Did the Lord command infant sacrifice in the Old Testament?
In the book of Exodus, sometime after reciting the Ten Commandments, the Lord shared his laws with the Israelites. One of these laws were as follows (emphasis mine):
Exodus 22:29-30New International Version (NIV)
29 “Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats.
“You must give me the firstborn of your sons. 30 Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day.
Numbers 3:11-13 (NIV)
11 The LORD also said to Moses,
12 “I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine,
13 for all the firstborn are mine. When I struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, I set apart for myself every firstborn in Israel, whether man or animal. They are to be mine. I am the LORD.”
In the old testament, did the Lord command the Israelites to sacrifice their first child to Him?
The thought boggles my mind, leaving me feeling puzzled and uneasy. Since I’m a mom, and I only have one son, reading this scripture totally depresses me. Yes, I do realize this is before Christ came, and the laws were different, and they no longer apply to today, but, I still wonder about it.
Has anybody ever discussed this scripture in church, or some sort of Bible study class? If so, what did you discuss about this?
Please leave a comment!