Child sacrifice in 2022? Jeremiah 30-33 warning

Child sacrifice in 2022: Jeremiah 30-33 warning

Note: I study the Bible to also consider whether a specific passage comports to my weak-comprehension of the perhaps 5,000-year-old Sumerian philosophy probably expressed by Hebrew scholars 3,000 years ago in Genesis 1:28, in my paraphrase:  Female& male-human-being can& may, independent of other entities, constrain political chaos on earth. I think the next Bible canon should include the law codes of Sumer. In other words, an Ancient Testament, the Old Testament, and the New Testament comprise the message human-being can& may consider.

I perceive that the 10,000-year-old Sumer civilization ought to be considered, in order to increase civic-integrity while appreciating private spiritual pursuits for 2022 and beyond.

Safety& security significance of ignoring Sumer political philosophy

No person knows what controls the consequences of human choices& actions. Human-being can only experience and observe. For future safety& security, they can either accept-consequences& reform or attempt to construct a way to prevent past experiences. For example, skin contains the blood that prevents death, so someone invented spirit that needs no blood to “defeat death”: spirit remains a mystery.

Without the-ineluctable-truth, homo sapiens tends to construct divinities to judge human actions& choices. For example, in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, “Nature’s God” will defeat England’s God. Observing the power of nature, Sumer constructed a polytheism around nature’s Gods. Judeo-Christianity debates 3 monotheisms: “God”, “the Lord God”, and “Jesus”. By overlooking Sumerian political assumptions, Judeo-Christianity cannot perceive ineluctable-evidences the Sumerians suggested. Sumerians seemingly expressed that God cannot conduct the tasks that are required to secure safety& security on earth.

Extant Bible canon assert that Israel had the ancestors who produced Jesus as the Messiah. Matthew 1 reports the male lineage: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and 9 more to David. Another 14 end with Josiah, then another 14 ends with Jacob, Joseph, and Jesus. Abraham lived about 3,700 ago, and Jesus claimed “before Abraham was born I am”. If so, Jews may not have been of the Jews. In other words, Jews may have been of the Sumerians; perhaps a faction that rejected human sacrifice.

Another problem with Matthew 1 is that some mitochondrial-DNA-studies suggest that everyone alive is a descendant of one woman who lived 155,000 years ago. And the ancestors of every living individual were in the earth-population of 5,000-15,000 years ago”; see wikipedia.org/wiki/Identical_ancestors_point. Limiting our political-philosophy concerns to 3,700 years ago does not seem prudent, especially when the Bible imparts meaning to Jesus said “Before Abraham was born I am”.

If we humans don’t take seriously Jesus’ suggestions “before Abraham . . . I am” and “be perfect”, are we being prudent about “God’s image” and safety& security, peace on earth, order& prosperity? If we are not considerate toward what Jesus may have said, what’s in our children’s future? Was the report of Jeremiah really representative? Jeremiah was not privy to what we understand Jesus said.

I don’t accept the idea that “the Lord God” made some of the tribe of Israel sacrifice their children; Jeremiah 32:35,42. Trusting such un-civic ideas has ruined many otherwise good persons& and their families. For example, consider the person to whom Abraham Lincoln in 1861 offered the role of General for the USA: R. E. Lee. In 1856, Lee wrote to his wife that abolitionists were evil for trying to accelerate an erroneous Christian plan for salvation of the blacks: see encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/letter-from-robert-e-lee-to-mary-randolph-custis-lee-december-27-1856. The plan does not deserve elevation above authority of an erroneous Christian belief.

Lastly, I think Terah left Ur because he detested human sacrifice. His family, including son Abraham established animal& bird sacrifice to bargain with the Lord God. That some descendants of Abraham reverted to human sacrifice is not surprising, but I had not noticed it before this reading.

Sunday, March 27, 2022

This passage, Jeremiah 30-33, strikes me as a 600 BC parallel to a 2022 warning: the present generation is so depraved it has sacrificed its children& grandchildren to $30 trillion national debt for adult satisfaction. The Jeremiah focus is the universal human desire for safety and security.

