Read chapter in full: biblegateway.com/passage/?version=ESV&search=Isaiah+008

 

Chapter 8 (ESV)

19 And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 21 They will pass through the land, greatly distressed and hungry. And when they are hungry, they will be enraged and will speak contemptuously against their king and their God, and turn their faces upward. 22 And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness.

 

REFLECTION:

  1. Judah had turned away from the light into the dark: from turning to God for help and forgiveness and heeding His law, to mediums and spiritists, to ghosts that whisper and mutter.
  2. Think of a time when you have been overwhelmed with the reality of the darkness and evil which is present in our world. How did you find comfort?
  3. If you have ever sought guidance through fortune-telling, divination, witchcraft, evil spirits, or ancestral worship rituals in the past, and have never confessed this to God, please now ask Him for forgiveness. Pray that He will remove any place in your life where demons may have gained control, and ask for His protection and blessing. It is best to share your experience with a pastor or a mature Christian leader, such as a small group leader, and ask them to pray for you. From this point on, break free from Satan’s authority and enter into God’s light and holiness, becoming a victorious and joyful Christian—a follower of Jesus.

 

PRAYER:

Dear Heavenly Father, I ask You to reveal to me any involvement I have had—knowingly or unknowingly—with cults, witchcraft, or teachings and activities of other religions. I now renounce all of these in order to experience the freedom that is found in You. I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

HYMN:

Christ Be Our Light – youtu.be/caA4sIXkD44