Jeremiah 7:30-8:3 A Waste
God tells Jeremiah that the very place that Judah is making the most detestable sacrifices will hold their dead. The land will be a waste with bodies left unburied.
There were several kings of Judah who defiled the House of God. They brought in alters to foreign gods, displaced or destroyed some of the furnishings of God’s House, and even locked the doors so the people could no longer enter there. From Solomon on down, there was the worship of the most detestable god Molek. Worship of this god included child sacrifice. This practice was NEVER sanctioned by God! And Judah will pay dearly for this sin.
Following after other gods has brought Israel and Judah low. So low that they destroyed God’s greatest gifts to a husband and wife; their children. I think it VERY ironic that the sacrifice of a child was supposed to bring about the birth of more children. Child sacrifice was often practiced as a fertility sacrifice. My response would be, “You already have proof of fertility. WHY would you throw that away? Cherish what you have now instead of destroying it in hopes of something more.”
The people of Judah would soon pay with their own lives for the lives they took. Their dead would be stacked in the valley where they killed their own children. Stacked and left to rot! Food for the birds!!! A WELL-DESERVED PUNISHMENT.
Something else that is well-deserved is the display of the bones of the ungodly kings in this valley of death. God says they will be dug up, exhumed, and placed on display for all to see. I believe it was only the ungodly kings because they were buried separately from the godly ones. I doubt God let David’s bones be thrown on top of this pile of bodies. This is disrespect of the utmost kind! And this would take place when Judah was conquered by Babylon.
God’s strongest words for those who practice evil is that they would wish they were dead instead of having to endure what was coming. He says these same words regarding Hell. But in Hell, no even death can stop the anguish. Which is where the souls of those who practiced the detestable sacrifice of children will spend eternity.
I’m told by Google that there are still nations that practice child sacrifice. I KNOW this to be true of my own nation but they don’t call it ‘child sacrifice’. They call it abortion. Rather than waiting for the child to be born, they sacrifice its life on the altar of convenience, ‘personal choice’, or even fear. The tide has turned on this wholesale slaughter of innocent lives but it still continues. And there is MUCH blood already to be atoned for. I believe this is one of the sins that will cost this nation the most in the end.
My ex-husband once wanted to abort our third child. I refused to even consider it. I would have walked away from him if he had not decided against it. His reason for changing his mind was the cost. To this day, that is one of the most hurtful memories I have; him calling to see how much it would cost to kill our child. After he made that phone call and found out it was out of his reach, he treated me with contempt the rest of the time I was carrying our son. Afterwards, this became his favorite child. But the stress I was under during that time took a toll on our child as well as myself. It took until my son reached the age of 16 before the inborn anger in him subsided enough to allow him to control it. He vowed that his wife would NEVER be stressed during her pregnancies because he saw what it did to the unborn child. He has kept this vow.
I was terrified to tell my ex-husband when I became pregnant with our fourth child. I didn’t know how I would survive another nine months of torture. Fortunately, I didn’t have to face it. He didn’t even suggest abortion. We also put a permanent stop to future children between us after the birth of our fourth. Many things about this first marriage I regret. But I will NEVER regret being in that relationship because it brought me my BEAUTIFUL children. He lost out completely when he walked away from us all. And there is no hope for a restored relationship with our children because he died this year.
Children are a gift from God! Cherish each and every one of them.
Father God, thank You for each of my children. Thank You that, while remembering this story, my heart still felt the pain but it was different. It wasn’t anger but sadness. You removed the bitterness that dwelt there for so many years. I feel that I have a small understanding of how You feel concerning this issue; sacrifice of both born and unborn children. I can easily see how these detestable practices bring out Your anger. There is MUCH to atone for in my nation!
The MOST AMAZING thing about all this is that You can forgive even this sin. If Judah would have truly repented, You would have forgiven them. This holds true for anyone. Having had or participated in an abortion is NOT a ‘one-way-ticket’ to Hell. There is forgiveness waiting for ALL who seek it.
