“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; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.”
The child sacrifice: 'They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.' This verse describes perhaps the most horrific aspect of Judah's apostasy: child sacrifice (burning sons and daughters in the fire at Topheth). The phrase 'something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind' expresses God's revulsion: such sacrifice is not merely disobedient but unthinkable, contrary to God's nature and will. Theologically, this verse indicates that the apostasy has reached an extreme that transcends normal idolatry: the people are sacrificing their own children to false gods, a violation that crosses a threshold of evil.
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