Gehenna
Where is the Ben Hinnom Valley <img style="border 0pt none padding 3px float left " title="Valley of Ben Hinnom" src="http www propheticvoice co uk images hermana 023 jpg" alt="Valle
Gehenna
Where is the Ben Hinnom Valley?
There are three valleys indicated in yellow on the contour map. Do you notice a faint squarish outline? These are the walls of the old city of Jerusalem. The tiny circle in the small square on the Eastern Hill shows the position of the Temple. The valley underlying the Western hill is the Ben Hinnom Valley. In the middle is the Tyrophonean Valley and on the right side of the narrow eastern hill is the Kidron.
Interesting the shape these three valleys form, right? Looks almost like the Hebrew letter "shin" ש
In the past year they discovered the mummy of a leper in Gai Ben Hinnom in one of the ancient graves. The man's remains were not in a bone box but behind a sealed grave. Archeologists found the DNA of tuberculosis as well as leprosy; therefore he didn't have a re-burial.
In ancient times people didn't eat preservatives, so usually by one year after death, all flesh had decomposed. People collected the bones of a deceased person and placed them in an "ossuary". These were stored in a small niche carved into the rock.
To this day the Valley of Ben Hinnom has many caves which were used for graves. It was known as a place of death.
But not anymore...
There are several places in the Bible where the Valley of Ben Hinnom is described. This was the location of the Tophet pit as well as an altar to the idol of Molech. It involved the abominable practise of sacrificing children in the burning arms of a metal statue... The reference to hell truly appropriate.
But there are also promises that God would restore this place to be holy for Himself -- Jeremiah 31: 38-40 a case in point.
Even in modern times the Valley of Hinnom carried the city rubbish dump towards the bottom end (where it meets the Kidron Valley). But in the past couple of years the municipality of Jerusalem has begun to transform this place into a park. Last week we walked past the Hinnom Valley and i enjoyed the sight of a family sitting on the green grass under the shade of a tree with a blossoming pomegranate in the foreground. i took a picture...
A few days ago, we walked past the place again and on the exact same spot there was a "fountain" bubbling up from the ground (probably a water pipe had burst :-) Smile...
It made me think of Zech 13:1-2
"On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity. On that day, I will banish the names of the idols from the land, and they will be remembered no more," declares the LORD Almighty. "I will remove both the prophets and the spirit of impurity from the land.
" NIV
That fountain was Yeshua and He can redeem your hell... the pits... the worst life has offered. Even the most offensive sin. Making the landscape of any Gehenna like a walk in the park.
hermana
Last updated: 25th March 2011 by Hermana Viljoen emailsAdverts
