Gehenna

https://odb.org/MY/2022/11/06/hope-from-gehenna

Topheth or the Valley of Hinnom in Jeremiah 7:30-34 was described as “Gehenna” in Greek by Jesus and used by Him to compare hell in Matthew 5. It is a place of atrocities not committed by the Canaanites but by Israelites themselves, a place where they sacrificed even children and burned incense to idols, in total defiance to the LORD. So bad that Jesus compared the fires burning there to hell. So bad that the LORD via Jeremiah vowed to destroy them in future, which happened when the Babylonians invaded Jerusalem and killed many and burned their bodies at the same place. Yet in the midst of all that fury and prophesy of disaster, someone had the confidence to carve out the blessings of God in an iron scroll declaring Numbers 6:24-26 that “the LORD bless and keep you, the LORD make His face shine on you and be gracious to you, the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace”. That iron scroll from the time of Jeremiah is presently the oldest bits of discovered Scripture today.

We know the story of the Babylon invasion, the punishment it wrought on the Temple, on Jerusalem and its people and how they were exiled and yet 70 years later they returned to Jerusalem and began to rebuild the Temple. Yet about 100 years before the invasion in 597 BC, someone in the seventh century BC was already proclaiming the blessings of God, the protection of God which foretold what happened when the Israelites returned from exile, about 200 years in advance! His Word is all about His goodness despite the insolence and wicked disobedience of His people, His punishment and yet His redemption and mercy.

What’s the message today? I believe if we are suffering the consequences of our rebellion towards God or our stubborn disobedience, know that despite the punishment, He loves us. David suffered the consequences of his action towards Uriah due to his lust for Bethsheba as he lost a few of his sons (including his first son with his union with Bethsheba) and yet the LORD preserved David’s legacy and bloodline to Jesus via Bathsheba’s later son, Solomon. Jerusalem was invaded by Babylon and the Assyrians and yet in both instances, He later rebuilt the Temple and Jerusalem.

Be like the sculptor who etched those blessings of God in the iron scroll. Despite our sufferings which are our own doing, know that the LORD will nevertheless bless us and shine His face upon us. The time will come when the period of punishment is over and we will have His peace and countenance. His punishment will not be forever!