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The First Commandment: Statues and Precepts (38)
Leviticus 19.31
“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.”
Isaiah 8.19, 20; Acts 16.16-18
Leviticus 20.6
“And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people.”
Exodus 22.18
“You shall not permit a sorceress to live.”
Leviticus 20.27
“A man or a woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them.”
A medium was a person or object that allowed the living to make contact with the dead, or with the spirit world, as a means of gaining enlightenment or direction. This was a common practice in pagan religions. Mediums could consult animal entrails, tossed sticks or bones, or even the stars on behalf of those willing to pay for their services. They could conjure dead spirits, as we see in the case of the witch of Endor (1 Sam. 28).
A “medium” is simply a “means” or an “avenue” by which the living connect with the dead. I find it interesting to reflect on today’s “media” – television and pop culture, especially – in the light of such a definition. For certainly these can be means through which the living are put into contact with dead worldviews, harmful values and practices, and sinful ways, and be encouraged to believe that such are normal and acceptable.
We must be continually on guard against any such “mediums” drawing us away from love for God.
T. M. Moore
The Law of God is the soil which, fertilized by the rest of God’s Word and watered by His Spirit, brings forth the fruit of Christian life. If you’d like to understand this process better, and how to make best use of the Law in your walk with and work for the Lord, order the book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, from our online store.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.