says; although I have not spoken?
Therefore speak to them, and say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah: Every man of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to the prophet; I Jehovah will answer him in it by the host of his idols;
For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger who lives in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to ask of him concerning Me; I Jehovah will answer him Myself. And I will set My face against that man, and I will make him desolate for a sign and for proverbs. And I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you shall know that I am Jehovah.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
And the king commanded to call to the horoscopists, and to the conjurers, and to the sorcerers, and to the Chaldeans, to tell to the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And in the days of your father there was found in him light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, your father the king, appointed him master of the horoscopists, conjurers, Chaldeans, and fortune-tellers,
My people seek advice from their wooden idols, and their rod declares to them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to go astray, and they have gone lusting away from under their God.
And it shall be in that day, says Jehovah of Hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall be remembered no more. And also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
And I will come near you to judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those who extort from the hired laborer's wages, and turning away the widow, and the orphan, the alien, and not fearing Me, says Jehovah of Hosts.
Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with my own? Is your eye evil because I am good?
For false Christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders; so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the elect.
who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one could bind him, no, not with chains
There was a certain rich man who was customarily clothed in purple and fine linen and making merry in luxury every day. And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who was laid at his gate, full of sores read more. and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. But even the dogs came and licked his sores. And it happened that the beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich one also died and was buried. And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things. But now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, there is a great chasm fixed between you and us; so that they desiring to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they pass over to us from there. And he said, I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may testify to them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said to him, They have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them. And he said, No, father Abraham, but if one should go to them from the dead, they would repent. And he said to him, If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded, even though one rose from the dead.
You are of the Devil as father, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.
This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him in Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received the living words to give to us,
But a certain man called Simon had long been conjuring in the city, and amazing the nation of Samaria, claiming himself to be some great one. All gave heed to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This one is the great power of God. read more. And they were paying attention to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with conjuring.
And when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain conjurer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-jesus;
But Elymas the conjurer (for so his name is, if translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
And as we went to prayer, it happened that a certain girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by divining.
And as we went to prayer, it happened that a certain girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by divining. The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are announcing to us the way of salvation. read more. And she did this many days. But being distressed, and turning to the demonic spirit, Paul said, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her! And it came out in that hour.
And certain from the strolling Jews, exorcists, undertook to name the name of the Lord Jesus over those having evil spirits, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.
Also many of those practicing the curious arts, bringing together the books, burned them before all. And they counted the prices of them and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Much, by every way! Chiefly, indeed, because they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. read more. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,
But the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and teachings of demons,
Know this also, that in the last days grievous times will be at hand. For men will be self-lovers, money-lovers, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, read more. without natural affection, unyielding, false accusers, without self-control, savage, despisers of good, traitors, reckless, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it; even turn away from these. For of these are those who creep into houses and lead captive silly women loaded with sins, led away with different kinds of lusts, ever learning and never able to come to the full knowledge of the truth. But as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these also resist the truth, men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the faith.
But as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so these also resist the truth, men of corrupt mind, reprobate concerning the faith.
And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
And it deceives those dwelling on the earth, because of the miracles which were given to it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling on the earth that they should make an image to the beast who had the wound by a sword and lived. And there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might both speak, and might cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are spirits of demons, working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that day, the great day of God Almighty.
But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and makes a lie.
Hastings
Morish
The numerous references in scripture to the various forms of occult science, as it is now called, and the strong denunciations against the Israelites having anything to do with it, show that it was a dangerous reality, however much deception might at times have been associated with it. We read of it first in Ge 41:8, when Pharaoh called for all the magicians, chartummim, of Egypt and the wise men, to interpret his dream. All their resources failing, God's man in the prison was called forth to show the dream, and this proved the occasion of working out God's purposes respecting Joseph. Doubtless the above class of men were eminent for their learning, as those were at the court of Babylon, over whom Daniel was made chief. Da 4:7,9.
