“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7).
Are you filled with anxiety and desperate to know about your future? Is that desperation causing you to go about seeking answers? Well, we live in a culture these days where some people are desperate, or are becoming desperate, to know what the future holds for them, and they are turning to psychics and mediums for answers. Are you one of those persons?
If you are, you are not alone! The ancient Israelites were also desperate to know their future as well, and God knew that they’d be tempted to consult ungodly sources for answers. So He warned them to stay away from mediums and those who contact the dead – and that should be a warning for us as well. Reliance on those evil practices indicates a failure to trust the Lord with our lives.
If perchance you are not convinced and are wondering what the Bible has to say about it, here are a few scriptures:
Leviticus 19:31: “Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.”
Leviticus 20:6: “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.”
Isaiah 8:19: “When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?”
Deuteronomy 18:9-12: “When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you”.
2 Chronicles 33:6: Mankind is told those who consult psychics anger God.
You see, the Bible is also filled with stories that highlight the fact that consulting those people goes against God’s principles. Here is an example:
There was a time in King Saul’s life when he too became desperate to know his future. So what did he do? The Bible says, “Saul then said to his attendants, ‘Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.’ ‘There is one in Endor,’ they said” (1 Sam. 28:7). So in desperation, Saul turns to the occult for his spiritual insight.
The story: Saul and the Medium at Endor (1 Samuel 28:3-25).
After Samuel’s death Saul received no answer from God from dreams, prophets, or the Urim and Thummim as to his best course of action against the assembled forces of the Philistines. Consequently Saul, who had earlier driven out all necromancers and magicians from Israel, sought out a medium, anonymously and in disguise. Following the instruction of her visitor, the woman claims that she sees the ghost of Samuel rising from the abode of the dead. The voice of the prophet’s ghost, after complaining of being disturbed, berates Saul for disobeying God, and predicts Saul’s downfall, with his whole army, in battle the next day, then adds that Saul and his sons will join him, then, in the abode of the dead. Saul is shocked and afraid and, following the encounter his army, is defeated and Saul commits suicide after being wounded.
You see, my friends, the world is fast becoming a complicated place to live in. With the down turn in the economy, and the many serious issues that we are called to grapple with, it behooves us to read God’s word to see what is required of us – and be vigilant at all times lest we get caught up and be led astray.
It seems like the media has been working overtime to make everything seem normal and an acceptable part of life. There are lots of movies and television shows that promote many things that go against what God’s desires for us. For example, witchcraft is promoted in shows like: Bewitched, Sabrina, Charmed, The Medium, and Harry Potter that have been hugely popular.
Advertising also bombards us with psychic trade shows, psychic hotlines, and websites. A lot of people too are being encouraged to play with spiritual power that God forbids, and we need to sound the warning. When we open the door to these kinds of things we are opening the door to powerful and dangerous forces, and we are cutting ourselves off from God.
So in our quest for answers, let us seek God’s wisdom and power for our lives. He knows best and has everything under control. God’s ability to see the future soars high above our own, so His knowledge of what will make us eternally happy is far above ours.
Helen H. Lemmel (1922), in the refrain of the hymn ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus’ exhorts us to: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus; Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim; In the light of His glory and grace.”
About the Author: Mrs. Marilyn Hodge owns and operates the Wellness Centre in the Farrington, Anguilla. The Centre offers Counselling Services by Appointment Only and has now published Positive Living Volume 2. Contact information: 476-3517 or email: marilynb@anguillanet.com. www.facebook.com/axawellnesscentre
