2 Kings 23:10
And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech. And he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the children of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.
Josiah defiled Topheth in the Valley of the children of Hinnom to stop any man from making his son or daughter pass through the fire to Molech, as part of his resolute purge of Judah's idolatry and restoration of the worship of God. The defiling was uncompromising, making the place unfit for use and turning its pride into disgrace, plucking up idolatry root and fibre and allowing no beauty to justify rivalry with God. Because of that corruption the valley became Jerusalem's dumping place for filth, refuse, carcasses and bodies of criminals, where constant fires burned and worms fed to consume the mass. For that reason the Valley of Hinnom, in Greek Gehenna, became the symbol and type of hell and the absolute destruction and annihilation of the incorrigibly wicked, never a place where things cast in are preserved to burn in eternal torment. Jesus used Gehenna, the name of that valley, to illustrate the final destruction of the wicked, and Josiah's removal of heathen worship and restoration of true worship is a pattern for eliminating heathen elements so the people would learn righteousness and turn to the true refuge in God.
Josiah's Reform at Topheth
Josiah defiled Topheth in the Valley of the children of Hinnom so that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech, also called Moloch. This was part of his resolute purge of Judah's idolatry and restoration of the worship of God, making the site unfit for use so it could no longer serve for offerings to Molech. Topheth was a fine, pleasant, well-watered place adorned with gardens and fountains. It was the choice suburb of Jerusalem, with the king's gardens, graveled walks, shady lanes, sweet-scented bowers, sparkling fountains, luxurious villas and kiosks, and amid them all the shrine of a cruel god, so that all its luxury was identified in the public mind with idolatry.
The Valley of the son of Hinnom, or Gehenna, lay in or formed part of Topheth just south of Jerusalem, where the sacred rites of Molech were performed. The defiling was an uncompromising act that made Topheth a place of desecration and turned all its pride into disgrace. It plucked up idolatry root and fibre, guarded against incipient evils, and allowed no beauty to justify rivalry with God. The act belonged to the greatest reformation recorded in Hebrew history. It was undertaken after the found law and Huldah's prophetic counsel, when Josiah broke up and burned idols and idolatrous shrines, destroyed all existing relics of idolatry, defiled idol altars and sites, and degraded priests who had corrupted Jehovah's worship.
That cleansing removed objects and places for Baal and Astarte, Asherah abominations, sodomites, Chemosh of Moab, Milcom of Ammon, Bethel calf worship, familiar spirits, and incense offered in high places. It also removed objects and priests connected with worship of the sun, moon, and constellations, ending practices established by earlier kings. The verse falls within the history of the remaining kingdom of Judah after the ten tribes had been carried away. It is a record of rulers turning from God to gross idolatry and bringing calamity on themselves and their people.
This chapter is the one bright chapter closing wicked and weak reigns, conducted under the good king Josiah, one of Judah's two decisive reformers, supported by godly priests and counselors. Josiah's work in this chapter fulfilled the prophecy of the man of God to Jeroboam recorded in 1 Kings 13, coming just as declared after hundreds of years of waiting. One reading connects the child sacrifice in the valley of the son of Hinnom with Manasseh sacrificing his children to Molech, following the wicked course of his grandfather Ahaz rather than the better course of his father Hezekiah.
Gehenna Symbol of Destruction
Because of that corruption the valley became Jerusalem's dumping place for city filth, offal, refuse and combustible waste, with the carcasses of animals and the bodies of criminals, malefactors and executed persons cast there. Constant fires were kept burning to consume the mass of corruption and worms constantly fed and preyed upon what was cast there, in order to stop the pestilence it would cause. Having been defiled and polluted with every species of filth after once being celebrated for the worship of Molech, the valley was regarded as accursed.
For that reason the Hebrew Valley of Hinnom, in Greek Gehenna, became the symbol, figure and type of hell, judgment, and the destruction and annihilation of all corrupt and vile things cast in to be destroyed. It is never a place where things cast in are preserved to burn in eternal torment or kept alive in perpetual torment, and it means not the abode or condition of all the dead like Sheol and Hades but the absolute destruction of the incorrigibly wicked. Perpetual fires were kept up there to consume all the filth of the city carried there, and the New Testament uses Gehenna in that sense of utter destruction.
Its later use for refuse and bodies consumed by fires and worms is the historical origin of the imagery of unquenchable fire and the undying worm. The worm and fire do not fail to consume what is cast into them, destroying what was cast there and making the valley a fitting image and symbol of utter and complete destruction of the wicked. The place made vile was to be a symbol for all that is abominable and its name a synonym for hell, and the account also places there the slaying of Sennacherib's army of 185,000 men. Jesus used Gehenna, the name of that valley, to illustrate future punishment and the final destruction of the wicked.
Lessons for Worship Today
Josiah's destruction of idolatrous worship on the high places is a pattern for removing heathen elements and sun-worship customs and establishing the true worship of God. Under wicked, sensual kings the people copied the heathen religious use of hills and mountains as protectors and deliverers and followed Baal and Ashtoreth, whose polluting symbols and altars stood there. Under a faithful king those hill groves were cut down and the mountain altars overthrown to stop false worship and child sacrifice, so that the people would learn righteousness and turn from false refuge in the mountains to the true refuge in God.
The reform was carried out with uncompromising zeal after finding the Bible, having nothing to do with compromises, plucking up idolatry root and fibre, guarding against incipient evils, crushing the eggs of the serpent, seeing danger where the blinded soul feels secure, and allowing no beauty to justify rivalry with God. Topheth was the choice suburb of Jerusalem, with the king's gardens, graveled walks, shady lanes, sweet-scented bowers, sparkling fountains, luxurious villas and kiosks, and amid them all the shrine of a cruel god, so that all that luxury was identified in the public mind with idolatry. These ancestral treasures were not spared but defiled, and all their pride was turned into disgrace and desecration, with the place made vile to be a symbol for all that is abominable and its name a synonym for hell. By throwing down the idolatrous temples God Himself was recognized, showing that when God's people are nearest to Him there is the least outward expression in mere stone and wood, because what God desires is beauty of character in souls and not architectural beauty.
The history illustrates both the need for reform and the persistence of fallen human nature, for the reform sought to end idolatrous worship and to break down its worship and defile its high places, yet the people remained attached to low, sensual religions including sun and Baal worship. Josiah could not stop Judah's downward course, and the people could quickly return to such practices under another king. The account is that of Josiah's reformation against idolatrous worship that had supplanted the worship and honor of Jehovah.
The worship of Molech or Moloch involved making children pass through fire by casting them into the fire, and this practice was condemned. Its worshipers nevertheless treated it as a religious virtue, and those who took part could have consciences that approved their actions.