18:9-13
The Promised Land was inhabited by peoples who followed all sorts of occult practices, worshipping all kinds of idols. This worship would involve child sacrifice. The reason God warned so severely against worshipping idols was that it was utterly evil. So the Israelites were warned in no uncertain terms to have nothing to do with these false gods or the associated practices. The reason the current occupants were being driven out was because of the detestable practices. The Israelites were to be blameless before the Lord. As we know, they ended up being anything but blameless, and they too were driven out.
18:14
The Israelites were not to worship the idols of the nations, nor were they to follow their practices. The nations would listen to sorcerers or those who practised divination. We still do this today, though while “fortune tellers” of various sorts do exist, more commonly we call them forecasters or modellers. Now there is nothing wrong with modelling or forecasting as long as the limitations are recognised. Instead, their pronouncements are treated as almost gospel truth. We saw this with Covid, and we also see it with climate change. God’s people are not to allow their lives to be governed by such people.
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