The Return of Moloch

Shelomith and Abigail were brimming with delight as they compared their pregnancies and child birth stories. They laughed over the adventures of their baby girls, who were only a few months old, and dreamed of who these darling children would grow to look like (her mother’s eyes, her father’s nose), and what roles they would play in the community of Israel. But one evening Abigail’s husband, Shema, hot and tired from another seemingly hopeless day in the sun-parched field, brought sad and chilling news. It had been decided. There was no other way. Their young daughter, Timna, must be taken and given as an offering to the god Moloch. The priest had announced that children must be sacrificed if there was to be rain which the nation so desperately needed. The parched land cried out for ground-soaking rains. Only the gods could give it. Abigail wept upon hearing what was to be done with her bright-eyed baby girl. She looked into her little girl’s face. Her mind was racing with ways to avoid this awful thing. But the decision had been made. Shema and Abigail both knew that their child like others in Israel would have to pass through the fire, if Moloch’s blessings were to be received. They wrapped Timna in the blanket especially woven for her birth. They walked silently together down the hill to the valley of Ben-hinnom. They could hear drums, bells, and chanting. With his priest attendants standing by there stood the image of Moloch before them. With one final look into the innocent and angelic face of Timna they presented her to the priests, who with prayers to the god for renewed fertility and prosperity, laid their firstborn in the fire-reddened arms of Moloch, protector and provider. The gift of this young life would help to insure blessings. Abundant harvests would replace the barren fields. They watched without visible emotion while the flames reduced their baby to ashes. Moloch had been given their most treasured possession. Now what would he give in return, hopefully peace and plenty.

This true-to-life story was probably repeated thousands of times (Jer. 32:35; Lev. 18:21; 20:2, 3, 4, 5; 2 Kgs. 23:10). Could such a horrible ritual take place in our day? I tell you it does. It takes place in the killing of millions of unborn children every year in America in the name of the god of pro-choice. How many aborted babies are offered on the altar of personal rights deemed more important than the rights of the unborn? Life is given by God. He created life (Gen. 1:26, 27; 2:7). Our every breath is a manifestation of life given by God. What makes human life sacred? It is because every man, woman, and child is made in God’s image. God is the author of human life. The high value of human life is reflected in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16). The wonder of what God has done for sinful human beings, who deserve only death and eternal judgment, is seen in the everlasting gift of forgiveness and joy through faith in Jesus Christ. Bound up in this sublime gift is also the resurrection of our bodies. Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead we have the promise of our own resurrection body.

When does human life begin? The Bible is not ambiguous about this. The fetus is described as a person. It has developed all its human physical characteristics by about eight weeks (Jer. 1:4, 5; Lk. 1:41-44). The biblical ethicist, J. J. Davis, is certainly right when he says that the “biblical writers saw a continuity between the prenatal and postnatal states.” God’s hand is seen in the development of the fetus in the womb (Psa. 139:13-16). David saw his dignity, his value, his meaning in life as arising from God’s involvement in the development of life in the womb. This truth is the occasion for praise, gratitude, and worship.

Where do the Scriptures lead us in this matter of the fetus and the question of whether it is fully human? The benefit of any doubt regarding the fetus should go to the fetus. We should treat the unborn as human, since in the words of one theologian, “it is highly likely that God regards a fetus as a person capable of (at least potentially) that fellowship with God for which man was created.” Such a critical issue as human life being at stake demands that fetal life is treated as infant life. Would we not act on the presumption that an unconscious person is alive and not treat him as dead till proof is certain? If one is driving and sees what may be either a pile of rags or a child lying in the street, one will assume it is a human. What logic is it that treats the unborn as disposable when God counts it as life given by Him? The gods of our age have made the innocent and defenseless in the womb as potential offerings. These child sacrifices are most often for something other than saving the life of the mother. We have become all too comfortable with Moloch’s flames.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church