St. Anthonys Catholic Church

Can you please explain to me why the Bible teaches us not to practice divination and things like that in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, but Divination by dreams occurs in Abimelech learning that Sarah was Abraham’s wife in a dream, Joseph’s dream interpretation for Pharaoh and Egypt and the tribe of Israel, Gideon’s acting upon a dream to defeat the Midianites, Daniel’s dream interpretations, Joseph’s dream assuring him it would be okay to take Mary to be his wife, and again later to take the child Jesus to Egypt. Doesn’t the Bible condemn all divination as occult and a tool of the Devil? How is this discrepancy explained?
There is a difference between divination and the interpretation of dreams. In divination, one is trying to use powers reserved to God to know the future by occult means. Dream interpretation is trying to understand what God wants for you, based on the dream as a means of God's communication to us. It is not to see the future but more like a meditation, seeking to open ourselves to God's will. We ask God to show us the way. Dreams may be one way that God does so. As with all matters concerning discernment, prayerful consideration of the nature of the message is necessary. Does it coincide with Sacred Scripture & the teachings of Jesus? Does it sit well with the informed conscience? Do others whose spirituality you trust see it as possible a message from God? One always needs a discerning heart to know God's will. Dreams can be an instrument of God or a manifestation of our own subconscious so good discernment practices are essential, as they are in all areas of our lives. By the way, my translation of the passage you quote from Deuteronomy mentions soothsayers, diviners etc. The wrong being condemned was in in the 3 forms of superstition mentioned: augury, by a fortune teller, black magic, by a charmer or caster of spells, and necromancy, consulting the dead.

Can you please explain to me why the Bible teaches us not to practice divination and things like that in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, but Divination by dreams occurs in Abimelech learning that Sarah was Abraham’s wife in a dream, Joseph’s dream interpretation for Pharaoh and Egypt and the tribe of Israel, Gideon’s acting upon a dream to defeat the Midianites, Daniel’s dream interpretations, Joseph’s dream assuring him it would be okay to take Mary to be his wife, and again later to take the child Jesus to Egypt. Doesn’t the Bible condemn all divination as occult and a tool of the Devil? How is this discrepancy explained?

There is a difference between divination and the interpretation of dreams.

In divination, one is trying to use powers reserved to God to know the future by occult means. Dream interpretation is trying to understand what God wants for you, based on the dream as a means of God's communication to us. It is not to see the future but more like a meditation, seeking to open ourselves to God's will. We ask God to show us the way. Dreams may be one way that God does so. As with all matters concerning discernment, prayerful consideration of the nature of the message is necessary. Does it coincide with Sacred Scripture & the teachings of Jesus? Does it sit well with the informed conscience? Do others whose spirituality you trust see it as possible a message from God? One always needs a discerning heart to know God's will. Dreams can be an instrument of God or a manifestation of our own subconscious so good discernment practices are essential, as they are in all areas of our lives.

By the way, my translation of the passage you quote from Deuteronomy mentions soothsayers, diviners etc. The wrong being condemned was in in the 3 forms of superstition mentioned: augury, by a fortune teller, black magic, by a charmer or caster of spells, and necromancy, consulting the dead.