Remember what God told Isaiah, “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?” (Isaiah 8:19) The people of Isaiah’s day were going through troubles. They knew there were problems in their lives and in their society. However, they did not seek to the living God for help and wisdom. Rather, they sought to those who had familiar spirits and to wizards.
God told Isaiah not to go after the way of his people. Some of the people who practiced the witchcraft mentioned above were very subtle. They appeared to be spiritual leaders and came speaking in the name of God. How was Isaiah to discern whether they were true and right or not? Isaiah 8:20 says, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” He was to examine what they said in the light of what God had said. If their words do not match God’s word, then there is no light in them.
Those false leaders and the ones who followed them were heading down a path of darkness and destruction. Let us look at the remaining verses of Isaiah chapter eight.
“And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.” (Isaiah 8:21) Although these people depended upon the counsel of the familiar spirits and wizards and did according to this counsel, things did not go well for them. One sign of a nation that has not sought to God is that they will not have enough to supply the needs of the people of the land. They will be hungry and burdened down with hard labor. Another sign is that, when they come to trouble, they will not see that it is their own sin that brought them there. Rather, they will blame it on their rulers and blame it on God.
When those who have not sought after God find themselves in times of trouble and are hungry and bowed under hard labor, they will have nothing but darkness and anguish, “And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.” (Isaiah 8:22) First, they will look up and blame their rulers and blame God. There will be no help for them from above. Secondly, they will look to the earth, and there will be no help for them there. There will only be trouble and darkness and dimness of anguish. The light of hope will go out.
What a sad state results from seeking after other sources for wisdom and help during times of trouble. I John 1:5 says, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” In John 8:12, Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John described Jesus as, “…the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (John 1:9) There is no need for anyone to walk in darkness. The light is freely available to all who come to God for help and wisdom and trust on His Son Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and salvation. In God, there is no darkness at all. For all who reject the true Light, there is only darkness.
What will be your choice today? To whom will you seek? Will you follow after the true Light, or will you choose to walk in darkness?