Do not allow a sorceress to live. The prohibition on sorcery is a covenant protection against the substitution of occult practice for dependence on the Lord. Sorcery represents the attempt to access divine-level power and knowledge through means other than the covenant relationship. Deuteronomy 18:10–12 lists sorcery, divination, and consulting the dead among the practices of the nations that Israel is to reject. 1 Samuel 15:23 says rebellion is like the sin of divination — the prophet equates the spirit of sorcery with the spirit of rebellion against God. The death penalty for sorcery reflects the severity of the covenant violation it represents: the community's life depends on its dependence on God, not on occult alternatives.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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