What other scriptures warn against the actions described in 2 Kings 17:17? Setting the scene in 2 Kings 17:17 “They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking Him to anger.” (2 Kings 17:17) The verse lists three dark practices: • Child sacrifice • Divination and sorcery • A willful, wholesale surrender to evil and idolatry Scripture consistently condemns each of these actions. Explicit prohibitions against child sacrifice • Leviticus 18:21 – “You must not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molech, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.” • Leviticus 20:2-5 – Anyone who sacrifices a child “must surely be put to death.” • Deuteronomy 12:31 – “They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.” Israel is told never to copy that. • Deuteronomy 18:10 – “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire…” • Psalm 106:37-38 – “They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons… the land was polluted with blood.” • Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5 – God declares He never commanded or even conceived of such a horror. • Ezekiel 16:20-21 – God calls the slaughter of children “My children” an act of spiritual prostitution. • 2 Chronicles 33:6 – Manasseh’s sin mirrors what 2 Kings 17:17 condemns. Divination, sorcery, and occult practices forbidden • Deuteronomy 18:10-14 – Lists divination, sorcery, omens, witchcraft, spells, mediums, and spiritists as “detestable to the LORD.” • Exodus 22:18 – “You must not allow a sorceress to live.” • Isaiah 8:19 – God’s people are to seek Him, not “mediums and spiritists who whisper and mutter.” • Isaiah 47:12-14 – Babylon is mocked for trusting in spells and sorceries that cannot save. • Micah 5:12 – God promises to “cut off sorceries from your hands.” • Malachi 3:5 – The LORD will be “a swift witness against sorcerers.” • Acts 13:6-10 – Paul exposes Elymas the sorcerer as “full of deceit and trickery.” • Acts 19:19 – New believers publicly burn their occult scrolls. • Galatians 5:19-21 – “Idolatry and sorcery” are works of the flesh; practitioners will not inherit God’s kingdom. • Revelation 21:8; 22:15 – Sorcerers are barred from the New Jerusalem, destined for the lake of fire. Selling oneself to do evil: warnings against idolatry and spiritual compromise • Deuteronomy 32:16-17 – “They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods… they sacrificed to demons, not to God.” • 1 Kings 21:20, 25 – Ahab “sold himself to do evil in the sight of the LORD,” language echoed in 2 Kings 17:17. • Jeremiah 2:13 – Forsaking the fountain of living water for broken cisterns is spiritual suicide. • Hosea 4:12 – Idols and divination lead the people into spiritual prostitution. • Romans 1:21-25 – Rejection of God ends in idolatry, moral chaos, and divine wrath. New Testament echoes • 1 Corinthians 10:20-22 – Sacrifices to idols are sacrifices to demons; believers must flee. • 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 – No fellowship between light and darkness; “come out from among them.” • Ephesians 5:11 – “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” • Revelation 9:20-21 – Even after severe judgments, people refuse to repent of “sorcery” and “idolatry.” Why God takes these sins so seriously • They attack His character: child sacrifice distorts the image of a holy, life-giving God. • They align people with demonic powers instead of the Creator. • They destroy the innocent and enslave the guilty. • They sever covenant relationship, defile the land, and invite judgment. The sweep of Scripture—from the Law and Prophets through the Gospels and Revelation—warns with one voice: every form of child sacrifice, occult practice, and idolatrous compromise is detestable to the LORD and brings sure judgment. The way of life is to reject these works of darkness and walk in wholehearted devotion to Him. |
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