September 17, 2013
Exodus 22:18 — Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.
It’s a long flight from Charlotte to Frankfurt, and I forgot to pack a writing pad. Sometimes I like to jot ideas down without starting up my iPad. So I thought I would easily be able to get something in one of those airport shops … you know, the ones that have everything, for prices that are just a little too high. Well, as I started looking, I had my first shock.
Do you know, so few people write things down now that it’s not worth the shops keeping a stock. I tried three or four places, and the best offer was a ritzy $25 notebook. Well, I’m crazy, but not that crazy! So, no notepad … but in the last place I tried I had my second shock, and it really bothered me. They were selling “Watching Over Voodoo Dolls”. Really! You could buy voodoo dolls to suit you personal needs.
In a modern air terminal, in the USA, I had met with ignorance, idolatry and witchcraft on display. Now maybe you think I’m overreacting. I hope not, because I’m not sure I know how to convince you that you are wrong. I hope you are as shocked as I was, and if you are a parent or a grandparent I hope you will watch for signs of the children you love running into these baleful influences, and that you will seek to counter them — strongly!
Perhaps you think the verse that was put in my mind is a bit extreme. Remember, as the saying goes, “I don’t make the rules”. God will not tolerate dabbling in the occult. A grand old commentator, Albert Barnes, does a splendid job of explaining the Almighty point of view:
This is the earliest denunciation of witchcraft in the Law. In every form of witchcraft there is an appeal to a power not acting in subordination to the Divine Law. From all such notions and tendencies true worship is designed deliver us. The practice of witchcraft was therefore an act of rebellion against Jehovah, and, as such, was a capital crime. The passages bearing on the subject in the Prophets, as well as those in the Law, carry a lesson for all ages.
We are to depend on God, and God alone, for provision. He, and He alone, told Adam and Eve what they should and should not eat. Satan tempted them to eat the forbidden fruit — and we all know where that led! So it is with these seemingly trivial nonsenses — voodoo dolls, horoscopes, tarot cards and the like. They are forbidden fruit, and relying on them leads to destruction.