Divination

of false prophets ( Deuteronomy 18:10 Deuteronomy 18:14 ; Micah 3:6 Micah 3:7 Micah 3:11 ), of necromancers ( 1 Samuel 28:8 ), of the Philistine priests and diviners ( 1 Samuel 6:2 ), of Balaam ( Joshua 13:22 ). Three kinds of divination are mentioned in Ezekiel 21:21 , by arrows, consulting with images (the teraphim), and by examining the entrails of animals sacrificed. The practice of this art seems to have been encouraged in ancient Egypt. Diviners also abounded among the aborigines of Canaan and the Philistines ( Isaiah 2:6 ; 1 Samuel 28 ). At a later period multitudes of magicians poured from Chaldea and Arabia into the land of Israel, and pursued their occupations ( Isaiah 8:19 ; 2 Kings 21:6 ; 2 Chr 33:6 ). This superstition widely spread, and in the time of the apostles there were "vagabond Jews, exorcists" ( Acts 19:13 ), and men like Simon Magus ( Acts 8:9 ), Bar-jesus ( Acts 13:6 Acts 13:8 ), and other jugglers and impostors ( 19:19 ; 2 Tim 3:13 ). Every species and degree of this superstition was strictly forbidden by the law of Moses ( Exodus 22:18 ; Leviticus 19:26 Leviticus 19:31 ; 20:27 ; Deuteronomy 18:10 Deuteronomy 18:11 ).

But beyond these various forms of superstition, there are instances of divination on record in the Scriptures by which God was pleased to make known his will.