War Against Occultism, Witchcraft and False Religion (5)

Jephthah's daughter
There is something I will like to clear out here before we continue. Some occult groups point to the incident that happened in Judges 11 (Jephthah and his daughter) as an excuse for involving in human sacrifice. But this is the deceit of Satan. You know the devil is a master deceiver. He will always look for something (even from the scriptures) to corrupt and use to deceive man. In Judges 11:29-40, the bible never told us that God instructed or received the daughter of Jephthah as a sacrifice. Moreover, the sacrifice that Jephthah later kept was that he let his daughter (the only child) remain a virgin till death. He did not kill her as erroneously claim by these Satanists. Listen here, "...She and her friends went into the hills and wept because she would never have children. When she returned home, her father kept his vow, and she died a virgin." Judges 11:38-39 (New living Translation). She was just dedicated to die as a virgin. Simple!

This is evident by the way he reacted when he saw that it was his daughter that came to meet him as he returned home, "when he saw her, he tore his clothes in anguish. 'My daughter!' he cried out. 'My heart is breaking! What a tragedy that you came out to greet me. For I have made a vow to the LORD and cannot take it back." (Verse 35). That means that he never planned to use his daughter for any form of sacrifice after all.

Now some commentators like Gaster (1962: 154) said that the story is a Hebrew version of a wide spread folktale. But even if he later sacrificed his daughter it was in total disobedience to God's laws in Exodus 20:13, "Do not murder." And Leviticus 18:21 (amongst others), "Do not give any of your children as sacrifice." Also remember that God stopped Abraham from using his son Isaac for sacrifice. So, the excuse by the occult world for sacrificing humans does not hold.

Now, occult practices are the main reason why God became very angry with some of the kings of Israel. Look at the evil King Manasseh. He was a grand occult master. He bluntly refused to follow the ways of his godly father King Hezekiah. "He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the forces of heaven and worshiped them. He even built pagan altars in the temple of the LORD; the place where the LORD had said his name should be honored. He built these altars for all the forces of heaven in both courtyards of the LORD'S Temple. Manasseh even sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD'S sight, arousing his anger." (2 Kings 21:3-6).

And how did God respond to these abominable acts "then the LORD said through his servants the prophets: 'King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has led the people of Judah into idolatry. So this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will bring disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror.

I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and by the same measure I used for the family of Ahab, I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. Then, I will reject even those few of my people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies. For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me" (verses 10-15).

God does not joke with the sin of occultism at all. Wherever He sees it, He passes judgment immediately. You can go and ask Ahab, the beloved King Solomon, etc. If you are practicing or your parents have in the past practiced this evil, this is your opportunity to repent and ask God for forgiveness. Please, pray that any big 'Bird' will not crash. I saw one that went in flames midair and suddenly crash landed, burning the people on board. It was not a good site to behold. let us pray quickly against such a crash. We will continue next week God bless.

Rev. Agbo is the author of the book Power of Midnight Prayer and a minister with the Assemblies of God Nigeria. Tel: 08037113283, E-mail: [email protected]