Leviticus 19:26-30: a reflection

26“‘You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it. You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery. 27“‘You shall not cut the hair on the sides of your head or clip off the edge of your beard. 28“‘You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you. I am the LORD. 29“‘Don’t profane your daughter, to make her a prostitute; lest the land fall to prostitution, and the land become full of wickedness. 30“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am the LORD.

Among the commands God gives his people is a prohibition against seeking hidden knowledge or power through forbidden means: You shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery. The surrounding peoples turned to divination and sorcery to know the future, to control what they could not, to grasp at hidden powers; but God's people were forbidden this. They were not to seek to know or control what belonged to God through forbidden means, but to trust God with what they could not know or control, reverencing him rather than grasping at hidden knowledge. The prohibition called them to trust God rather than to seek control through forbidden channels.

Notice what the prohibition guards against: grasping at hidden knowledge or control through forbidden means. The peoples around Israel used divination and sorcery to try to know the future and control their fate, to grasp at powers and knowledge beyond them; but God forbade his people this. They were to trust God with what they could not know or control, rather than seeking to seize it through forbidden channels. The impulse behind sorcery is the desire to control what is not ours to control, to know what God has not given us to know; and God calls his people instead to trust him with the unknown and the uncontrollable, reverencing him rather than grasping. To trust God is to leave in his hands what we cannot know or control, rather than seizing it by forbidden means.

That is worth taking to heart, for we are called to trust God with what we cannot know or control, rather than grasping at it through forbidden means. We can be tempted to grasp at knowledge and control that are not ours, to try to seize the future or manage what is beyond us, through means God has not given, as the nations turned to sorcery; but God calls us to trust him with the unknown and the uncontrollable. The desire to control what belongs to God is met not by grasping but by trust. Do not grasp at hidden knowledge or control through means God has not given; trust him with what you cannot know or control, reverencing him. Trust God with what you cannot know or control, rather than grasping at it through forbidden means, as God forbade his people the sorcery by which the nations sought to seize hidden knowledge and control; for what we cannot know or control belongs to God, and we are called to trust him with it rather than to grasp at it through channels he has forbidden.

Lord, among the commands you give your people is a prohibition against seeking hidden knowledge or power through forbidden means: you shall not use enchantments, nor practice sorcery. The surrounding peoples turned to divination and sorcery to know the future, to control what they could not, to grasp at hidden powers; but your people were forbidden this. They were not to seek to know or control what belonged to you through forbidden means, but to trust you with what they could not know or control. Show me what the prohibition guards against: grasping at hidden knowledge or control through forbidden means. The peoples around Israel used divination and sorcery to try to know the future and control their fate; but you forbade your people this. They were to trust you with what they could not know or control, rather than seeking to seize it through forbidden channels. The impulse behind sorcery is the desire to control what is not ours to control, to know what you have not given us to know; and you call your people instead to trust you with the unknown, reverencing you rather than grasping. Take that to my heart, for I am called to trust you with what I cannot know or control, rather than grasping at it through forbidden means. I can be tempted to grasp at knowledge and control that are not mine, to try to seize the future or manage what is beyond me, through means you have not given. Keep me from grasping at hidden knowledge or control through means you have not given; help me trust you with what I cannot know or control, Lord, reverencing you, for what I cannot know or control belongs to you, and I am called to trust you with it.