Among those in Egypt there were some at least who were able to exercise powers beyond what they obtained by human learning. When Moses was endeavouring by means of signs to convince Pharaoh of the power of God, the magicians of Egypt were able to turn their rods into serpents, and to simulate the first two plagues with their enchantments. Ex 7:22; 8:7. These plagues were 'turning the water into blood' and 'bringing up frogs upon the land.' This was beyond mere human power, and certainly the magicians did not work by the power of God; it must therefore have been by the power of Satan. We know not the nature of the enchantments used, the word is lat, and signifies 'secret, magic arts.' Satan can suggest what incantations to employ, if man is willing, and can exercise his powers as far as permitted by God. After the first two plagues the power was stopped, and the magicians had to own, when lice were produced, "This is the finger of God."
In De 18:10-11 there is a list of things bearing on our subject which were denounced by the Lord:
1. DIVINATION, qesem, 'prediction.' A remarkable passage in Eze 21:21-22 gives some instances of how the heathen divined. The king of Babylon had come to two roads, and wanting to know whether he should take the road to Rabbath or to Jerusalem, resorted to divination. First 'he shook his arrows' (as it should be translated). Doubtless two or more arrows were marked each with the name of one of the cities, and shaken in the quiver, whichever arrow was taken by the right hand decided which road was to be taken. Jerusalem fell to the right hand. Perhaps the king was doubtful, so he consulted with images, teraphim; it is not known how these were used for divination: cf. Zec 10:2. The king still sought another guide: 'he looked in the liver.' By certain set rules the intestines of a sacrifice were said to be propitious or the reverse. The king using three sets of prognostications shows that he had no great confidence in his divinations: he may have been often deceived by them previously. How different from an answer from God vouchsafed to Israel!
Other means of divination are named, as, 'divining by the cup.' Ge 44:5,15. This was practised by the Egyptians and Persians and is thus described: small pieces of metal and stones, marked with signs were thrown into the cup, and answers gathered from the marks as they fell. Sometimes the cup was filled with water, and, as the sun fell upon the water, images were seen or fancied on its surface. Another reference is "My people ask counsel at their stocks and their staff declareth unto them." Ho 4:12. The Arabs used two rods, on one of which was written God bids, and on the other God forbids, these were shaken together, and the first that fell, or was drawn, was taken for the answer; or one rod was thrown up and the direction in which it pointed when it fell was answer. It will be seen here that a 'stock' or god was invoked that what the staff declared should be controlled by him. So in all divination, incantations were used, and the gods invoked to let the replies given be the most favourable. Behind all this we know there were demons who controlled the results given, so as to work out the purposes of Satan.
In the Acts we find a damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, or of Python. This was the prophetic oracle at Delphi, held to be the centre and focus of Gentile divination. An evil spirit connected with that oracle possessed this young woman. The testimony of the evil spirit to the servants of the most high God is remarkable: it may have been compelled to speak thus when brought face to face with the power of God (as the demons owned Christ): but the apostle could not tolerate commendation from such a source
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And it happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
Is this not that in which my lord drinks, and by which indeed he divines? You have done evil in so doing.
And Joseph said to them, What deed is this that you have done? Do you not know that one like me can certainly divine?
And the magicians of Egypt did so with their secret arts. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as Jehovah had said.
And the magicians did so with their secret arts, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead.
or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead.
or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or one who calls to the dead.
And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times and used fortune-tellers. And he dealt with familiar spirits and wizards. He worked much wickedness in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger.
And he caused his sons to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom. He also practiced secret arts, and used fortune-telling, and used witchcraft, and dealt with mediums, and with soothsayers. He did much evil in the sight of Jehovah in order to provoke Him to anger.
which will not listen to the charmer's voice, a skillful caster of spells.
And they joined themselves to Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead,
And when they shall say to you, Seek to the mediums and to wizards who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to their God, than for the living to the dead?
And when they shall say to you, Seek to the mediums and to wizards who peep and mutter; should not a people seek to their God, than for the living to the dead?
And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst of it, and I will destroy its wisdom. And they shall seek to idols, and to the enchanters, and to the mediums, and to the future-tellers.
And you shall be brought down; you shall speak out of the ground, and your speech shall be low out of the dust, and your voice shall be like a spiritist, out of the ground, and your speech shall whisper out of the dust.
But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood. They shall come on you in their fullness for the multitude of your sorceries, and for the great power of your enchantments.
