“This is
what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like
Topheth. The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of
Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned
incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to
other gods.” Jeremiah
19:12
Topheth
was a section on the outskirts of Jerusalem where idol worshipers practiced
their religion. They worshiped gods
like Molech and Baal, through drink offerings, burning incense and sacrificing
their own children in fire. It was there
they He practiced witchcraft, divination, and sorcery, and consulted mediums
and spiritists. It’s where the “high
places” of worshiping other gods occurred.
The practices of evil in Topheth many Jewish kings knew about but never
stopped. This is what made God angry.
In the
area of Topheth was the Valley of Hinnom (or Gehenna) where fires burned around
the clock and made some draw parallels to hell because of its evil.