Tophet Ordained: Divine Justice and the Wicked Man Warned

For Tophet is ordained of old (Isaiah 30:33). The annihilation of Assyrian power unfolds as a great funeral obsequy, well known among Eastern nations. The Divine command prepares Tophet—the pyre—and in its flames all Assyria's glory shall consume away. What human wisdom had prepared for idolatrous worship of Moloch shall now, by Divine decree, serve Assyria's destruction: her king becomes the great victim.

Though the description is figurative, the doctrine is grave. Justice requires accountability: if a man sins, does not justice demand punishment? Divine benevolence itself necessitates moral order. To abolish punishment for sin would be no true charity—the fate of the community would prove direful. We must ask: where are the wicked to be placed if not in a place of separation? The conscience within each sinner testifies to this reality.

Why do many scorn the idea of hell? The worse men are, the less they like it. Scorning may be sweet to the mouth, yet bitter afterwards. Tophet is deep and large—a solemn counterpart to Heaven's greatness. That more shall be saved than lost offers comfort; yet we must reckon seriously with this appointed place. The Assyrian king learned too late that Yahweh's decree cannot be thwarted. (Exell, The Biblical Illustrator, 1887)