Jeremiah 19:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

To avoid endless discussion, let us make one critical observation: we must steer clear of such interpretations—indeed, heresies—that deny the evident truth and attempt to inject absurdities into the church of Christ.

It is undoubted that in God's temple, specifically in the valley of the son of Hinnom, they erected an idol of Baal. In that valley, where a grove dedicated to Baal existed, they constructed an altar where they sacrificed and burned their children. This was never before God’s understanding or will; He did not entertain such notions. This is not to imply that God is unaware of the future, but rather that He does not know that which is unworthy of His divine wisdom, as indicated by this Gospel: "Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity: I know you not" (Luke 13:27); "for the Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim. 2:19); and once again, "If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant" (1 Cor. 14:38). This can certainly be interpreted in a human manner, as is the case in other contexts. However, every heretic abandons God, rendering the dwelling place of the Lord alien by defiling it with their falsehoods while venerating foreign gods, pertaining to neither themselves nor their forebears, such as the apostles and early church leaders. The kings of Judah, representing the heretics’ patriarchs, fill the sacred space with the blood of the misled and innocent. For it is only the unwise and naive who are easily deceived. They construct the heights of Baal by claiming to speak of exalted matters, and they sacrifice their children—those they have fathered in error—to an idol. The Lord asserts that He does not know of these actions, nor have they ever entered His mind.