Ask The Stars… They Will Tell You

Did you ever wonder what your future held for you?  Have you ever been tempted to go to an astrologer? Have you ever actually given into the temptation and visited an astrologer?

 For many Americans, having their horoscope read is an innocent, fun, and in some cases beneficial pursuit. In fact, based on the latest Harris poll, slightly more than ¼ of Americans believe in Astrology.  (You can access this poll at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/vault/Harris_Poll_2009_12_15.pdf)

 Just Google “daily horoscope” and you will see over 6 ½ million websites, most of which are offering access to daily horoscopes.   Yes, undoubtedly astrology, horoscopes and other methods of foretelling future events has found a solid foothold in our society.  



 So what does the Lord say about all this?  Is it just an innocent pursuit?  Let’s see what the Word of God has to say…

  THE SCRIPTURE:

 Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it. Thus shall they be unto thee with whom thou hast laboured, even thy merchants, from thy youth: they shall wander every one to his quarter; none shall save thee.

(Isa 47:12-15)

 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, (Psa 19:1-4)

 THE STUDY:

  

Isa 47:12-15

 In our first text, Isaiah is receiving a message from God to be delivered to the empire ofBabylon.  In this message Isaiah is tellingBabylonof their coming punishment from God for the sins they have committed (vs 1-11)

 Then in verse 12 and 13 - the Babylonians were to turn to their sinful pursuits of enchantments, sorceries, and getting counsel from astrologers, stargazers and monthly prognosticators.  They had put these sinful pursuits ahead of serving the Lord in times past…. So they should rely on them now as well. All of those things would prove worthless. 

 In verses 14-15 - The Lord would do away with all those pursuits as fire burns stubble.  They would not be able to deliver themselves from these judgments, much less the entire nation ofBabylon, their merchants and their associates from youth.   None of their past pursuits, or associates, could save the nation nor themselves…

 Clearly these verses present two important truths about future tellers….

1. They are of no lasting value… the Lord is the One who controls all events.  They do not control, nor can they save from future events.  (Isa 44:24-25, Isa 41:21-24)


2. They will receive judgment from the Lord along with those who look to them.  Clearly, they were sharing in the punishment meted out to the empire ofBabylon.  (Isa 8:19-22)

(see also: Dan 1:20, 2:2, 2:27, 4:7, 5:7, 5:11, 5:15 – the astrologers being talked about in the book of Daniel, were unable to interpret or give the solution to the King’s dream.  The entire Daniel account is teaching the impotence of astrologers when it comes to solving life’s issues and understanding God’s will for our lives.)

 

Psalm 19:1-4

Here we find the answer to the question “Why did the Lord create all the heavenly bodies?”  In many astrologist’s minds, the purpose of the heaven’s existence is to help interpret future events.  However, in our Psa 19: verses we find that the real purpose of the creation of the heavens was to display God’s great power, wisdom and glory.  By looking at the greatness of the heavenly bodies, EVERYONE is given a testimony to God’s existence and greatness.  It is a testimony that transcends national, cultural, language and even continental boundaries.  It is the witness Paul talks about in Romans 1:19-20.

THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION

For the Christian….

We need to always remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who controls our future.  (Dan 4:34-35, Isa 46:9-11)  It is our responsibility to trust Him with our future on a daily basis.  To seek knowledge of what our future holds is a lack of faith on our part.  He will take care of us… we do not need to think, nor worry about what the future may hold. (Matt 6:25-34)

For those who have never trusted in Christ…

The greatest peace comes from trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ to care for our past, present and future. (Phil 4:6-7)  By looking to Christ and trusting in His work on the cross, we can find rest and peace from the burden of our sin. (Matt 11:28-30). 

Turn to the Lord, relying totally on Him to give forgiveness, peace and rest… this is the key to knowing we are under His care.   Then the future is no longer an uncertainty to be feared and concerned about… it can now be approached with a confident expectation knowing that He will accompany us and protect us no matter what the future may hold.   (Pro 3:5-6, Psa 32:8, Jer 6:16)

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To see this lesson taught on video please go to my Video Blog at  http://www.youtube.com/settledinheaven

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May the Lord bless your study of His Word.  Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”

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