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.
They have built worship sites at Tophet in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, where they burn their sons and daughters alive as sacrifices. I never commanded them to do this, it never even entered my mind.
God is expressing horror and grief that his people are practicing child sacrifice, something he never asked for and finds completely contrary to his nature.
📚 Historical Context
During the prophet Jeremiah's ministry in 7th-century BC Judah, the people were deeply involved in idolatry, constructing altars at Tophet in the Valley of Hinnom for child sacrifices to pagan gods like Molech. This horrific practice represented a direct rebellion against God's covenant laws, as outlined in the Torah, which strictly forbade human sacrifice. God, through Jeremiah, emphatically states that such acts were never part of His divine will or commands.
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