Topical Studies
What the Bible says about
Abomination
(From Forerunner Commentary)
|
Jeremiah 19:12
In this passage, God tells the prophet Jeremiah what to proclaim to the Jews after he performs the sign of the broken flask, which is the subject of the chapter. Jeremiah is to take a clay flask to the Potsherd Gate, or the east gate, which opened out into the Valley of Hinnom, the very place that Jesus later used as an illustration of the judgment of the Lake of Fire, Gehenna. He is also to gather some of the elders and priests of Judah and proclaim God's message of judgment upon them and the city of Jerusalem. Then, he is to break the flask before them, saying, "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot be made whole again; and they shall bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury'" (Jeremiah 19:11). Clearly, this is a sign of utter destruction of a sinful people and nation, and the details of what God promises to bring upon them are gruesome and horrifying to an extreme. What was Tophet? According to the McClintock and Strong Encyclopedia, the word itself means "spittle," of all things, or "filth," signifying something abominable, but it could also mean "place of burning," hinting at the abomination that occurred there. Tophet itself was a small hill within the Valley of Hinnom that had once been part of a grove that Solomon had had planted, where his singers had given concerts to the people of Jerusalem. Perhaps Solomon had chosen that spot, not just for its fertility and closeness to Siloam, but also to help Israel forget that the Canaanites before them had made their children pass through the fire to Molech—in other words, it was a place of vile child sacrifice (see Psalm 106:38; Jeremiah 7:31). However, it was not long before the Israelites and Jews again "filled this place with the blood of the innocents" (Jeremiah 19:4). During his reign not long before Jeremiah's prophecy, King Josiah had defiled Tophet as part of his purge of idolatry (II Kings 23:10). He did so by overthrowing the altars and then using the place as the city dump, and the filthier the trash the better. But just as soon as Josiah died, the Jews returned to Tophet. In Jesus' day, it was once again the city's garbage dump, where a fire was always burning to consume anything thrown on the pile (Mark 9:43-48). And of course, the worm did not die there, meaning that there were always new maggots going through their life-cycles, feeding on the trash. It was also a place where, down through the centuries, many have been buried. Thus, the Valley of Hinnom is a fitting picture of the resurrection of condemnation (John 5:29). So what did God do to Judah because of their heinous sin? I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. . . . And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair. (Jeremiah 19:7, 9) Sounds like justice.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
|
|
Galatians 6:7-8
In the days after September 11, 2001, a few brave souls linked the tragedy to America's increasingly immoral lifestyle, but many of these initially courageous people were shouted down, lampooned, and condemned for their "callous and judgmental" remarks. Because they are unfamiliar with spiritual laws and processes, most people see no link between so-called natural disasters and behavior. However, Christians have no excuse, as this principle is clearly a biblical one. God explains it in his instructions to Israel just after receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai: Do not defile yourselves with any of these things [sexual immorality]; for by all these the nations are defiled, which I am casting out before you. For the land is defiled; therefore I visit the punishment of its iniquity upon it, and the land vomits out its inhabitants. You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations, either any of your own nation or any stranger who dwells among you (for all these abominations the men of the land have done, who were before you, and thus the land is defiled), lest the land vomit you out also when you defile it, as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Leviticus 18:24-28) We are all sinners, so we all deserve death (Romans 6:23)—it is as simple as that. None of us is really innocent. The people who died in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and in western Pennsylvania were indeed innocent of the causes for which the Islamic terrorists justified their violence. In that sense, they were "innocent victims," and we properly mourn them and sympathize with their survivors. However, as human beings living in bondage to human nature, they were not—and neither are the living. This begs the question, then: Did the events of September 11, 2001, cause us to make the proper changes? In the United States as a whole, we have clamored for the government to protect us better, to avenge our fallen fellow citizens, and to act so that such a calamity will never happen again. These are certainly logical changes that should be made—and frankly, should have been made years ago. Yet, these are all external changes. What changes have we made personally, internally, spiritually, behaviorally? The book of Amos is all about this principle. God wants us to evaluate ourselves, our morality, and our relationship with Him in light of what is happening within the nation. Our sins play a part in the collective immorality of the nation, and He wants us to own up to them and change our ways. God says in Amos 4:11-12: "'I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to me,' says the LORD. 'Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; and because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!'" God allowed a disaster to occur, and because He saw no change in the people, He sent an even greater one. We do not know if that is what will happen. However, as the homosexual agenda strengthens, as our culture becomes more vulgar and sexual, as injustice and ungodliness increase, God is watching. He has shown in the pages of the Bible what He has done in the past, and He says He does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8). We will reap what we sow. Is it not time to consider whether we have learned the right lessons from 9-11?
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Sowing and Reaping
|
Find more Bible verses about Abomination:
Abomination {Nave's}
|
 |
The Berean: Daily Verse and Comment
Sign up for the Berean: Daily Verse and Comment, and have Biblical truth delivered to your inbox. This daily newsletter provides a starting point for personal study, and gives valuable insight into the verses that make up the Word of God. See what over 155,000 subscribers are already receiving each day.
Email Address:
|
We respect your privacy. Your email address will not be sold, distributed, rented, or in any way given out to a third party. We have nothing to sell. You may easily unsubscribe at any time. |
|
|