Stand now with your spells, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have wearied yourself since your youth. Perhaps you will be able to profit; perhaps you may bring terror. You are exhausted by your many plans; now let the astrologers stand up and save you, the stargazers, making known what is coming on you into the new moons.
You are exhausted by your many plans; now let the astrologers stand up and save you, the stargazers, making known what is coming on you into the new moons.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver. At his right shall be the divining for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering-rams against the gates, to pour out and to build a siege wall.
Then the horoscopists, the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the fortune-tellers came in. And I told the dream before them, but they did not make its meaning known to me.
O Belteshazzar, master of the horoscopists, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its meaning.
My people seek advice from their wooden idols, and their rod declares to them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to go astray, and they have gone lusting away from under their God.
because of the many harlotries of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of sorceries who sells nations by her harlotries, and families by her sorceries.
For the family idols speak iniquity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain; therefore they wandered like a flock; they were troubled because there was no shepherd.
But a certain man called Simon had long been conjuring in the city, and amazing the nation of Samaria, claiming himself to be some great one. All gave heed to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, This one is the great power of God. read more. And they were paying attention to him, because for a long time he had amazed them with conjuring.
And when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain conjurer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-jesus;
But Elymas the conjurer (for so his name is, if translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
And as we went to prayer, it happened that a certain girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by divining. The same followed Paul and us and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the Most High God, who are announcing to us the way of salvation. read more. And she did this many days. But being distressed, and turning to the demonic spirit, Paul said, I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her! And it came out in that hour. And when her masters saw that the hope of their gain went out, having seized Paul and Silas, they dragged them to the market before the rulers.
Also many of those practicing the curious arts, bringing together the books, burned them before all. And they counted the prices of them and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, fightings, jealousies, angers, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
Let no one defraud you, delighting in humility and worship of the angels, intruding into things which he has not seen, without a cause being vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind,
Since then the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise partook of the same; that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death (that is, the Devil),
And they did not repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
And the light of a lamp will never more shine at all in you. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will never more be heard at all in you. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth; for by your sorceries all nations were deceived.
And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.
But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
But outside are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and makes a lie.
Smith
is a "foretelling future events, or discovering things secret by the aid of superior beings, or other than human means." It is used in Scripture of false systems of ascertaining the divine will. It has been universal in all ages, and all nations alike civilized and savage. Numerous forms of divination are mentioned, such as divination by rods,
divination by arrows,
divination by cups,
consultation of teraphim,
1Sa 15:23; Eze 21:21; Zec 10:2
[TERAPHIM]; divination by the liver,
See Teraphim
divination by dreams,
consultation of oracles.
Moses forbade every species of divination, because a prying into the future clouds the mind with superstition, and because it would have been an incentive to idolatry. But God supplied his people with substitutes for divination which would have rended it superfluous, and left them in no doubt as to his will in circumstances of danger, had they continued faithful. It was only when they were unfaithful that the revelation was withdrawn.
etc. Superstition not unfrequently goes hand in hand with skepticism, and hence, amid the general infidelity prevalent throughout the Roman empire at our Lord's coming, imposture was rampant. Hence the lucrative trade of such men as Simon Magus,
Bar-jesus,
the slave with the spirit of Python,
the vagabond jews, exorcists,
Lu 11:19; Ac 19:13
and others,
etc., as well as the notorious dealers in magical books at Ephesus.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Is this not that in which my lord drinks, and by which indeed he divines? You have done evil in so doing.
and the sign or the wonder which he foretold to you occurs, saying, Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us serve them, you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For Jehovah your God is testing you to know whether you love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
And when Gideon had come, behold, a man told a dream to his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came to a tent, and struck it so that it fell, and overturned it, so that the tent lay along.
For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idol-worship. Because you have rejected the Word of Jehovah, He has also rejected you from being king!
And when Saul inquired of Jehovah, Jehovah did not answer him, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.
Bring near your cause, says Jehovah; bring out your strong reasons, says the King of Jacob. Let them bring them out, and tell us what shall happen; let them reveal the former things, what they are, that we may look on them and know the final end of them; or declare to us things to come. read more. Reveal the near things after this, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do good, or do evil, so that we may be amazed and see together. Behold, you are of nothing, and your work of nothing. He who chooses you is an abomination.