The text is misleading, though, in that it claims the-God caused the adults to sacrifice their children, is going to punish them for it, then reward them, then covenant with them for eternity. The story conflicts Genesis 1:28’s human-being responsibility for safety& security and makes sense only to perpetuate the misery of child sacrifice. We’re repeating the story.

We’re at the leading edge of 300,000 years’ homo sapiens development. At 5,500 years, Sumer suggested that human-being is in charge of safety& security. It is time for reform.

Word study

Peace and security 2

Prosperity and peace 1

Prosperity 1 (alone)

Peace 4 (alone)

Safety 2

Land 15

Property 0

Deed 10

Deed of purchase 3

Possess 3; -ion 1

Bounty 2

Comfort and joy 1

Abundance 1

Descendants 6

Discipline 4

lord almighty 8

lord God 0

the god of Israel 6

the Jews 1  Comment: this is a curious phrase used by the Jews to refer to the Jews

milk and honey 1

 

Critical quotations

by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods

They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek

This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. 

 

The 12 tribes were Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim and Manasseh.

The Tribes and Territories

Eastern

· Judah        Jeremiah served Josiah 626 BC
· Issachar
· Zebulun

Southern

· Reuben
· Simeon
· Gad

Western

· Ephraim
· Manesseh
· Benjamin

Northern

· Dan
· Asher
· Naphtali

Although Levi was dishonored by being denied territory, the tribe of Levi became the highly honored priestly tribe of Israel. It won this honor because of its reverence for Yahweh during the Exodus.

 

 

Jeremiah 30 to 33, NIV

 

Chapter 30

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 

2 “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. 

3 The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their ancestors to possess,’ says the LORD.” 

4 These are the words the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah: 

5 “This is what the LORD says: “ ‘Cries of fear are heard— terror, not peace. 

6 Ask and see: Can a man bear children? Then why do I see every strong man with his hands on his stomach like a woman in labor, every face turned deathly pale? [Guilt& fear?]

7 How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. 

8 “ ‘In that day,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them. 

9 Instead, they will serve the LORD their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 

10 “ ‘So do not be afraid, Jacob my servant; do not be dismayed, Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile. Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid. 

11 I am with you and will save you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you but only in due measure; I will not let you go entirely unpunished.’ 

12 “This is what the LORD says: “ ‘Your wound is incurable, your injury beyond healing. 

13 There is no one to plead your cause, no remedy for your sore, no healing for you. 

14 All your allies have forgotten you; they care nothing for you. I have struck you as an enemy would and punished you as would the cruel, because your guilt is so great and your sins so many. 

15 Why do you cry out over your wound, your pain that has no cure? Because of your great guilt and many sins I have done these things to you. 

16 “ ‘But all who devour you will be devoured; all your enemies will go into exile. Those who plunder you will be plundered; all who make spoil of you I will despoil. 

17 But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds,’ declares the LORD, ‘because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.’ 

18 “This is what the LORD says: “ ‘I will restore the fortunes of Jacob’s tents and have compassion on his dwellings; the city will be rebuilt on her ruins, and the palace will stand in its proper place. 

19 From them will come songs of thanksgiving and the sound of rejoicing. I will add to their numbers, and they will not be decreased; I will bring them honor, and they will not be disdained. 

20 Their children will be as in days of old, and their community will be established before me; I will punish all who oppress them. 

21 Their leader will be one of their own; their ruler will arise from among them. I will bring him near and he will come close to me— for who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?’ declares the LORD. 

22 “‘So you will be my people, and I will be your God.’ ” 

23 See, the storm of the LORD will burst out in wrath, a driving wind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. 

24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand this. [This does not seem consistent with Genesis 1:28, wherein God assigns order and prosperity to human-being.]

 

Chapter 31

1 “At that time,” declares the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.” 

2 This is what the LORD says: “The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel.” 

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. 

4 I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful. 

5 Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit. 

6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, ‘Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.’ ” 

7 This is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, ‘LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’ 

8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return. 

9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son. [See Genesis 48, where God selected Ephraim to lead the 10 northern tribes of Israel?]

