The Prophet Molek (Molech, Moloch, Molek)
In 2001 I was a young college student in Costa Mesa California. I was attending college on a track scholarship studying History and Political Science. In August of that year I found out that I was six weeks pregnant. My boyfriend and I had gone to a local Planned Parenthood for a test. I still remember standing there in the hallway as the nurse told me that I was in fact pregnant. While I was obviously scared out of my mind, I also felt an overwhelming sense of joy. Immediately the nurse asked if I wanted to keep the baby or seek an abortion. My response was quick and simple. I would be keeping my baby. For the next three months I used Planned Parenthood to get prenatal vitamins and simple checkups. However, every time I visited their office they continually asked if I wanted an abortion. After a while, I became annoyed with the question and sternly told them not to ask again. You see since I was a child, I have intrinsically understood right from wrong. And I was never afraid to state my opinion. Ask my mother, she will tell you that this boldness scared adults. But there is one issue that was crystal clear to me from an early age: abortion, no matter what the reasoning or rationale, a human life is ended. Now I know that this can be a very controversial topic, and in this article, I am not really addressing the outside world. We can’t be angry that the world acts like the world. I am speaking directly to the church. I am very aware that the harsh reality is that most people who identify as Christian do not hold a Biblical worldview. Very few people read their Bible let alone study it. Unfortunately, when you fail to read your Bible or refuse to, you are left to the mercy of pastors and culture. And I am sorry to say, most pastors don’t study their Bibles either. According to a recent study conducted by Dr. George Barna at the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian, 68% of Americans identify as Christians, only 4% of them hold a biblical worldview. How can you even articulate or understand what you believe if you never dust off that old Bible sitting nicely on your coffee table and read it? Many people tell me that God has not addressed the issue of abortion, but nothing could be further from the truth.
So, for all of you who believe that the Bible doesn’t address this issue, let’s discuss who the prophets Baal, Ashera, and Molek are. These names should sound vaguely familiar to anyone that has read their Bible. They are all ancient gods that are discussed throughout the Bible and worshiped in the ancient world. Unfortunately, the ancient Israelites also adopted many of the practices that were common to the people around them including the worship of these idols. Baal means owner or lord and was a god of weather, prosperity, and fertility. Ashera was considered the mother of Molek or mistress depending on which group you are referencing. Molek is an ancient god that required child sacrifice. It was believed that if you could appease this god, you could improve your quality of life. What made these particular gods so detestable to God? The worship of Baal and Ashera often involved sex and ritual prostitution as a part of their ritual. Essentially, they would have orgies which in turn would produce babies. Those worshiping these gods would then sacrifice the babies to the prophet Molek, which was a ritual sacrament.
According to scripture this is what God thinks of this behavior and please keep in mind that these are just a few of the many scriptures in which this issue is addressed.
Jeremiah 7:30 (NIV)
‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31 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. 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.
Jeremiah 3:35 (NIV)
They built the high places of Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter my mind that they should do this abomination, causing Judah to sin.
Psalm 106: 34-39 (NIV)
They did not destroy the peoples as the Lord had commanded them,35 but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. 36 They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them. 37 They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods. 38 They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood. 39 They defiled themselves by what they did; by their deeds they prostituted themselves.
I am sorry, but I just do not believe that we are going to be able to stand before the Lord one day and negotiate terms. He will not deal with us based on our feelings and opinions. No emotional plea or well-constructed argument can negate the fact that God has called this an abomination. Now I will concede that there are issues in scripture that are ambiguous. That is where Romans 14 comes into play. And before you start to argue with me, which I am sure some of you are by now fuming, I am simply stating what God has made abundantly clear. On the issue of abortion God is completely clear. You might even be thinking that you don’t agree with abortion but we need to stay out of politics. When did the discussion of when life begins become a political issue? Who defines what human life is? God does not the government. This is not a political issue but an issue of morality which all governments are incapable of dealing with. Historically, issues of morality have been left to the church. Unfortunately, it is on the altar of a silent church that abortion has flourished and is now in the process of being codified into state laws across the country. What will we do at this moment? Stand on God’s word? Or cave to an increasingly immoral world that tells us to stay within the confines of the building in which the church resides? From my perspective, it is time for the church to leave the building!
Sources:
Why was worshiping Baal and Asherah such a struggle for the Israelites?
Compelling Truth.org
https://www.compellingtruth.org/baal-and-asherah.html
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