ירמיהו, פרק י״ט, פסוק ה׳

The practice of child sacrifice stands as one of the most severe and shocking phenomena of ancient idolatry. The absolute gap between the cruelty of foreign worship and the will of God is brought into sharp focus, completely rejecting any divine connection or consent to these acts. The people constructed raised structures specifically designed for this worship [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Their goal was to completely burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal, an idol representing the sun [אברבנאל, מצודת דוד]. It is even possible that the well-known worship of Molech was not directed at an independent idol, but was rather a general term for this horrific ritual of burning children as actual sacrifices to Baal and other idols [ביאור שטיינזלץ].

To uproot any misconception that such acts could ever be desired by God, a triple denial is presented. God makes it clear that He never demanded the sacrifice of sons and daughters, not even for His own sake [מצודת דוד]. This rejection encompasses all avenues of divine revelation: God did not command it in His Torah, He did not send such a message through His prophets, and it was never His will [רד״ק].

There is a deliberate, gradual progression in how God rejects this practice. The natural formation of an idea begins with a thought, moves to speech which grants permission, and finally becomes a binding command. However, the order is reversed here to maximize the rejection. God declares that not only did He never command it as an obligation in the Torah, He never even spoke of it as an allowable act. Furthermore, the very idea of asking for such a thing never once entered His mind [מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].

This thorough denial also serves to address specific historical events that could mistakenly be interpreted as divine consent for human sacrifice [מלבי״ם]. The statement that it never entered His mind refers to the Binding of Isaac, as God never intended for Abraham to actually kill and burn his son, but only to bring him up to the altar [אברבנאל, מלבי״ם]. The assertion that He never spoke of it addresses the story of Jephthah, who was never given divine permission to sacrifice his daughter. Finally, the statement that He did not command it refers to the king of Moab who sacrificed his son. Because these three events occurred in chronological order, someone might wrongly conclude that the concept of human sacrifice gradually developed in God's mind, moving from a mere thought, to spoken permission, to a final command. By reversing the order, God systematically dismantles every stage, making it perfectly clear that human sacrifice never had any place whatsoever in the Divine will [מלבי״ם].