10 “Hear the word of the LORD, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.’ [Does a good shepherd scatter then gather?]

11 For the LORD will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they. [Really? Defeat a stronger nation?]

12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD— the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more. 

13 Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. 

14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty,” declares the LORD. 

15 This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.” 

16 This is what the LORD says: “Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” declares the LORD. “They will return from the land of the enemy. 

17 So there is hope for your descendants,” declares the LORD. “Your children will return to their own land. 

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God. 

19 After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’ 

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him,” declares the LORD. 

21 “Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, Virgin Israel, return to your towns. 

22 How long will you wander, unfaithful Daughter Israel? The LORD will create a new thing on earth— the woman will return to the man.” 

23 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: ‘The LORD bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.’ 

24 People will live together in Judah and all its towns—farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 

25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.” 

26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me. 

27 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 

28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD. 

29 “In those days people will no longer say, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 

30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes—their own teeth will be set on edge. 

31 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, ” declares the LORD. 

33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD. [This is fulfillment of Genesis 1:28.] “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 

35 This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD Almighty is his name: [is this a first entry?]

36 “Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,” declares the LORD, “will Israel ever cease being a nation before me.” 

37 This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,” declares the LORD. 

38 “The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 

39 The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 

40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.”

 

Chapter 32

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 

2 The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah. 

3 Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. 

4 Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. 

5 He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the LORD. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’ ” 

6 Jeremiah said, “The word of the LORD came to me: 

7 Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’ 

8 “Then, just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’ “I knew that this was the word of the LORD; 

9 so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. 

10 I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 

11 I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— 

12 and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. 

13 “In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: 

14 ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. 

15 For this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’ 

16 “After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD: 

17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. 

18 You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD Almighty, 

19 great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. 

20 You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. 

21 You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. 

22 You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. 

23 They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them. 

24 “See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. 

25 And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign LORD, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’ ” 

26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 

27 “I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? 

28 Therefore this is what the LORD says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 

29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. 

30 “The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the LORD. 

31 From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. 

32 The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. 

33 They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. 

34 They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. 

35 They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin. 

36 “You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 

37 I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. 

38 They will be my people, and I will be their God. 

39 I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. 

40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. 

41 I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul. 

42 “This is what the LORD says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. [The Hebrew Lord is not consistent with Genesis 1:28, wherein God assigns order& prosperity on earth to human-being.]

43 Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’ 

44 Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the LORD.” [Maybe the Jews are making the case that no other race of people can ever own this land.]

 

Chapter 33

1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the LORD came to him a second time: 

2 “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: 

3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ 

4 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword 

5 in the fight with the Babylonians : ‘They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness. 

6 “ ‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. 

7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity and will rebuild them as they were before.  [Not consistent with Genesis 1:28: God’s doing all the action.]

8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me. 

9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.’ 

10 “This is what the LORD says: ‘You say about this place, “It is a desolate waste, without people or animals.” Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more 

11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD, saying, “Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good; his love endures forever.” For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,’ says the LORD. 

12 “This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks. 

13 In the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah, flocks will again pass under the hand of the one who counts them,’ says the LORD. 

14 “ ‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will fulfill the good promise I made to the people of Israel and Judah. 

15 “ ‘In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 

16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteous Savior.’ 

17 For this is what the LORD says: ‘David will never fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, 

18 nor will the Levitical priests ever fail to have a man to stand before me continually to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to present sacrifices.’ ” 

19 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 

20 “This is what the LORD says: ‘If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night no longer come at their appointed time, 

21 then my covenant with David my servant—and my covenant with the Levites who are priests ministering before me—can be broken and David will no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. 

22 I will make the descendants of David my servant and the Levites who minister before me as countless as the stars in the sky and as measureless as the sand on the seashore.’ ” 

23 The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 

24 “Have you not noticed that these people are saying, ‘The LORD has rejected the two kingdoms he chose’? So they despise my people and no longer regard them as a nation. 

25 This is what the LORD says: ‘If I have not made my covenant with day and night and established the laws of heaven and earth, 

26 then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his sons to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I will restore their fortunes and have compassion on them.’ ”