They practised various arts, whereby they thought to protect themselves from evil, and to pry into the secrets of futurity. Because of these things, ancient Babylon was suddenly overwhelmed,--"for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments." These could not save, as they supposed. Therefore God said to them: "Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast labored 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 star-gazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee," Isa. 47:12, 13. All these practices were forbidden by God, who said: "Neither shall ye use enchantments, nor observe times," Lev. 19:26.
Those who consulted with familiar spirits were termed wizards and witches,--the practice of which was also expressly forbidden. To make witchcraft a mere pretence, is to impute to Jehovah the making of laws against pretences and nonentities. To suppose that he would legislate against, and inflict capital punishment, because of mere pretences, is incredible! God said to Moses, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live," Ex. 22:18. And to the Jews he said, "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God," Lev. 19:31. "And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people." "A man, also, or a woman, that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them," Lev. 20:6,27. When Egypt was to be destroyed, they were left to "seek to the idols, and to charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to wizards," Isa. 19:3.
The manner in which the familiar spirit spoke, was by "peeping," "muttering," whispering out of the dust, &c. God said to Ariel, "And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust," Isa. 29:4. "And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: (should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead!) to the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them," Isa. 8:19, 20.