And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
Isaiah 8:19
These words are spoken by God to His prophet Isaiah. The prophet had been preaching to the people of Judah, begging them to repent. So far his preaching had fallen on deaf ears. God tells Isaiah that the people will try to persuade him to take the easy way, to trust in false teachers and false idols. They will say to him “seek unto” (this is the job of a prophet; to ask for guidance), but they will not want him to seek unto God. Instead they will ask him to seek unto them with familiar spirits. These were the pagans and popular false teachers who claimed they could communicate with the dead for insight into the future (how the dead know the future, who knows…).
Seek, they will desire, unto wizards that peep. These are men who claimed they could conjure up spirits and ghosts by uttering some magic words (peep). They have no great abilities, except the gift of theatricality and deception. They know neither magic words nor can they see visions; they can only mutter. Literally, the word means “to imagine.” These are nothing more than con men with overactive imaginations. God laments the willingness of the people to trust in any medium other than God; He says “shouldn’t a people seek their God?”
Listen to the heartache in His voice. You don’t find Egyptians abandoning their gods when they face bad circumstances. On the contrary, they wonder what they did to anger their gods. They’ve got it more right than Judah, even though the gods Egypt trusts aren’t real! Judah has the real thing, but won’t seek God, or stop her sinful doings. Instead of the One true and living God, they turn to dead gods which can not hear or help…or hurt.
Remember that the next time you are tempted to sin. For every whisper of the Devil in your ear, God is also there, asking you to turn to Him. Every time we give in to sin, we not only endanger our soul but we also break His holy heart.
Is He not our God? Should we not seek HIM?
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