Turning to the Demons

4, 5. What is the state of affairs in Isaiah’s day, and to whom do some turn?

⁴ Because of their disobedience, Isaiah’s contemporaries are in a deplorable moral state, a veritable pit of spiritual darkness. Even the southern kingdom of Judah, the location of God’s temple, has no peace. As a result of their unfaithfulness, the people of Judah are threatened with invasion by the Assyrians, and hard times lie ahead. To whom do they turn for help? Sadly, many turn to Satan, not to Jehovah. No, they do not invoke Satan by name. Rather, like King Saul of old, they engage in spiritism, looking for answers to their problems by trying to communicate with the dead.​—1 Samuel 28:1-20.

⁵ Some are even promoting this practice. Isaiah points to such apostasy when he says: “In case they should say to you people: ‘Apply to the spiritistic mediums or to those having a spirit of prediction who are chirping and making utterances in low tones,’ is it not to its God that any people should apply? Should there be application to dead persons in behalf of living persons?” (Isaiah 8:19) Spirit mediums can trick people, “chirping and making utterances in low tones.” Such sound effects, attributed to the spirits of dead ones, can be worked through ventriloquism by a living medium. At times, though, the demons may get directly involved and impersonate the dead, as apparently happened when Saul inquired of the witch of Endor.​—1 Samuel 28:8-19.

6. Why are the Israelites who have resorted to spiritism especially blameworthy?

⁶ All of this is going on in Judah despite the fact that Jehovah has forbidden the practice of spiritism. Under the Mosaic Law, it is a capital offense. (Leviticus 19:31; 20:6, 27; Deuteronomy 18:9-12) Why do a people who are Jehovah’s special possession commit such a grave transgression? Because they have turned their backs on Jehovah’s Law and counsel and have become “hardened by the deceptive power of sin.” (Hebrews 3:13) “Their heart has become unfeeling just like fat,” and they have become alienated from their God.​—Psalm 119:70.a

7. How do many today imitate the Israelites of Isaiah’s day, and what will be the future of such ones if they do not repent?

⁷ Likely they reason, ‘Of what good is the Law of Jehovah when we are faced with an imminent attack by the Assyrians?’ They want a quick and easy solution to their predicament and are not about to wait for Jehovah to work out his will. In our day too, many ignore Jehovah’s law and search out spirit mediums, consult horoscopes, and resort to other forms of occultism to solve their problems. However, for the living to seek answers from the dead is just as ridiculous today as it was back then. The future of any who unrepentantly practice such things will be with the “murderers and fornicators and . . . idolaters and all the liars.” They have no future prospects of life.​—Revelation 21:8.

God’s ‘Law and Attestation’

8. What is “the law” and “the attestation” to which we today should be going for direction?

⁸ Jehovah’s law banning spiritism, together with his other commands, is not hidden in Judah. It is preserved in writing. Today his Word is available in its completed form in writing. It is the Bible, which includes not only a compilation of divine laws and regulations but also an account of God’s dealings with his people. This Bible account of Jehovah’s dealings forms an attestation, or testimony, teaching us about Jehovah’s nature and qualities. Instead of consulting with the dead, where should the Israelites be going for direction? Isaiah answers: “To the law and to the attestation!” (Isaiah 8:20a) Yes, those seeking true enlightenment should go to God’s written Word.

9. Is quoting the Bible from time to time of any value to unrepentant sinners?

⁹ Some Israelites dabbling in spiritism may profess respect for the written Word of God. But such claims are empty and hypocritical. Isaiah says: “Surely they will keep saying what is according to this statement that will have no light of dawn.” (Isaiah 8:20b) To what statement is Isaiah here referring? Perhaps to the statement: “To the law and to the attestation!” It may be that some apostate Israelites refer to the Word of God, just as apostates and others today may quote Scripture. But these are mere words. Quoting Scripture will not lead to any “light of dawn,” or enlightenment from Jehovah, if it is not accompanied by a doing of Jehovah’s will and a shunning of unclean practices.b

“A Famine, Not for Bread”

10. How are the people of Judah suffering because of rejecting Jehovah?

¹⁰ Disobedience to Jehovah results in mental darkness. (Ephesians 4:17, 18) In a spiritual sense, the people of Judah have become blind, without understanding. (1 Corinthians 2:14) Isaiah describes their condition: “Each one will certainly pass through the land hard pressed and hungry.” (Isaiah 8:21a) Because of the nation’s unfaithfulness​—particularly during the reign of King Ahaz—​the survival of Judah as an independent kingdom is threatened. The nation is surrounded by enemies. The Assyrian army assaults one Judean city after another. The enemy desolates the productive land, making food scarce. Many are “hard pressed and hungry.” But another kind of hunger also afflicts the land. Some decades earlier Amos prophesied: “‘Look! There are days coming,’ is the utterance of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah, ‘and I will send a famine into the land, a famine, not for bread, and a thirst, not for water, but for hearing the words of Jehovah.’” (Amos 8:11) Judah is now in the throes of just such a spiritual famine!

11. Will Judah learn a lesson from the discipline she receives?

¹¹ Will Judah learn her lesson and return to Jehovah? Will her people turn away from spiritism and idolatry and return “to the law and to the attestation”? Jehovah foresees their reaction: “It must occur that because he is hungry and has made himself feel indignant, he will actually call down evil upon his king and upon his God and will certainly peer upward.” (Isaiah 8:21b) Yes, many will blame their human king for leading them into this situation. Some will even foolishly blame Jehovah for their calamities! (Compare Jeremiah 44:15-18.) Today, many respond in a similar way, blaming God for tragedies caused by human wickedness.

12. (a) To what has turning away from God led Judah? (b) What important questions are raised?

¹² Will calling down evil upon God bring peace to the inhabitants of Judah? No. Isaiah foretells: “To the earth he will look, and, lo! distress and darkness, obscurity, hard times and gloominess with no brightness.” (Isaiah 8:22) After raising their eyes to heaven to blame God, they look back to the earth, back to their hopeless prospects. Their turning away from God has led to calamity. (Proverbs 19:3) What, though, of the promises that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? (Genesis 22:15-18; 28:14, 15) Will Jehovah default? Will the Assyrians or some other military power bring to an end the royal line promised to Judah and David? (Genesis 49:8-10; 2 Samuel 7:11-16) Will the Israelites be forever condemned to darkness?

[Picture on page 121]

There will be a famine far worse than a hunger for bread and a thirst for water