Valley Princess

Learning to Love: Day 38

Gehenna

We're going to Gehenna1
Where the altar is red hot.
The arms of Molech2 are outstretched;
The sacrificial spot.
The procession sings a solemn chant.
They want to please their god.
Their hope: a good harvest this year
Across the untilled sod.
They bring the harvest of the womb
And give it to Molech.
They take his life to enhance theirs.
The babe they will bedeck
In death. He writhes on the altar.
His fresh screams of life with his breath
Tell of the burning loss--
Yet they gain from his death.
We're going to Gehenna.
"The clinic opens soon.
Don't worry. It will all be through.
It's women's health. A boon. 
Your future is ahead of you.
Don't be denied your dreams.
You have your life. You'll be happy.
You need your own good things.
You need a chance at your career,
Financially be stable.
You will have a family 
One day when you are able."
Her womb, her body--the altar--
The arms of scalpels outstretched
Await what they require.
We're going to Gehenna
Where the fire is not quenched,3
Where the worm will never die,
Where there's eternal stench.
We'll find out the real sacrifice
For our good things was us.
We're going there, we're on our way,
So I'll put up a fuss
For the voiceless of this generation.
It's not the homosexual, veterans, or the homeless,
Or children's high cholesterol.
It's not the black, the immigrant,
The poor or unemployed.
It's the unborn. It's the barely born
At whose expense we're enjoyed
Life.
And some get a new car.
They're going up to heaven
Where their joys will never end,
Where Jesus stands with arms outstretched
To salve and heal and mend.
He sees the orphans of the world
And pities the oppressed.
He takes their hands in his scarred hands
And gives them peace and rest.
"Let the children come to me!"4
He calls from holy throne.
"Today, you're children of the King,
Heirs to a world your own."
The world was not worthy of them,5
Martyrs of innocence,
New citizens of heaven,
Blessed of God in His presence.
My taxes helped build that altar.
My wages maintain it.
I groan, wish it were not my own,
But to this we must submit:
"Render to Ceasar what is his
And to God what is God's."6
Caesar, remember, as you kill,
You don't have the iron rod.7
  1. Also called the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, the place where the people of Judah would go to sacrifice their children in fire to the god Molech (2 Kings 23:10, Jeremiah 7:31, 19:1-9, 32:35). They would make an altar of an image of Molech burning hot, then place a newborn baby on the scalding hot arms to be burned alive. It was a place just outside Jerusalem’s walls, where later there was perpetual fire to burn the refuse it housed after King Josiah made it the city’s dump during his religious reforms. This is where the New Testament image of hell comes from with an unquenchable fire (Mark 9:47-49)(The Family Bible Encyclopedia under Hinnom, Valley of).
  2. Molech is “a pagan Ammonite god worshipped in Canaan to whom people, especially children, were sacrificed; the practice, often involving firstborn children, was not uncommon among the ancient Hebrews in preexilic times…it was yet another indication of the clash between the religion of Israel, the pure worship of Yahweh…and the idolatry of her neighbors. The special center for this practice was just outside Jerusalem, at a place in the Valley of Hinnom called the Topheth” (The Family Bible Encyclopedia under Molech, Moloch).
  3. Mark 9:48
  4. Mark 10:13-14
  5. Hebrews 11:38
  6. Matthew 22:21, Mark 12:17, Luke 20:25
  7. Psalm 2:8-10, Revelation 19:15

Day 38

Richard Wurmbrand, in his book Tortured for Christ, tells of the brutal history of the communist persecution of Christians in post-World War II Romania. He describes horrible atrocities communists committed against believer, and what families did to their own flesh and blood, and what the church did to fellow members. He puts part of the responsibility for this situation upon American politics. America had a significant influence in that war, and the decisions America made had significant influence upon the people in the middle of the battleground. At a point where a reader may recoil at his story, he says, “Don’t just say that this is ugly and immoral–of course it is–but ask yourself if it is not also your own sin that such tragedies occur, that such Christian families are left alone, and are not helped by you who are free” (47). The prophets of Israel had a sense of corporate identity that we do not have so much today, I believe. When Isaiah was called to be a prophet, he said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isaiah 6:5). Isaiah recognized his own sin, and he recognized the sin of his people, and that was important to him as he stood before God. I understand and agree that some of the groups I listed in my poem are mistreated and neglected and need better attention, but they are not voiceless. The unborn are truly the voiceless. It is easy to look back as past generations and criticize their sins, like human sacrifice. It is harder to criticize the sins of your own generation. Abortion is one of the most terrible culturally acceptable sins not only of Americans, but of much of the world. We must make ourselves aware of how it is allowed to proceed and what part we have in it. Are we voting for pro-choice politicians? Are we living in communities that set women up to have abortions? Are we helping those in poverty? Are we encouraging the gospel to spread and with it a strong sense of family values and responsibility? Are we staying involved with our educational system? Are we volunteering to help battered women in crisis? Are we donating monetary and material goods to them so that they can support a child they did not expect? Whether you realize it or not, you may be part of the problem, and so may I. Let’s be part of the solution.

If you enjoyed this material, please leave a like or comment on my blog, share, and you can purchase my book, Learning to Love: A Collection of Poetry and 40 Daily Devotions, on Amazon. Until next time, God bless.

Sources

The Bible. English Standard Version, Crossway, 2001.

“Hinnom, Valley of.” The Family Bible Encyclopedia, Copylab Publishing, 1972, p.1300-1301.

“Molech, Moloch.” The Family Bible Encyclopedia, Copylab Publishing, 1972, p.2312.

Wurmbrand, Richard. Tortured for Christ. Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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Sara DuVall is a wife and homeschool mom. She lives in the Tennessee Valley of North Alabama with her husband and four children. Originally from the Florida Gulf Coast, she was raised in the church and worked for the church for some time. Sara has a MA in English literature and certificate in technical communication, having work experience in the field of technical communication and technical editing. Her BA is in cultural anthropology and English writing. Sara has been writing poetry since she was about 13 years old. Inspired by a poem written by her great-grandmother, Sara has studied and enjoyed the art of poetry ever since. She is a published short story author in Northwest Florida State College’s Blackwater Review (2006 and 2007). She is also an award-winning short story author at the University of West Florida (2009). She published her first book, Learning to Love: a Collection of Poetry and 40 Daily Devotions, in 2021. The daughter of a choir director and college music teacher with an MA in voice, Sara was regularly exposed to music from an early age. Although she is a far cry from the vocal qualifications of her mother, and although she is not nearly as proficient a pianist as she should be from her tutelage, Sara has maintained her musical background by expressing herself through acoustic and classical guitar and the Native American style flute, composing many of her own songs. Besides writing and music, one of Sara’s favorite work experiences was as assistant curator of the Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida where she got to accession people’s old stuff and guide tours about it. They just don’t make things like they used to.
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