Rejecting Divination and Pagan Practices

Deuteronomy 18:9–14 is the movement “Rejecting Divination and Pagan Practices.” Read it inside Moses’ final covenant instruction to Israel on the eastern side of the Jordan as the people prepare for life in the land. The section opens with: “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.” It closes with: “For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.”

The immediate task here is to understand the covenant instruction in its own setting before asking whether later Scripture develops the same theme. No later connection should be forced merely to make the section look fuller.