The Earth Remembers What We Forgot
Grass May Grow, but the Ground Still Grieves
From the Valley of Hinnom to the Altars of Today
“They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.”
—Jeremiah 32:35
I have never walked the Valley of Hinnom with my own feet. But after seeing its present-day photos—lush, manicured, quiet—and comparing them to AI-generated images of what it might have looked like in the days of Manasseh, I felt something I didn’t expect: grief.
It was as if the earth whispered:
“You see the grass. I remember the screams.”
🔥 The History Beneath the Park
Today, the valley just outside Jerusalem’s Old City is a greenbelt. A place to jog, to picnic, to breathe in the sun. But beneath that soft soil lies a story that should never be forgotten. One soaked in blood and fire. A graveyard without tombstones.
The Bible names it: the Valley of the Son of Hinnom—Gehenna.
• Ahaz burned his sons there (2 Chronicles 28:3).
• Manasseh, one of Judah’s worst kings, followed suit (2 Chronicles 33:6).
• The prophet Jeremiah wept over it (Jeremiah 7:31–32).
• Josiah tried to defile it so no one could ever use it again (2 Kings 23:10).
• Even Jesus referenced it—“Gehenna”—as a metaphor for hell (Mark 9:43–48).
From Canaanite origins to Israelite compromise, the valley bore witness to over 500 years of ritual child sacrifice. Generations laid their babies on burning altars to Molech. The drums of Topheth were said to drown out the cries.
Today, there are no drums. But there is still smoke.
✂️ From Molech to Medicine
We live in an era that rejects idols made of bronze. But the spirit of Molech never died. It simply rebranded.
“There is nothing new under the sun.” —Ecclesiastes 1:9
In clinics across the world, children are sacrificed—not to Canaanite gods, but to the modern trinity of convenience, control, and fear. They are burned with saline, dismembered in utero, or chemically erased before they even attach to the womb.
Is it still Molech if there’s no statue?
Is it still Topheth if the drums are electric and the fire is sterile?
I believe the earth knows.
It remembers blood. It remembers smoke.
And it waits.
“The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.” —Genesis 4:10
🎭 The Asherah Pole in Disguise
While studying the Valley of Hinnom, another thread surfaced—less visible but deeply connected: the revival of Ashtoreth and Asherah pole worship in modern form.
The ancients danced around fertility poles to summon favor from goddesses of pleasure and power. Today, some do it on stage, on platforms, in clubs, and even under the guise of cultural holidays like May Day. The pole remains—its name has changed.
Strip poles. May poles. “Body empowerment.”
What was once called idolatry is now called “freedom.”
But the spirit?
The same spirit that inspired sensual rituals beneath sacred trees and carved poles in the Bible is alive and celebrated. Not always in temples—but in studios, stadiums, and stages.
We think we’ve evolved.
But sin just learned how to dress up.
🌿 Redemption in the Valley
I do believe valleys can be redeemed. That’s the nature of God. He turns graves into gardens. The very valley once called Gehenna is now a peaceful park. But peace on the surface cannot erase what cries from beneath.
We must never forget what once happened there.
And we must never stop calling out what is still happening—now, in our own cities, in our own “cleaner” versions of the fire.
🕊️ Final Thought
The earth remembers what we forgot.
God never forgot.
And He still hears the cries of the innocent.
Let us remember with Him.
📖 Scriptural References:
• 2 Chronicles 28:3
• 2 Chronicles 33:6
• Jeremiah 7:31–32; 19:5–6; 32:35
• 2 Kings 23:10
• Leviticus 18:21; 20:2–5
• Mark 9:43–48
• Ecclesiastes 1:
• Genesis 4:10