Deuteronomy 18:10 Meaning: Why God Forbids Child Sacrifice and Divination

Three Hebrew terms carry the weight of this prohibition. The phrase makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire uses the causative verb avʋ, meaning to cause to cross over. This was a ritual of consecration to the god Molech, where a child was led between two fires as a purification offering, though some children were burned alive. God forbids it utterly because children belong to Him, not to any other power.

The word for divination is qesem. It describes any attempt to discover hidden knowledge through forbidden channels, such as casting lots, interpreting omens, or consulting spirits. The root appears for the false prophet Balaam, who tried to manipulate God. This is not innocent curiosity; it is reaching for answers apart from the Lord.

The term sorcerer comes from kashaph, to practice witchcraft. This person tries to harness spiritual forces for personal gain or control. Each of these practices replaces trust in God with a hunger for secret power. God calls His people to a different way: direct reliance on Him.

Christians across traditions have read this verse as a clear prohibition of practices that dishonor God and harm people. Adam Clarke notes that the rituals of passing through the fire were often a form of lustration rather than death, but still an abomination. John Calvin describes it as a monstrous infatuation that invaded even Israel at times, and he highlights how parents who would never harm a child could be drawn into such rites in the name of religion. The Cambridge Bible stresses the contrast with true prophecy: God will speak to His people through a prophet, not through sorcerers. Matthew Henry points out that these practices treat children as offerings to false gods and seek knowledge from evil sources. All agree that the heart of the issue is loyalty to God alone.

A common misunderstanding is that pass through the fire always meant burning a child to death. In fact, commentators like Clarke and Calvin point out that this ritual often involved leading the child between two fires as a consecration to Molech, though actual child sacrifice also occurred. Either way, God condemns it completely. The deeper point is that these practices treat children as offerings to a false god and reject God's sole authority.

This week, notice the small ways you might look for hidden answers apart from God. When you feel anxious about tomorrow, do you check horoscopes? Pay for a psychic reading? Try to manipulate outcomes through superstition? The invitation here is to bring that anxiety directly to God in prayer. For those with children, examine what influences they are exposed to. God's prohibition against child sacrifice reveals His heart: children are not to be used as spiritual currency. Trust Him with what you cannot control.