Jeremiah 7:30-8:3--The Valley of Slaughter

Jeremiah 7:30-8:3
English Standard Version

The Valley of Slaughter
30 “For the sons of Judah have done evil in my sight, declares the LORD. They have set their detestable things in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind. 32 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere. 33 And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away. 34 And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.

8 “At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs. 2 And they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served, which they have gone after, and which they have sought and worshiped. And they shall not be gathered or buried. They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. 3 Death shall be preferred to life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family in all the places where I have driven them, declares the LORD of hosts.

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The kings of Judah had made the LORD's temple into a temple to foreign gods and moved the Bronze Altar (that was supposed to be right next to the door so show the only way to enter the LORD's presence was by the blood sacrifices that provided substitutionary atonement) to a less-prominent place so their pagan altars could be seen immediately upon entry, and the priests were okay with this.  They acted according to the will of the king instead of the will of the LORD.  The people rebuilt all the high places around Jerusalem to worship the gods of Solomon's wives and concubines.  God says that one of these places currently called the Valley of Topheth or The Valley of the Son of Hinnom would later be known as the Valley of Slaughter because of the people that would die there when the LORD passes judgment on that place.  This sounds like the valley or Revelation 19:17-21 (and perhaps it is), because the LORD commands all the unclean birds of the world to come and feast and have a great supper on the flesh of all of the slain who lived in rebellion to the LORD.  Perhaps, though, this is one of those cyclical events where the LORD did this in the past and He will do it again in the future.  Biblical history has a way of repeating itself.  Jeremiah was warning the people of the current destruction of the Land because of their current rebellion and wickedness, yet, there would be a time in the future as well where an even greater rebellion would come upon the earth and it would seem that the whole earth might be destroyed (though true Israel will be saved) and the LORD will somehow start afresh with a New Creation--a New Heavens and a New Earth and a New Jerusalem--the people of His New Covenant.

The remains of these kings and priests and idolatrous people would be desecrated.  They would not be buried with respect, but they would be burned with fire to represent the hell-fire that was awaiting them.  In full view of all of Creation that they worshiped, they would be brunt on public display to show that none of these things--not the sun, not the moon, not the stars, or the planets, nor the Earth, nor anything in or on the earth was worthy of their worship or had the power to save those who worshiped them--only the LORD is mighty to save His people.  Their remains would be thrown on the dung heap (where all the unclean things were thrown in the place that would later be called Gehenna because it was a dump of unclean things that was always burning--a picture of Hell that was to come for the rebellions and unclean people of this world).  When the LORD's judgment comes, people would prefer death to life because they think that somehow death will help them escape the LORD's wrath, but they do not know that His wrath will be poured out on all the ungodly in the Lake of Fire--death is not an escape from judgment for them, but a certain death sentence for entering the second death that many of us call "hell," but it is the place of eternal torment and judgment for those who have rejected the LORD, His Kingdom, and the Way of Salvation (which is Christ Jesus our Lord--the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords).