Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
I find it interesting that this passage comes just before one that is often mistakenly used to speak of the Christmas tree. Some claim that decorating a tree in your house at Christmas is idolatry. Such an interpretation completely ignores the context.
We are often prone to interpreting what we see, hear, and read through the lens of our culture and surroundings, sometimes disregarding the intention of those who created the content we are viewing.
Given the context of the passage, I believe the “signs of heaven” would be akin to modern horoscopes - witchcraftery is well-known to use astrology as part of their “magic.”
Allow me to digress a bit and share some of my own experiences. At 21 years old, while driving to work one morning, I heard a radio broadcast claiming a vast number of living species on Earth are going extinct daily, and that the sun is going to burn out in so many hundreds of thousands of years. I became frightened.[1]
My fear led me to search for the meaning of life, eventually bringing me to faith in Christ. I believe, however, that the same fear leads environmentalists to engage in many of the extreme actions they do. They observe what appears to them as the exhaustion of the earth and are dismayed by it. As a Christian, I am not dismayed. It's not that I know there will be enough materials to last for my lifetime, so I am content to enjoy the resources and leave future generations to fend for themselves. It is that I know God has provided enough materials for all of humanity for as long as this earth is meant to last and to meet the needs of His creation.
Both the atheist and the Christian see the same “signs of heaven.” We both know that we must be nearing the end of things as they are. The atheist is dismayed by that. The Christian is excited for the same thing.
#ContextMatters #BiblicalInterpretation #SignsOfHeaven #ChristianPerspective #FaithOverFear
Astrology, Fear, and Faith: A Christian Perspective on Environmental Concerns
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