The dissolution of society and the abandonment of true religion is always the signal for superstitions and an obsessive interest in prognostication, hence the reference [in Isa 3:2] to the soothsayer or ‘fortune-teller.’ (The Prophecy of Isaiah, by Motyer, IVP Academic, 1993)
Motyer is right. And in America, the non-Christian society is obsessive about prognostication and superstitions. I do not watch television, but back in the day I used to watch The History Channel. Now I am told that rarely do they have shows on history, instead they are obsessed with shows on UFOs and the future, go figure. Then you have the fascination with the Mayan calendar, prognostication in movies, and a host of other interest in the future by our non-Christian society. And I am told that everywhere you turn to on television there is some form of cult-like superstition.
This should be a warning to Christians to avoid being interested in the future qua the future; instead, our motive should be for holy living in light of God’s revelation of his return. Sadly, some Christians are not satisfied with the limitations that God has revealed to us in Scripture—they want more! This is why they turn the Bible into their personal crystal ball, reading into the eschatological events more than what God has stated or turning to their dreams and visions “from God.”
Incidentally, Moyter’s keen exposition in his commentary on Isaiah 3:1–17 on Israel’s decay also stunningly describes present-day America, more than anything that I have ever seen in the book of Isaiah.
