Topical Bible: Idolatry: Bloody

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Idolatry, in its various forms, is consistently condemned throughout the Bible as a grievous sin against God. One particularly abhorrent manifestation of idolatry is its association with bloodshed, often involving human sacrifice and violent rituals. This entry explores the biblical perspective on bloody idolatry, highlighting key passages and themes.

Old Testament Context

The Old Testament provides numerous accounts of idolatrous practices that involve bloodshed, particularly in the context of pagan worship. The Canaanite religions, which the Israelites encountered upon entering the Promised Land, often included human sacrifices to deities such as Molech. Leviticus 18:21 explicitly warns the Israelites: "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."

The practice of child sacrifice is further condemned in Deuteronomy 12:31 : "You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods."

The prophet Jeremiah also speaks against the bloody idolatry of his time, lamenting the practices in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, where children were sacrificed. Jeremiah 7:31 states, "They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, something I did not command, nor did it enter My mind."

Prophetic Condemnation

The prophets of Israel consistently denounced the bloody practices associated with idolatry. Ezekiel, for instance, condemns the shedding of innocent blood in the context of idol worship. Ezekiel 16:20-21 recounts, "You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to the idols. Was your prostitution not enough? You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols."

The severity of these practices is underscored by the prophets' emphasis on the betrayal of the covenant relationship between God and His people. The shedding of innocent blood in the name of false gods is portrayed as a profound violation of divine law and an affront to God's holiness.

New Testament Perspective

While the New Testament does not directly address the practice of bloody idolatry as seen in the Old Testament, it continues to affirm the rejection of idolatry in all its forms. Acts 15:29 instructs Gentile believers to "abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality." This directive reflects the early church's commitment to distancing itself from pagan practices, including those involving blood.

The apostle Paul, in his letters, frequently warns against idolatry and its associated immorality. In 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 , he writes, "No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot partake in the table of the Lord and the table of demons."

Theological Implications

Bloody idolatry, as depicted in the Bible, represents a profound distortion of true worship and a direct challenge to the sovereignty of God. It underscores the destructive nature of sin and the lengths to which humanity can go in its rebellion against the Creator. The biblical narrative consistently calls for the rejection of idolatry and a return to the worship of the one true God, who abhors the shedding of innocent blood and demands justice and righteousness from His people.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Ezekiel 23:39
For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, see, thus have they done in the middle of my house.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

Idols not to be Made, Much Less Worshipped. Idols and Idol-Makers ...
... Whatever guilt idolatry incurs, must necessarily be imputed to every artificer of ...
perdition of blood" must be taken as equivalent to "bloody perdition," after ...
//christianbookshelf.org/tertullian/on idolatry/chapter iv idols not to be.htm

Peace on Earth through Righteousness
... It was the German contempt for these Christian ideals, it was the German idolatry
of the pagan Odin, naked, cruel, bloody, god of war, it was the German will ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/van dyke/what peace means/ii peace on earth through.htm

Israel's Obstinacy and God's Patience
... of a Jephthah, notwithstanding his savage vow and subsequent lapse into idolatry,
to God's ... Their work was rough and bloody, and they were rough tools, as such ...
/.../expositions of holy scripture f/israels obstinacy and gods patience.htm

The Introduction.
... was a species of Paganism of great antiquity, being that kind of idolatry to which ...
This bloody battle was fought about the year 380, at the water of Dunne in ...
/.../howie/biographia scoticana scots worthies/the introduction.htm

And yet it is Perhaps Straining Too Far for those who do Believe ...
... which mastered the life of man through the madness of idolatry; how this ... prophesyings
ceased, the annual pomps and pollutions of their bloody hecatombs came to ...
/.../gregory/gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/chapter xviii and yet it.htm

On the Public Shows.
... of some is eagerly besought, so that by means of a bloody exhibition men ... Then, to
say nothing of whatever idolatry more generally recommends, how idle are the ...
/.../on the public shows.htm

John Knox.
... He abhorred the mass as an 'abominable idolatry and profanation of the Lord's Supper ...
After the accession of Bloody Mary he fled among the last, at the urgent ...
/.../creeds of christendom with a history and critical notes/ 88 john knox.htm

Impure Zeal
... had, and not according to that which they had not.' Jehu's bloody deeds are ... his
advantage to destroy, and left the more popular and older idolatry undisturbed. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/impure zeal.htm

The Prophet Joel.
... the urgent demands of the prince's of Judah, and allowed free scope to idolatry. ...
sons of Judah"for we have no historical account of a bloody deed perpetrated ...
/.../hengstenberg/christology of the old testament/the prophet joel.htm

A Sermon of the Reverend Father Master Hugh Latimer, Preached in ...
... that he may prevail, up with all superstition and idolatry; censing, painting ... look
for none other sacrifice propitiatory, than the same bloody sacrifice, the ...
/.../latimer/sermons on the card and other discourses/a sermon of the reverend.htm