The Amalekites were well known by the Lord as a people completely given over to satan, totally debased and perverse from their infancy onward. Known as eaters of raw meat, having no house, having the instincts of an animal, and living like wolves.”[9]

These debased people practiced child sacrifice, which is confirmed by archeological artifacts discovered in the remains of Amalekite villages.[10] In 2 Kings 23:10 and Jeremiah 7:31, there is a vivd description of how the Amalekite children were offered to one of their most blood thirsty gods, Molech.

2 Kings 23:10 And King Josiah defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech.

Molech was a great cast iron god that sat upon a stone throne above the people. His body was hollow, with an area at the lower section of the statue where a fire could be kindled. The flames of the fire would superheat the cast iron—at times—develop such high temperature, that fire was said to shoot out from the outstretched arms of Molech. A newborn baby from a willing family was placed live on the outstretched arms of this vicious god, where the infant would be burned to death. This was one of many horrible gods that the Canaanites worshipped.

Paul G. Mosca, in his Greek thesis describes a similar type of child sacrifice:

“There stands in their midst a bronze statue… its hands extended over a bronze brazier, the flames of which engulf the child. When the flames fall upon the body, the limbs contract and the open mouth seems almost to be laughing until the contracted body slips quietly into the brazier. Thus it is that the ‘grin’ is known as ‘sardonic laughter,’ since they die laughing.”