"What Is Really Going On"

) I am reminded of a faithless nation that ritually killed their children and the Lord’s judgment upon them. The passage is Jeremiah 7: 30-34.

Body

I. “The children of Judah”

a. Judah means “praise”

i. Judah’s purpose for existence was to give glory and praise to God

ii. The nation should never have allowed the influence of paganism to distract them from glorifying the Lord

II. “Have done evil in my sight”

a. Judah committed heinous sins in God’s sight without fear of reprisal

b. We must remember that everything we do is within the Lord’s sights, nothing escapes His notice

i. No evil will escape his judgment

**The evil done to Caylee Anthony will be avenged, if not in man’s court, then in a much higher one where the verdict is just and final

III. “They have built high places of Tophet”

a. Judah erected altars to pagan gods just outside the city limits of Jerusalem

b. It was here that they would sacrifice their children in pagan worship

c. It is said that the place is called Tophet because the people would sing and dance and play tambourines to prevent the parents from hearing the cries of their children as they burned alive

i. Smokescreens and mirrors of distractions to detract from what was really going on

ii. In the singing and dancing, the voices of the innocent victims were drowned

**The voice of little Caylee was drowned out by the confusing testimonies and sideshows of the trial

IV. “Which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom”

a. The children of Judah left the Jerusalem, the holy city exalted on the mountain, to go down into the valley to engage in depraved worship

i. They turned their back on God to commit detestable sins

b. Hinnom in its Latin form is translated Gehenna, more commonly known as Hell

i. Other translations render this place as “the mouth of Hell”

ii. They worshipped their pagan gods in the mouth of Hell – they essentially became Devil worshippers

V. “To burn their sons and their daughters in the fire”

a. This practice started with the pagan people of Canaan

i. They offered their firstborn children to Molech by heating the image (part man, part bull) to furnace temperatures and then thrusting their children into the outstretched arms of the ghastly image

b. When Judah abandoned God they developed the wicked customs of the nations around them, including that of burning their children alive

i. Motives were selfish (Casey - not wanting to be tied down by motherhood, wanting to live single lifestyle of partying)

• They sought favor or approval from gods that were of no benefit to them

• They reveled in the lifestyle that paganism afforded them

ii. Devoid of natural affection (Casey – no loving and affectionate mother would ever allow her child to be missing for 30 days before reporting it, repeatedly lie about events leading up to disappearance, fabricate erroneous tales explaining the child’s death)

• What kind of parent could willingly kill their own child and allow them to die such a torturous death

iii. Devoid of all spirituality

• What kind of people could reckon that God would allow such atrocities without seeking retribution for the lives of the innocent

iv. Do not forget the witnesses

• There may have been some who did not actively engage in these practices, but were bystanders (Casey - Family members, Friends)

a. The children had little choice in this matter

b. Their only hope was their parents or other adults who would listen to the cries of the children and plead their case

• Those who were aware of the situation but silently allowed it continue became co-conspirators, accessories to murder

• Some of the witnesses played an active role

a. Remember the singers, dancers, and tambourine players (Casey - Defense Lawyers)

i. Their job was to distract from what was really going on – the painful deaths of innocent babies

VI. “I did not command, nor did it come into My heart”

a. The Father, being a God of Love, never would have commanded the mass murdering of innocent children

b. It did not come into His heart; in fact it was detestable and disgusting to Him

c. Such a command would have been contrary to God’s intentions

i. Psalms 127: 3 – Children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward

• A heritage is something that is valued and cherished

• A heritage is a trust

• A heritage is something that you would keep safe from robbers or those who would misuse or destroy it

• A reward is something to be proud of, to be put on display

• A reward is not considered as burden, but a blessing