Exploring Divine Communication: What are Oracles?

By Elizabeth Prata

Lately online the most disagreements among the women I engage with involve the fact that they believe God is speaking to them directly.

He isn’t.

But crickey, is this truth resisted. Friends, the canon is closed and all scripture as given is sufficient for our life and growth in sanctification. All moral guidance, spiritual guidance, and wisdom is in the Bible. For anything we need to know or do that isn’t in the Good Book, we just decide. Yes, decide. I’ll be writing an essay about deciding later this week.

For now, let’s see about oracles.

The Lexham Bible Dictionary defines oracle as

A divine message communicated through a human mediator to one or more human recipients. Wells, S. (2016). Oracle. In The Lexham Bible Dictionary.

And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, and he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened.” (Numbers 24:2 ESV).

So how is an oracle different from a prophecy? Technically they both are divine messages delivered from God to man.

However, oracles were usually something that humans sought from God, instead of Him delivering a message to and through a Prophet, unprompted by human inquiry, as usually happened with prophecy. These oracles were specific, someone was seeking an answer to a specific question.

Many oracles were sought by kings and leaders for political purposes (“Will I win this battle?”) but the lay-people could ask God in an oracle too. (e.g. 1 Kings 22:1-7)

Some prophets or seers received compensation for oracles, like Balaam, but sadly the tendency was then to deliver favorable oracles so the money would keep flowing.

“Anyone who has read about ancient Greece and Rome has heard about the “oracles.” Two famous oracles were the oracles of Apollos at Delphi and Zeus at Dodona. The Greeks and Romans believed that the gods took a personal interest in their lives, so they would go to these places to seek advice from the gods about their lives. The gods were supposed to answer them through these oracles. But the oracles were often very difficult to interpret, even for the priests of the temples. The expression “oracle of God” shares some of the same denotations, with one major exception: it is the one and only God who speaks—and He does so clearly”. In Holman treasury of key Bible words.

Are there oracles in the New Testament? Yes, oracles are mentioned.

When we come back to the New Testament, we see that Christian teachers, functioning as prophets, also spoke the “oracles” of God. Peter said, “Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11 ESV). The author of Hebrews also used the word oracles to describe the words of God that had originally been communicated to the believers (Hebrews 5:12 ESV). Source: In Holman treasury of key Bible words

You might remember the Magic 8 Ball. It was a black ball made of hard plastic that a child could hold in two hands. It had a clear window at the top and you asked it a question, shook the ball, and waited until an icosahedron floated to the window with a message in it. The answers always disappointed me as a kid. “Try again later,” or “Maybe.”

Wikipedia says “Oracles were thought to be portals through which the gods spoke directly to people“. Frustratingly, when seekers arrived and asked the oracle a question, answers that came were often vague. So if you were frustrated as a kid receiving vague answers from the Magic 8 Ball, imagine the seekers at Delphi or Dodona!  Yet still, many thousands still came to seek answers from the ‘gods.’

“Preserved Assyrian oracles from Nineveh include the deity’s name, the recipient’s name, and the name and gender of the prophetic mediator. Most oracles are uttered on behalf of the goddess Ishtar.” The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Lexham Press.

Wow, the Assyrians were dedicated to their oracles, weren’t they! Well preserved, each and every one, to this day. Yet as Christianity took hold, the other ‘oracles’ fell silent.

In the New Testament, the Apostles sought God’s direction, of course. Earlier on, they might hear back in an audible voice or a tangible way (dream, vision, angel…). But as time went on the Apostles’ questions were answered through God using other people, such as Ananias to Saul/Paul, or when Cornelius (at an angel’s prompting) sent for Peter via his men.

In these days, Jesus said that He knows we need food and clothes and financial support. It pleases Him when we ask Him in trust and do not doubt. It pleases Him so much more when we ask for wisdom, discernment, the meaning of a passage, or a growth in sanctification, because tangible things are needed, but temporary. Our spiritual life is permanent. But do not expect a visible, audible reply back. His oracle is now the Bible, and everything in it is sufficient for us.

Of course, there is only one God. Only God knows the future, because He is the creator of the universe, the originator of time, and the architect of history. Seek answers from His word and trust that He hears your questions and concerns in prayer.