Deuteronomy 18:9-14
Israel must reject every detestable way of seeking spiritual guidance because the Lord calls His people to be blameless before Him, not trained by the nations He is judging.
9 When you have come into the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the abominations of those nations.
10 There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who tells fortunes, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
11 or a charmer, or someone who consults with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
12 For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh. Because of these abominations, Yahweh your God drives them out from before you.
13 You shall be blameless with Yahweh your God.
14 For these nations that you shall dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you so to do.
Israel must reject every detestable way of seeking spiritual guidance because the LORD calls His people to be blameless before Him, not trained by the nations He is judging.
Moses commands Israel, as they enter the land the LORD is giving them, not to learn or imitate the nations' detestable spiritual practices, including child sacrifice, divination, omen-reading, sorcery, spell-casting, mediums, spiritists, and consulting the dead, because these practices are the very reason the LORD is driving those nations out and Israel must be blameless before Him.
Moses addresses Israel on the edge of Canaan, where the people will encounter nations whose religious life includes divination, omen-reading, sorcery, necromancy, and even child sacrifice. These practices are not cultural curiosities in the passage; they are named as detestable practices that help explain why the LORD is driving those nations out before Israel.
Priests, Prophets, and the Word That Is Near
God provides for his people through legitimate mediators — Levitical priests sustained by covenant portions and a coming prophet like Moses — while forbidding every counterfeit form of access to the divine.