2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
This morning, the Lord directs me to write about pagan practices and the warnings against them that He gives us. While this is not a pleasant subject, it is a necessary part of "combat intelligence" that we must have in order to recognize the practices of the adversary and his followers and to know God's will about them. If we are going to be victorious in spiritual warfare, we must first know God's will, then we must know the enemy's practices, so that we can battle effectively in Christ's name. These evil practices have been on God's mind since very early in the history of His people. LV 19: 26-28, 31, "Do not eat any meat with blood still in it. Do not practice any kind of magic. Do not cut the hair on the sides of your head or trim your beard or tattoo yourselves or cut gashes in your body to mourn for the dead. I am the Lord... Do not go for advice to people who consult the spirits of the dead." Along with many others, I believe that Moses wrote the Torah, the first five books including LV. The exact date of this is not known, but it is thought to be sometime between 1450 and 1410 BC. Evidence indicates that God revealed the contents of Leviticus to Moses during the fifty-day period after the Tabernacle was set up [EX 40: 17] and before the Israelites left Sinai [NU 10: 11].
You all know that I have written often that God repeats certain things for emphasis and always to encourage revisiting them to learn more of what He reveals each time. Such was God's will behind the writing of the book of Deuteronomy. It is likely the DT was one of Christ's favorite books, as He cited it often in His teaching. This book was written largely in 1406 BC, but some material equally inspired must have been added after Moses' death. Deuteronomy is a re-statement and not just a repetition of the law for a new generation that had arisen during the wilderness journey. These Jews were about to enter the Promised Land, and God wanted them to know and obey His law there. DT 18: 9-14, "When you come into the land that the Lord your God has given you, do not follow the disgusting practices of the nations that are there. Do not sacrifice your children in the fires of your altars; and do not let your people practice divination or look for omens or use spells or charms, and do not let them consult the spirits of the dead. The Lord your God hates people who do these disgusting things, and that is why He is driving these nations out of the land as you advance. Be completely faithful to the Lord. Then Moses said, 'In the land you are about to occupy, people follow the advice of those who practice divination and look for omens, but the Lord your God does not allow you to do this.'"
Truthfully, I didn't know what some of these words meant, so I researched their definitions, knowing that the best way to equip ourselves is to know the enemy's practices and their weaknesses. Here are the definitions I found.
- Casts a spell: "Tying up" a person used in a sense of binding with a charm consisting of words with occult power.
- Divination: Soothsaying; prophecy apart from God; discovering hidden knowledge through reading omens, dreams, casting lots; astrology, or necromancy.
- Interpreting Omens: Seeking knowledge through signs and events; a type of divination.
- Medium: One who calls up the dead; necromancer.
- Spiritualist: One who has esoteric knowledge through non-human means; a diviner.
- Soothsaying: Witchcraft; observing clouds for augury; foretelling the future with supernatural power, but not Divine power; interpreting dreams, revealing secrets.
- Sorcerer: Magician; conjurer; enchanter; one who practices magic arts with intent to do harm, delude, or pervert the mind; one who claims to have knowledge through evil spirits.
- Witchcraft: Using formulas and incantation to practice sorcery; providing extraordinary effects by the invocation or aid of demons; the use of magic arts, spells, or charms.
- Necromancy: The act of calling upon the spirits of the dead.
Whew! This is pretty scary stuff!
As we observe our modern society, we see young people tattooing themselves and placing disgusting rings and balls on places on their bodies to draw attention to their sexuality. TV ads for mediums with 900 phone numbers can be found on many stations. There are religions today who profess to be Christian, yet they call upon the spirits of the dead as a part of their most holy ordinances. We all know there are Satanic churches like the one in San Francisico run by Antone LaVey. Witch covens practice their beliefs in every major city in the country. So, as you can see, this was not only a problem in ancient times; it's a clear and present danger in today's society. We need to be aware of God's will in our lives and think twice about the direction our young people go in to be "one of the crowd."
PRAYER: O Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ, we call upon You to rebuke Satan for bringing these evil practices to mankind. Your will is clear. You detest these things, and because we want to obey you, we do too. You challenge us to be vigilant and alert to these practices going on around us. We recognize that they are often given a covering much the same way as Christ, in MT 7: 15, described false prophets. "Be on your guard against false prophets: they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves." The unchurched, seekers, and young people are particularly vulnerable to the temptations the devil and his followers present. We are, indeed, our brother's keepers in that we need to do what is necessary to aid the Holy Spirit in bringing as many of these people as possible to the loving protection and salvation that is offered by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. We thank You, Dearest Lord, for letting us have this "combat intelligence" to prepare us for successful spiritual warfare. We dedicate ourselves to remaining connected to You through studying Your word and prayer daily. You alone are "our Refuge and our Strength in times of trouble" [PS 46:1]. Our trust is in You, and we pledge You our obedience. We come to You today in humble willingness to confess our sin, to adore and worship You, to offer our lives to Your glory and honor, and in praise and thanksgiving for all many ways that You bless us. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
Tomorrow, we are going to take a look back in history at the city of Ephesus. The story of this remarkable place is a good illustration of the clash between a God-centered and a man-centered belief systems. While Ephesus is in ruins today, it's story leaves us with lessons from God that will last for eternity. We need to remember that not one word, number, or symbol that is in the Scriptures is there without a reason God has for it. The fact that we have the Bible at all is one of many manifestations of the profound love our Abba has for each of us. Bask in the warmth of it today and always, knowing He is the best Friend we will ever have. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn