Molech (or Milcom) was the national god of the Ammonites, whose land bordered Israel’s territory east of Jordan. A well known feature of the worship of Molech was the sacrifice of children by fire, a practice that in Israel carried the death penalty (Lev 18:21; 20:2-5; 2 Kings 23:10; Jer 32:35). When Solomon married an Ammonite wife, he built a shrine for Molech, though there is no record of his using it to offer child sacrifices. The shrine was not destroyed till the reign of Josiah, three hundred years later (1 Kings 11:5,7; 2 Kings 23:10,13). In spite of the penalties and warnings, there were many occasions throughout Israel’s history when people were guilty of offering child sacrifices (Judg 10:6; 11:30-31,39; 2 Kings 17:17; 21:6; 2 Chron 28:1-3; Ps 106:38; Jer 7:31; Ezek 16:21; 20:31; 23:39). There is no record of child sacrifices by the Israelites after the Babylonian captivity.