Dt. 18: The Occult and the Bizarre

Deuteronomy 18:22 "If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him."

What does it mean that "the LORD is their inheritance?" The Levites, 1/12th of the tribes of Israel have no inheritance as the other tribes. The others get the land and the material things. The Levites live on the offerings and charity of the rest of them. They only ate because of the sin of the people. If there was no need for sacrifice, priests would go hungry. It would follow then that their office would probably be eliminated. But sacrifice was necessary. The priests were the buffer zone between God and man. The priests were consecrated among the consecrated. The priests were also the recipients of tithed material goods. So...tithing was an essential part of man's relationship Godward. This tithe ensured that priests could live, and their mediation could continue. They were clean, and the Israelites were not.

I must confess my own fascination with the occult. Not that I would believe in it, or give any sort of weight to any sort of divination or futurism, but I wonder what it is that makes it physically go. What causes the need to know what happens in the future? Where is this curiosity rooted? God has been revealed to be able to see what happens in the future before it happens, and this isn't just power to make things happen. That ability is amazing, and beyond any of us.

The passage beginning in verse 9 is rather eye opening. There is a command that "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." This reveals numerous things. Child sacrifice by fire was taking place...presumably to Molech. We find out that consulting the dead was at least believed to be a reality. The Bible at this point has not revealed much about the dead, other than that they will be gathered together, and are someplace else. What does this mean? Consulting the dead. Why consult the dead? Does this desire for "knowledge" begin with the forbidden tree in the Garden? A desire to become like God?

These practices are all condemned as destestable. They are not permissible. Does this mean that other nations have permission? They are assuredly not held to any standard.

As for future events, God said that he will raise up a prophet from among their brothers who has the word of God in his mouth, and will speak in God's name. This prophet will be so esteemed, that those who do not heed his words will be called to account personally by God Himself. Prophets speaking in the name of other Gods had to be put to death. Joshua is Moses successor, so that's a possibility. Apparently other prophets will rise up and speak presumptuously, make claims to be speaking on behalf of God, whether sincere or not. But there is no cause for alarm.