In the Old Testament, we read about the Phoenicians, who inhabited the land of Canaan (modern-day Lebanon, Syria, and Israel), that would sacrifice their children to their god, Molech. This abominable practice was used to appease their god, or to try to obtain favor from him. This practice has continued in various cultures throughout history including today in the act of abortion as child sacrifice.

You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods —Deuteronomy 12:31

Today, in our culture of self-idolatry, secular humanism, and entitlement, abortion has been normalized and acceptable. Yet, the practice is no different than that of ancient times–only the god is disguised as someone else. While we don’t take children and pass them through the fire to appease a god known by the name of Molech represented by golden statues as the Phoenicians did, nonetheless, we sacrifice our children to appease our idols of today–money, convenience, and self.

The Bible is clear that God hates child sacrifice.

There are six things that the Lord hates,  seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood… —Proverbs 6:16-17

It is among the most abominable things in the eyes of God. We read in 2 Kings 21:2-6 that Manasseh, king of Judah and son of Hezekiah, sacrificed his son to appease his god to the immense anger of the Lord,

And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

In 2 Kings 21:12, we see that because Manasseh did these wicked things and led astray the people of Judah and Jerusalem, God promised to bring disaster upon them and deliver them into the hands of their enemies.

But what about Abraham and Isaac? In Genesis 22, we read about Abraham whom God commanded to sacrifice his son, Isaac.

Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. — Genesis 22:2

He was to slaughter his son and offer him up as a burnt sacrifice to the Lord, only to be abruptly stopped by the angel of the Lord. The Lord then provided a substitute, a ram, for the sacrifice. Genesis 22:1 says that this was God testing Abraham’s faith and since Abraham passed the test, God promised to bless him and his offspring multiplying them greatly in numbers (Genesis 22:17-18). What we see is a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice that was to come–Jesus Christ. God distinguished himself from other gods, such as Molech, by clearly showing that He abhorred child sacrifice and that the only acceptable sacrifice to Him is a sacrifice that he provides.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate sacrifice. Hebrews 9:12 says, “He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” There is no other sacrifice that should be made for those who repent and trust in the saving grace of Jesus Christ at the cross.

Abortion is a denial of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. It shows that one does not trust God or the sacrifice provided for him–that instead, he trusts in himself. Do not sacrifice your child on this altar of false gods. Instead, repent, and turn to the only sacrifice that can save you.

And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. —Hebrews 10:10