And they have built the high places of Baalim, to burn their children with fire for a holocaust to Baalim: which I did not command, nor speak of, neither did it once come into my mind.
וּבָנ֞וּ אֶת־בָּמ֣וֹת הַבַּ֗עַל לִשְׂרֹ֧ף אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶ֛ם בָּאֵ֖שׁ עֹל֣וֹת לַבָּ֑עַל אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־צִוִּ֙יתִי֙ וְלֹ֣א דִבַּ֔רְתִּי וְלֹ֥א עָלְתָ֖ה עַל־לִבִּֽי׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
They burned their children as sacrifices to Baal, which signifies a deep level of depravity that warrants profound mourning. After accusing them of idolatry and servitude to Pluto following Sennacherib's defeat, he refers to this idol— the idol of Pluto— to which they offered burnt sacrifices, as if they dared to transcend death itself. The subsequent passage illustrates what he means regarding this matter.
Thus declares the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel. Look, I will bring disaster upon this place, causing the ears of all who hear it to tingle, because they have abandoned Me, transforming this place into a refuge for strangers and offering sacrifices to foreign gods unknown to them, their forefathers, and the kings of Judah. They have filled this land with the blood of the innocent and have erected altars to Baal, which I did not command, nor have I spoken, nor has it entered My mind. Some foolishly liken this place to the heavenly Jerusalem. For the sake of clarity, we will limit our discussion to a single point: we must steer clear of such interpretations, or better yet heresies, that dismiss the evident truth and attempt to inject unfounded novelties into the churches of Christ.
It is evident that within the temple of God, or in the temple located in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, they established an idol of Baal in a grove and constructed his altar, where they slaughtered and burned their own children. This was never conceived by the Lord; it never crossed His mind—not in the sense that God is unaware of the future, but because He does not acknowledge what unworthy of His understanding, as reflected in the Gospel: ‘Depart from Me, ye workers of iniquity; I know you not’ (Luke 13:27); for ‘the Lord knows them that are His’ (2 Tim. 2:19), and again: “If any man know not, he shall not be known” (1 Cor. 14:38). Certainly, this can be understood in a human way (ἀνϑρωποπάϑως), similar to other instances. Yet every heretic turns away from God and transforms the dwelling of God into something foreign, defiled by deceit, venerating foreign gods unknown to him or his forebears, namely the apostles and early church leaders. The kings of Judah, the forefathers of heretics, have filled what was once a sacred space with innocent blood. Only the naive and unwary are easily led astray. They claim to reach new heights by discussing lofty ideals, yet they sacrifice their children to an idol—those they have borne in heresy. The Lord affirms that all of this is something He does not recognize, nor has it ever entered His thoughts.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS