“Let no one be found among you 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.” Deuteronomy 18:10,11
Fortune-telling is as popular today as it was in the Bible. Every year Americans spend over 2 billion dollars trying to learn their future. They visit fortune tellers who read their palms or look into crystal balls. They check their daily horoscope, follow star charts of astrology, or buy a deck of tarot cards. Even young people might experiment with the Ouija board. These are all examples of divination, and they are all forms of the same sin.
We read of several instances in the Bible that speak of this sin. Second Kings 21:6 tells of wicked King Manasseh: “He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger.” Acts 16:16 tells the story of a young girl who told fortunes: “Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.” We later learn it was a demon that gave her this ability.
Our reference continues, “Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD” (12). As God’s children we don’t need to learn the future. Our future is in God’s hands, and his will is what is best for us. We must rely on the words of Psalm 31:14,15, “I trust in you, Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in your hands.’”
From Precious Words of the Bible by Reynold R. Kremer