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Ezekiel 16:20-21-Moreover you took your sons and your daughters, whom you bore to Me, and these you sacrificed to them to be devoured. Were your acts of harlotry a small matter, 21 that you have slain My children and offered them up to them by causing them to pass through the fire?
Natasha (not her real name) had contacted a member of our church because she had reason to believe that her daughter was being abused by her husband. The member of our church she contacted was also a child welfare professional, and was well-versed in these types of situations. The child in question was seven years old when these events were taking place, and I was introduced to them about a year later. Natasha had video evidence of the local police collecting evidence and then claiming on the witness stand that it had never existed (which video evidence she later turned over to the FBI). However, in the end, the courts had granted full custody to the father, and the child subsequently attempted to take her own life. Natasha had sought me out, seeking spiritual help and guidance for herself and her daughter.
It was, without a doubt, one of the most disturbing and horrific situations regarding the abuse of children that I have ever been involved with as a minister of the Gospel. It reminds me of the rage that God described in the Book of Ezekiel, when His people were sacrificing their sons and their daughters to the false gods (such as Moloch) as sacrifices. One author educates us to the events that took place at that time:
“The Canaanites worshiped a god called Moloch with human sacrifices. Children, (mainly their firstborn sons) were burned alive in their sacrifices to this god. This was their way of creating teraphim. See the chapter on Babylon and Sodom for a detailed description of teraphim. “And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire…” Jeremiah 7: 31 “Tophet is Moloch, an idol which was made of brass. The Canaanites heated him from his lower parts; and his outstretched hands were made hot. They put the child in his hands, and it was burnt alive. When the child vehemently cried out the priests beat a drum, so the father would not hear the voice of his son, and move his heart.” Rabbi Rashi’s Commentary on Jeremiah 7: 31” (Ken Johnson, Ancient Paganism: The Sorcery Of The Fallen Angels, 59-60 (Kindle Edition): CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform)
Cahn provides more detail:
“The name Molech can be translated as “king.” A number of modern scholars have theorized that the word Molech should rather be translated as a verb denoting the act of child sacrifice itself rather than a god. But verses such as Leviticus 20: 5, which reads in the original Hebrew as “liznote aharei ha Molekh,” or “who prostitute themselves with the Molech,” and others would argue against that. And to every sacrifice there is a god. So there would still remain a god to whom the child sacrifices spoken of in Scripture were offered. Some theorize that Molech was another form of Baal since he too is spoken of as receiving children as sacrifices. But even if there was anything to any of those theories, the act and practice of sacrificing children is of a demonic realm so uniquely of its own category and nature that the name Molech stands uniquely on its own. The Horror of the Name Beyond that we must keep in mind the nature of the beast. The relationship between the gods and spirits is symbiotic. The mythologies and beliefs of men may follow after the principalities and spirits—and the principalities and spirits may follow after the mythologies and beliefs of men. In that sense the argument becomes immaterial. Molech is the spirit and god of child sacrifice. It is the principality of bloodlust, of cold, inhuman, and horrid destruction. In his epic poem Paradise Lost, John Milton writes of the ancient god: First Moloch, horrid King besmeared with blood Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears, Though for the noise of drums and timbrels loud Their children’s cries unheard, that pass’d through fire To his grim idol. 4 In the twentieth century Winston Churchill used the figure of Molech to speak of the evil of Adolf Hitler: He had conjured up the fearful idol of an all-devouring Moloch of which he was the priest and incarnation. 5 The name of the ancient god has retained its horror down through the ages. His Molten Hands Do we have any idea what the worship of Molech was like? The Bible cites Israel’s ancient neighbors, the Canaanites, as those who participated in child sacrifice. The ancient Greek and Roman historians bear witness to the biblical testimony as they record the practices of two Canaanite people in particular, the Phoenicians and those of their African colony, Carthage. The ancient Greek historian Diodorus Siculus records this of the Carthaginians: There was in their city a bronze image of Cronus, extending its hands, palms up and sloping toward the ground, so that each of the children when placed thereon rolled down and fell into a sort of gaping pit filled with fire. 6 Cronus was the Greek version of the Roman Saturn, the god who devoured his own children. His name is used either because the Carthaginians had now associated him with Molech or Baal or because this was how Diodorus had made sense of what was taking place. The Darkest Depths Child sacrifice was part of the rites and worship of the pagan peoples and cultures that surrounded the Israelites. So when the Israelites turned away from God, they turned to the ways of the gods—they began offering up their children. The prophet Jeremiah would confront the depths of their fall from God and the gruesome sin they were now partaking in and celebrating: And they built the high places of Baal which are in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech. 7 It was the deepest and darkest of depths of their fall from God.” (Jonathan Cahn, The Return of the Gods, 84-86 (Kindle Edition): Lake Mary, FL: FrontLine)
Notice that God calls these children who are being abused and slaughtered “My children.” There is a powerful anger that God has for the abuse of children-the most innocent among us. In our day and age, we are reminded daily of horrific crimes against children. Examples include the scourge of abortion, and also the terrible “Epstein files” that continue to be released.
As God’s people, we share His message of grace and redemption with all.
Ezekiel 18:23-Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord GOD, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?
1 Timothy 2:1-7-Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time, 7 for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Yet we must always be willing to speak up for and to stand up with those who are being treated unjustly. That is also part of our calling as God’s people in this fallen world.
Isaiah 1:17-Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Proverbs 31:8-9 (NLT)-Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. 9 Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.
Micah 6:8-He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?
Zechariah 8:16-17-These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; 17 Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’ Says the LORD.”
Matthew 5:16-Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Matthew 10:42-And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
Galatians 6:10-Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.
James 1:27 (Amplified)-External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.
What can we do to better aid and support those who have been (and perhaps are being) mistreated?
Lord, help us as Your church to stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. We pray especially for the children. Amen.