Is the desire to know the secret things about the future, our lives, or those close to us wrong? Is it permissible for Christians to visit people who claim to know things we don’t? Or are there secret things that God has not revealed and that we are forbidden to seek apart from Him and His Word? And is it possible that Satan and his demons use people who claim to know those secret things to deceive us by sounding religious or harmless?
Welcome, to “God’s Word Day by Day.” This year I’ve added a couple of new features. First, check out the “Free Resources” tab at the top. You’ll find a downloadable, printable PDF with “Going Deeper Study Questions” for each day’s post and a list of all the Bible readings so you can check them off as you go. You’ll also find the daily posts on YouTube. The daily emails now have a link to both these Soul Survival posts and the YouTube videos. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here.
Today’s Readings:
Leviticus 19 & 20
Psalm 27.4-10
Proverbs 10.10-12
Mark 5.1-20
God, the Future & Secret Things
Leviticus 19 & 20:
Moral & Social Standards
Here in chapter 19 of Leviticus, we have many of God’s moral and social standards laid out or repeated:
Respect for parents (Lev. 19.3).
Caring for the poor and needy (Lev. 19.9-10) This was the law of gleaning. Long before there was welfare, God’s people were to leave some of their harvests in the field so the poor and the stranger were free to gather what was left.
Fair labor practices (Lev. 19.13).
Not taking advantage of the disabled (Lev. 19.14).
Justice and fairness (Lev. 19.15-16).
Love for your neighbor (Lev. 19.17-18).
Protection for women (Lev. 19.20-22, 29).
Respect for the elderly (Lev. 19.32).
Kindness to strangers (Lev. 19.33-34).
Honesty in business (Lev. 19.35-36).
They were also forbidden to take part in any kind of witchcraft, fortune-telling, predicting the future, or any kind of divination (Lev. 19.26-28, 31).
Secret Things & Satan
The desire to know the secret things is nothing new and it never seems to go away either. As humans, we would rather know how things are going to turn out so we can deal with them ourselves rather than learn to trust God.
And the devil is just as deceitful as he ever was. He not only tricks us into thinking we can know what only God knows, but he assures us that it’s really OK to disobey God in the process.
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen. 3.4-5).
In fact, I’ve heard of fortune tellers and others who tell people they believe in Jesus even though the Bible forbids such things. In our New Testament reading, you will see that even Satan and those under his control can appear religious when it serves their purposes.
They may believe, but they are NOT true worshipers. They’re serving Satan whether or not they realize it.
James said, “… Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror” (Jas. 2.19). They believe in God and know that He is the sovereign Ruler of the universe, but they are not willing to submit to Him.
The Secret Things
We are violating God’s clear commands if we participate in any of these things: cleansings, horoscopes, Ouija boards, astrology, palm readers, necromancy, and other means of knowing secret things apart from what God reveals in His Word.
God takes this seriously:
Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God (19.31).
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 (20.27).
God is the One who holds the future. We need to leave it in His loving hands.
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29.29).
So, if you have been or are involved in any way, I pray that you will go to God and ask for His forgiveness. And that you’ll avoid having anything to do with them in the future.
Sexual Immorality & Human Sacrifice
Chapter 20 begins by talking about those who worshiped Molech. In particular, those who sacrificed their children to him. This demonic “god” demanded human sacrifice, especially infants and children!
This is the same devil who wants us to think “playing around” with witchcraft, fortune telling, and horoscopes is harmless.
You’ll notice that much of this chapter had to do with sexual immorality. Temple prostitution, drunken orgies, and all kinds of sexual immorality were a large part of pagan religious practices. Those things would naturally result in pregnancies. Child sacrifice might have been a convenient solution.
But I wonder if, from God’s perspective, it was much different from what takes place today at abortion clinics around our country and the world.
If You Have Had an Abortion
I know there may be someone reading this who has had an abortion before, or even after, coming to know Christ. Please know God offers forgiveness if you turn to Him in faith and repentance. I would encourage you to contact a biblical counselor or Christian crisis pregnancy center if you are dealing with post-abortion pain of any kind or if you are contemplating an abortion. You can go to the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors to find a counselor in your area.
If you live in the El Paso, Texas area you can contact Pregnancy & Fatherhood Solutions.
Now more about demons, religion, and how Satan tries to deceive.
Mark 5.1-20:
Religious-Sounding Demons
This is the story of the Gadarene demoniac. Verse 6 says the demons who were controlling this man “worshiped the Lord.” As I said, even Satan can act religious when it suits him.
Jesus had mercy on this man and commanded the demons to come out of him. Verse 15 tells us that when the people heard that the demoniac was clothed and in his right mind, “they were afraid” and asked Jesus to leave their region. Perhaps they were afraid of what would be exposed in their own lives.
A Religious-Sounding Fortune Teller
In Acts 16, Paul encountered another “religious-sounding” demon:
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.” 18 And this she did for many days.
She brought her masters much profit by at least seeming to tell people the secret things that were going on in their lives. But look at Paul’s response:
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
Not only can Satan appear religious, he also knows Scripture. But he twists it in an attempt to deceive. He tried with Jesus during His temptation in the wilderness (Lk. 4.9-12). How much more will he try with people like you and me? That’s why we must read and understand the Bible in its proper context for ourselves. If we don’t know the truth, we could fall for anything.
Finally, the aging Apostle John left us with this warning:
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.(1 Jn. 4.1).
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 27.4-10:
Praying the Psalms
This is a beautiful psalm to turn into a prayer. Here are some ways we might pray it back to God:
Let me finish well, verse 4:
4 One thing I have desired of the Lord,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the Lord,
And to inquire in His temple.
Lord, let me dwell in your house all the days of my life. Let me not just start well, but finish well.
Hide us in times of trouble, verses 5-6:
5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.
6 And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord.
Thank you, Lord, for caring for my family and me in our times of trouble. Hide us from people who would act like our enemies. Remind us that You have set us on the rock that Jesus talked about in Matthew 7.24-27. I understand that rock is hearing and doing your Word. Let us be doers of your Word even when it comes to those who have set themselves against us in any way. Let us return evil with good and seek to be more like Your Son.
Help me know You, verses 7-8:
7 Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
8 When You said, “Seek My face,”
My heart said to You, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.”
Lord, I will seek your face in the Bible. Help me know You more and more.
I know I can count on You, verses 9-10:
9 Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
10 When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the Lord will take care of me.
No matter who else in life abandons or hurts me, I know I can always count on You. Thank You for saving me and calling me Yours. In Jesus name. Amen.
Proverbs 10.10-12:
Well of Life or Destruction?
The book of Proverbs shows us many clear contrasts between doing good and doing evil. And this passage is no exception.
“The mouth of the righteous is a well of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked …” The mouth of the righteous builds up, encourages, and causes people to grow, but the mouth of the wicked brings destruction.
The passage goes on, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.” So many of the little annoyances in life, even things people do that hurt or offend us, can be covered with God’s love if we call on His grace to do so.
Closing Thoughts:
As believers, we need to expose our hearts and minds to the light of God and His Word and when God reveals areas of sin, we need to confess and repent. Remember when we do:
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1.9).
We also need to read and meditate on the Word so we know His voice (Jn. 10.4-5) and won’t be deceived by “religious-sounding” demons or a desire to know the secret things that God has not revealed.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about friendship, 4 keys to waiting on the Lord, spiritual curb appeal, vengeance, keeping an eternal perspective, and ways to enjoy true abundance.
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss them.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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