How far gone do you have to be in order to willing hand over your baby to be killed?
Human sacrifice occurred around the world over the centuries. Reading how the Aztecs incorporated human sacrifice into their religious culture boggles my mind (and roils my stomach). But the Aztecs sacrificed their enemies, which is one reason the Spanish found willing allies among other native peoples in their conquests through Mexico.
The people of Israel, on the other hand, sacrificed their own children to a pagan god in the form of ritual burning. Let that settle a minute. They handed over their babies to be burned to death—so their lives might prosper.
Un-freaking-believable.
How do people get so far gone? Years of ignoring the law of Moses, killing the prophets, and pursuing expediency created heart conditions that fostered the sacrifice of children. Also, remember the spiritual realities just beyond our sight. If we truly battle against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, then should we be surprised if aligning with the powers of this dark world (Ephesians 6:12) leads to such a heinous place?
Of course, the Lord long before condemned this behavior: When you enter the land your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire (Deuteronomy 18:9&10).
I can’t shake a thought popping into my head—it’s not impossible for us to go there. Societies slide into unexpected places. No one thought at the beginning the 20th century that Germany, a nation filled with churches and synagogues, would oversee the slaughter of millions of Jews thirty-five years later.
It’s not impossible—but it doesn’t have to happen.
We know the better way. The Lord provides for our lives, and the Son provides for our eternity. People around us need you and I to lovingly, yet unapologetically, make this known.
2 Kings 17 in week thirty-five of reading the Bible cover to cover
Photo by Charles Deluvio
First, remember that the Church taught replacement theology so killing Jews was ok, second in 1973 the supreme court said killing babies was ok we now have killed 60 million babies.