And who, as I, shall call, and shall declare it and set it in order for Me, since I placed the people of old? And the things that are coming, and shall come, let them declare to them.
Jehovah says, Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams and tell them, and cause My people to go astray by their lies and by their lightness. Yet I did not send them nor command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all, says Jehovah.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
For the king of Babylon shall stand at the parting of the way, at the head of the two highways, to practice divination. He shall shake arrows; he shall ask household idols; he shall look at the liver.
My people seek advice from their wooden idols, and their rod declares to them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to go astray, and they have gone lusting away from under their God.
For the family idols speak iniquity, and the diviners have seen a lie and have told false dreams. They comfort in vain; therefore they wandered like a flock; they were troubled because there was no shepherd.
And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges.
But a certain man called Simon had long been conjuring in the city, and amazing the nation of Samaria, claiming himself to be some great one.
And when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain conjurer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-jesus;
And as we went to prayer, it happened that a certain girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by divining.
And certain from the strolling Jews, exorcists, undertook to name the name of the Lord Jesus over those having evil spirits, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.
Also many of those practicing the curious arts, bringing together the books, burned them before all. And they counted the prices of them and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.
But evil men and seducers will go forward to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet doing signs before it, (by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast), and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the Lake of Fire burning with brimstone.
Watsons
DIVINATION, a conjecture or surmise, formed concerning future events, from things which are supposed to presage them. The eastern people were always fond of divination, magic, the curious arts of interpreting dreams, and of obtaining a knowledge of future events. When Moses published the law, this disposition had long been common in Egypt and the neighbouring countries. To prevent the Israelites from consulting diviners, fortune tellers, interpreters of dreams, &c, he forbade them, under very severe penalties, to consult persons of this description, and promised to them the true spirit of prophecy as infinitely superior. He commanded those to be stoned who pretended to have a familiar spirit, or the spirit of divination, De 18:9-10,15. The writings of the prophets are full of invectives against the Israelites who consulted diviners, and against false prophets who by such means seduced the people.
2. Different kinds of divination have passed for sciences, as
1. Aeromancy, divining by the air. 2. Astrology, by the heavens. 3. Augury, by the flight and singing of birds, &c. 4. Cheiromancy, by inspecting the lines of the hand.
5. Geomancy, by observing cracks or clefts in the earth. 6. Haruspicy, by inspecting the bowels of animals. 7. Horoscopy, a branch of astrology, marking the position of the heavens when a person is born. 8. Hydromancy, by water. 9. Physiognomy, by the countenance. 10. Pyromancy, a divination made by fire.
3. The kinds of divination, to which superstition in modern times has given belief, are not less numerous, or less ridiculous, than those which were practised in the days of profound ignorance. The divining rod, which is mentioned in Scripture, is still in some repute in the north of England, though its application is now confined principally to the discovery of veins of lead ore, seams of coal, or springs. In order that it may possess the full virtue for this purpose, it should be made of hazel. Divination by Virgilian, Horatian, or Bible lots, was formerly very common; and the last kind is still practised. The works are opened by chance, and the words noticed which are covered by the thumb: if they can be interpreted in any respect relating to the person, they are reckoned prophetic. Charles I. is said to have used this kind of divination to ascertain his fate. The ancient Christians were so much addicted to the sortes sanctorum, or divining by the Bible, that it was expressly forbidden by a council. Divination by the speal, or blade bone of a sheep, is used in Scotland. In the Highlands it is called sleina-reached, or reading the speal bone. It was very common in England in the time of Drayton, particularly among the colony of Flemings settled in Pembroke- shire. Camden relates of the Irish, that they looked through the bare blade bone of a sheep; and if they saw any spot in it darker than ordinary, they believed that somebody would be buried out of the house. The Persians used this mode of divination.
4. Of all attempts to look into futurity by such means, as well as resorting to charms and other methods of curing diseases, and discovering secrets, we may say, that they are relics of Paganism, and argue an ignorance, folly, or superstition, dishonourable to the Christian name; and are therefore to be reproved and discouraged.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
When you come to the land which Jehovah your God gives you, you shall not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or a fortune-teller, or a witch,
Jehovah your God will raise up to you a Prophet from the midst of you, of your brothers, One like me. To Him you shall listen,