Deuteronomy 18:9-13
18:10 a never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering: Some Canaanite religions included child sacrifice to appease their gods. Israel was strictly warned never to engage in this practice (Exod 34:15-16 b; Lev 18:21 c; 20:2-5 d). When they did, it aroused God’s judgment (2 Kgs 17:16-17 e; 21:6 f; Ezek 23:37 g).• fortune-telling: Throughout the ancient Near East, diviners were considered experts at reading and interpreting omens. Divination was commonly done through extispicy, the examination of livers, kidneys, and other internal organs of various animals.
• sorcery: Sorcerers conjured up the spirits of the dead.
• Divining cups were often used to interpret omens (see Gen 44:5 h). Drops of oil would be placed in containers of water, and the spread of the oil communicated some message to the expert. A parallel would be reading tea leaves.
• The practice of witchcraft included performing unusual acts or signs (Exod 7:11 i) to mislead people (Mal 3:5 j).
18:11 k cast spells: These incantations wereto destroy or injure others by invoking curses on them. The false prophet Balaam was hired for this purpose against Israel (Num 22:2-6 l).
• Mediums and psychics were especially adept at conjuring up and communicating with the spirits of the dead (see 1 Sam 28:3-25 m).
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