Answer

Palm reading, also known as “palmistry” or “chiromancy,” has its roots in Greek mythology. Chiromancy, from the Greek kheiro, meaning “hand,” and mantia, meaning “divination,” essentially means “divination from the palm of the hand.” Practitioners believe they can interpret one’s character, fortunes, and possible future events by “reading” the lines, marks, and bumps on the palm of a person’s hand.

Although palm reading is not mentioned in the Bible, divination is, and it was specifically forbidden by the Mosaic Law (Leviticus 19:26). Moses warned his people before entering the Promised Land against divination and other practices: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD” (Deuteronomy 18:10–12). The penalty for engaging in these practices was death (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:27). The Israelites were also forbidden to look for help from those engaging in divination: “I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people” (Leviticus 20:6).

Divination was also condemned by the prophets (Isaiah 44:25;Jeremiah 27:9; 29:8; Ezekiel 13:9). Such occult practices were very common among the pagan nations of the ancient world. And it was, in part, because of these detestable practices that God threw out the people of Canaan and replaced them with the Israelites (Deuteronomy 18:12, 14).

Christians can be confident in the knowledge that our sovereign God is in control of our unseen future. The answers we seek are not in our hands but in God’s. Anyone who is anxious about the future need only hear the words of our Lord: “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear . . . for the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:25, 32–34).