Leviticus 20:1-9 Child Sacrifices
God takes a FIRM stand on one of the practices that is occurring in the land where the Israelites will settle. DO NOT do as they do!!!
We have been reading God’s instructions to His people. Some of these are for later and some are for the present moment. The one He gives in today’s reading was certainly for later. I’m PRAYING it wasn’t for present issues at that time.
God’s main instruction here regards child sacrifice. I’m not certain if this is actually killing the child for the sake of a sacrifice or sacrificing its future in service to this foreign god. There were actual sacrifices done in the name of pleasing a god. There were also instances of children being given over into slavery for a god. The TRUE God says NO to both these practices!
There was one time recorded where the Lord asked for the life of a child as a test. That was when He told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. This was a test for Abraham to see if he valued God more than ANYTHING else. We know that God stopped Abraham from shedding any of Isaac’s blood. God does NOT call for the death of children.
There is another time in scripture where a child was brought to the temple to be raised for the Lord. This child was Samuel. His mother had made a promise to God that if He would give her a child she would give the child back to Him. Samuel was not a slave in the temple. Instead he was schooled in the ways of the Lord and became a great prophet. Even from his youth the Lord spoke to him and used him. God does NOT call for the enslavement of children.
In today’s reading we see that God is so adamant against these practices that He calls for the death of the parent who surrenders their child to be sacrificed to Molech; the Canaanite god. And if his community won’t stone the parent, they are just as guilty and God will cut them off too. This is a FIRM do not cross line!
I wonder what He has to say to our societies today where children are sacrificed in the name of convenience. Abortion, at least in the United States, have been declining SLIGHTLY over time. This procedure still amounts to more than 863,230 (in 2017 alone) children’s lives being sacrificed. I will admit that a SMALL portion of those lives were surrendered for the sake of the mother’s life, for rape or for incest reasons. But the majority of those lost lives were due to inconvenience. The United States is not the only nation caught up in this abortion flood. I would feel safe saying that the blood of innocent children reaches the doorway of Heaven. They have been sacrificed on the altar of self.
But abortion alone does not account for the lives of children that are lost. Abuse and neglect take their bite out of children’s lives. This is a problem that spans the globe. The World Health Organization estimates a LOW end account of 41,000 children under the age of 15 killed each year. They state that their estimate is low because many deaths are attributed to other causes.
These numbers make me sick! These are our children and we are throwing them away in mass. I firmly believe God will call this generation to account for their behavior.
Jesus called for the little children to be brought to Him. He didn’t say “Only when it is convenient for Me.” He says that they have angels that watch over them and report back to the Father. What kind of reports are they bringing? Certainly not good ones today.
God has entrusted us with His children. He commanded us to “train them up in the way they should go.” He commands us to care for them with love. This does not mean giving them anything they want or letting them do as they please. It involves loving discipline and consistency. Following His commands in our own lives is the perfect way to model His will for our children for their lives. Don’t let your love be words alone but in actions too. Ask Him and He will teach you how to love your children. Learn from the BEST Father.
Father God, my heart cries out to You after looking at these numbers. I know I have no hope of personally stemming the tide that is carrying so many lives away. I have no control of others. But I can pray. I can pray for the expectant mother who thinks this child will be too much for her to handle. I can pray for the teenager who finds herself expecting after a night she though would be fun. I can pray for the parent who is so stressed at work that even the smallest noise from their child results in physical rage. I can pray for the mother who has no food to feed her child. I can pray for the mother who is addicted to drugs and continues to use while pregnant. And I can pray for every parent who finds themselves at the end of themselves. I was there myself one day and YOU brought me back from the brink.
I can’t do much, but You can. But only for those who will let You. Those who won’t are the ones who need the MOST prayer. Father God, hold the children returned to You tightly in Your arms. Thank You for loving them when those who were supposed to wouldn’t.
