When God’s People Go the World’s Way

The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Background Commentary is one of the best resources available for showing and telling the reader all about the world of the Bible. The ZIBBC brings the world of the Bible to life visually with over 2,000 photographs and through detailed explanation on each passage. You can learn about key archaeological findings, historical explanations, geographic insights, ancient manners and customs, and a whole lot more. Here’s an example of what you can expect from this award-winning commentary. We’ll learn about ancient superstitions, pagan divination, and idol worship as God’s people adopt the practices of the surrounding nations.

Israel Follows the Ways of the World

You, LORD, have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. They are full of superstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and embrace pagan customs. Their land is full of silver and gold; there is no end to their treasures. Their land is full of horses; there is no end to their chariots. Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made. So people will be brought low and everyone humbled — do not forgive them.”

Isaiah 2:6–9

Full of superstitions (2:6). People desire to hear from the divine, especially as regards the future, and so seek revelation in a number of different ways.

Horses … chariots (2:7). Horses and chariots were weapons of war. Military chariots required iron technology to provide strapping for the wheels, since wooden ones easily shattered. Lack of iron technology early in her history put Israel at a disadvantage against the Canaanites (Judg. 4).

Assyrian chariots, pulled by one or two horses, carried two or more passengers: the driver, an archer or spearman, and often a shield bearer. Horses were emblematic not only of power but also wealth, since they were expensive. They needed special care to protect the huge economic and military investment, shown by Ugaritic texts describing treatment for disease.

Idolatry

Full of idols (2:8). Idols are physical representations of deities. They were denied to Israel since she worshiped an invisible God who was not to be depicted in any concrete way. Idols were made of wood, stone, clay, or metal. They could be carefully shaped in human or animal form and covered with gold or silver leaf (e.g., 2:20; 30:22). Gold and silver were used for images of the divine in Ugarit, Israel, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Syria. At times idols were even given fine clothing. The Canaanite worshipers at Ugarit had lists of garments for the gods.

Some idols were small amulets that could be carried, while others were of human size. Still others were of superhuman size, such as the winged bulls standing over fifteen feet tall in the palace of Sargon II, a contemporary of Isaiah. These represented the protective lamassu-spirits bringing fortune to the city.

Special rituals (called “washing/opening the mouth”) were performed to imbue the images with divinity. As representative or embodiment of the deity, idols were treated with respect, since the deity itself was believed to be represented in the idol. Part of their worship was through offerings, which provided the gods with food and drink. Israel itself found it too easy to slip from a worship of their God to worshiping a physical representation of him (see the temple as an idol of sorts in Jer. 7).

Superstitions and Divination

In Israel, God revealed himself through his prophets in the form of visions, dreams, and the like. He also responded to queries through other, less common means, such as casting lots. The latter, using physical, mechanical means to question a god, was common among Israel’s neighbors and is called “divination.” It comes in numerous forms and is strongly condemned as unsuitable for Israel, whose God is not to be so manipulated (e.g., Deut. 18:9 – 14).

Rhabdomancy, Hepatoscopy, Extispicy

Three forms of divination are mentioned in Ezekiel 21:21, where, when a Babylonian king needs to decide which direction to take, “he will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.” Rhabdomancy used arrows or sticks that were thrown to the ground, and an interpretation was made depending on how they fell. Idol consultation used a type of household god (teraphim) that was somehow expected to speak. Common in Mesopotamia was hepatoscopy or extispicy, the examination of animal entrails, especially the liver. They were carefully inspected by trained priests who checked for abnormalities, which would communicate a message from the god regarding the future. In keeping Israel from misusing animal livers in this way, part of the liver taken from sacrifices was to be completely burnt.

Necromancy, Astrology, and Hydromancy

Other types of divination were also used. In necromancy one consulted with the dead, such as when Saul consulted Samuel through a medium at Endor (1 Sam. 28:8 – 19). Mesopotamia was also the source for astrology, consultation of the heavenly bodies (see Isa. 47:13). In hydromancy, people interpreted the patterns of oil placed on water in a cup or bowl, much like reading tea leaves today. In a practice not referred to in the Bible, Mesopotamian and Canaanite priests also inferred meaning from abnormal animal and human births.

Though Scripture condemns these practices, this is not because they do not work. There is supernatural power in the occult, but it is not open to followers of the true God. Israel is to depend on God’s self-revelation rather than manipulating nature to find out secrets.

On an individual level, a reason to know the future was to be able to take action against any evil that might be coming. Incantations and magic charms were used for protection against these. A sixteenth-century B.C. Egyptian example of a charm to protect a child reads: “Hast thou come to kiss this child? I will not let thee kiss him! … Hast thou come to injure him? I will not let thee injure him! Hast thou come to take him away? I will not let thee take him away from me! I have made his magical protection against thee out of clover … out of honey.” For Israel, the power to protect and heal did not lie in magic or in human strength, but in the Lord God, who welcomed prayer and was ready to protect and save (cf. 35:3 – 6).

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