Psalms 106:36

SIN NO. 9

This sin was the moral ethical, and religious destruction of Israel that resulted from their adoption of the shameful practices of the heathen populations of Canaan. The full account of this terminal sin of the chosen people begins to unfold in Joshua, is accelerated in the Book of Judges, and reaches its climax in the writings of the Major prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel.

Only the most meager outline of Israel's ultimate debauchery appears here.

"And (Israel) served their idols,

Which became a snare unto them.

Yea, they sacrificed their sons and daughters unto demons,

And shed innocent blood,

Even the blood of their sons and of their daughters,

Whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan;

And the land was polluted with blood.

Thus were they defiled with their works,

And played the harlot in their doings."

To rehearse the full record of what is so briefly stated here would require a detailed study of a major portion of the Old Testament.

The child-sacrifice was practiced even by Israel's kings (2 Kings 16:3; Ezekiel 16:20; Isaiah 57:5).

"They played the harlot in their doings" (Psalms 106:39). This is an accurate description of the idol worship in Canaan. Their pagan sex and fertility gods were "worshipped" with the most unbelievably vulgar and licentious ceremonies involving the patronage of the multitudes of religious prostitutes who were the principle sensual attraction of the shrines and high places of Canaan. There was certainly a great deal more involved than merely "bowing down" in front of some idol.