A Biblical Record of Major Crimes: Infanticide and Child Sacrifice
A Biblical Record of Major Crimes: Infanticide and Child Sacrifice.
“Tell all the truth, but tell it slant. Truth in indirection lies.” (Emily Dickenson).
A Different Look to a True Story. Emily Dickenson’s advice was to come at the truth from different angles; reveal the truth while approaching it sideways. There are times when only an indirect story will effectively grab a reader’s attention and will inspire a fresh perspective on an ancient truth. There are occasions when coming at a truth from the side through a story will go further than a didactic, systematic study using logic and reason. We seem to be created in a way in which truth can often be better understood from the side instead of head-on through a blunt statement of raw truth. This fictional story below is intended to reveal the truth of a biblical crime story in a way that brings a fresh perspective, an unexpected layer of meaning, to a familiar story. Perhaps we can learn something new in this indirect approach to the true stories of those despicable infant homicides in Scripture. (Exodus 1; Matthew 2; 2 Kings 16 and 21).
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An astounding scene is taking place on what was a normal Saturday. There is a Man with deeply scarred hands wielding a heavy sledgehammer at the rusty gates of Hell, and He is successful in smashing it to bits. This Man proceeds to march through those gates with a Cross on His shoulders, and He heads for the deepest pit in Hell. Once there, the Man thrusts that Cross forcefully into the ground and plants it there for all to see. The Man wants to gather around Him those who were guilty of the most despicable acts that have ever been done… the intentional destruction of innocent, helpless children. Soon enough the Man was face to face with Pharaoh of Egypt, King Herod of Israel, and even the two ancient, vile kings of Jerusalem, Ahaz and Manasseh, dared to show their faces.
The Man stared at all of these men and women who had gathered around Him, which now included the priests of Molech and Baal and all those others who have slaughtered children for their own evil reasons. The Man didn’t hesitate to speak from His heart… “How dare you harm the apple of my eye! Shame on you all! What were you thinking to have done such monstrous things to My little children? Didn’t you have even the slightest inkling that the Creator loves children? Didn’t you realize that when you welcome a child, you welcome Me? And when you harm a child, you are actively harming Me as well? After all, I knit every one of their little bodies together in the womb, I strung together their DNA, I wired each nervous system. I breathed their first breath through my Spirit to each and every one of these children! I invented each personality, fashioned each child from scratch, and then danced a jig to celebrate every birth! On top of that, I designed each child to represent much of what is true of My Kingdom: simple and transparent, playful and straightforward, relational and curious, zealous and dynamic, dependent and trusting. Children, all of them in general and each one in particular, are My pride and joy! Unfortunately, because of people like all you here before Me, each one of My prize packages is also vulnerable in this fallen world of Mine. So they have My heart, and I have their back.
… Didn’t it occur to you that I’m like any devoted parent, only more so? I take personally whatever happens to them, as if it happens to Me! I’m like the parent who screeches “ouch!” when the child falls on the sidewalk. I identify so closely with My children that when a child is bullied, I feel the humiliation. When a child is victimized, I feel the shame and revulsion. When a child is harmed in any way, I head in the direction of justice for that child. On the other hand, when a little ragamuffin kid is received with kindness and respect, I feel like I’m being received that way too. So when parents graciously open their hearts and home to be blessed with a child – as an act of faith and trust – they had better set an extra plate at the table for Me. When schools welcome students into their classrooms as honored guests made in My image, they’d better find an extra desk for Me. Whoever accepts a child, accepts Me, the Lord of children. And of course, wherever I go, the Father is right there with Me, the heavenly Father from whom all fatherhood gets its name.
The Man continues… “I become a household name whenever love for children is a natural outgrowth of love for Me, whether the child is in the womb or newborn, sick or healthy, athletic or awkward, academic or artistic, passive or exuberant, a rock star or someone who is easily lost in the shuffle. I especially root for those underdogs, because I know what that feels like. I was once an unborn baby in My mother’s womb, and then an unknown child, often dismissed as being “just a kid.” As I grew, I was considered everything from a fool to a misfit, from someone who was out of His mind to a person who was demon-possessed. I remained a child at heart, even though I was misunderstood, judged and executed as an adult. I know what those children feel like in an adult world. So, by all means, by every means, you should have welcomed My children into your embrace. If you had, you would have had to open your arms a little wider, because I would have been right there with you. But you were blinded by evil, by the wicked ideas put into your head by the Enemy himself. So if you were ever wondering why you have had to live with that millstone necklace, now you know.”
But now the tone of the Man’s voice changes dramatically… “But I have decided to visit you in this dark place for one reason. This doesn’t have to be the last word for you. Hell does not have to be your eternal home. I stand here preaching the truth to you now because if you confess your vile sins against humanity, against children of all things, and ask forgiveness from Me, then I will hear your cries of repentance, and you can follow Me back to Paradise. I was the Lamb who, for all time, was slain for the sins of the world, even yours. And My mercy endures forever, even after your judgment. May the fires of hell that have surrounded you here burn away your resistance to salvation, that you may be yet delivered from this wicked place. The time is now. As I said so often on the earth, Follow Me.”