AWAKE, ARISE, AND TRIUMPH
Wednesday – November 23, 2022, Cheshvan 29, 5783
THE FUNERAL PYRE – TOPHET
It is Thanksgiving Eve! What a wonderful time of year for many, not all, here in America and other places in the world. Greetings to all and welcome back to The Three Minute Word blog and the study through the exciting and instructive Book of Isaiah. Before we go any further, please take a moment and share this teaching as widely as possible by every means available to you. Thank you for sharing. This is vital to the Kingdom of God, to spread this gospel, the Truth, beyond our reach alone. The featured picture today is a Church in Massachusetts and is a reminder to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ, those in our circle and the extended circle.
Colossians 1:9-12 (KJV)
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;
12 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Thank you for praying for us and our brothers and sisters in our various meeting houses and around the world. Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Scripture text continuing to read out loud.
Isaiah 30:29-33 (TLB)
29 But the people of God will sing a song of solemn joy, like songs in the night when holy feasts are held; his people will have gladness of heart, as when a flutist leads a pilgrim band to Jerusalem to the Mountain of the Lord, the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord shall cause his majestic voice to be heard and shall crush down his mighty arm upon his enemies with angry indignation and devouring flames, with tornados, terrible storms, and huge hailstones.
31 The voice of the Lord shall punish the Assyrians, who had been his rod of punishment.
32 And when the Lord smites them, his people will rejoice with music and song.
33 The funeral pyre has long been ready, prepared for Molech, the Assyrian god; it is piled high with wood. The breath of the Lord, like fire from a volcano, will set it all on fire.
As you will recall, the Lord through His Prophet is contrasting the wrath of God with the blessing of God. As we have seen down through this Book, now 30 chapters, judgment always falls first upon His people and secondarily upon those who carried out the judgment and overdid. I don’t know if the Assyrians heard any of this before it happened but they were not in an enviable position. However, the heathen has frequently turned a deaf ear so long their hearts are hardened. What makes a huge difference for mercy is an intercessor. Hell is too awful for us not to intercede for our loved ones with thanksgiving for His promises. At this time as we finish out this 30th chapter lets turn our full attention to the 33rd verse and the term “funeral pyre” “prepared for Molech” which in the KJV reads “For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared”. So, what is being talked about here.
I did a little research on the word Tophet and found it is a location in Jerusalem in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), where worshipers engaged in a ritual involving “passing a child through the fire”, most likely child sacrifice. (Source Wikipedia) The Hebrew word “topteh” means a place of cremation according to Strong’s Talking Greek & Hebrew Dictionary. This is the sacrifice of children by burning them to death to the false god Molech. The murder, destruction, of unborn children today is no less gruesome. These children in the womb have full consciousness of sensation and most commonly are chopped to death and then the pieces of these precious bodies are suctioned out and thrown away. This is not one bit different from someone walking into one of our houses and cutting us to pieces with a chainsaw. How is this even close to alright? The Devil and false gods have deceived many into a level of stupidity that is hard to fathom except when you consider who is behind it and the spiritual origin. All things (all) manifested in the natural have a spiritual origin and therefore the cure is spiritual.
Lord willing, I will pick up right here next time.
2 Chronicles 20:20 b (KJV)
20 … Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
Receive the blessing in Jesus’ name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (MSG)
24 GOD bless you and keep you,
25 GOD smile on you and gift you,
26 GOD look you full in the face and make you prosper.
By: Dr. David R. Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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