Heat settles heavily on the dry riverbeds outside Jerusalem. Deep ravines cut through the bedrock. Ancient inhabitants sought shade under spreading oak trees and built altars among the roots. The smell of burning fat and incense filled the narrow valleys.
Archaeological excavations in these narrow valleys reveal cultic ash layers up to three feet deep from the eighth and seventh centuries b.c. During this period, inhabitants of Judah engaged in Canaanite religious practices alongside the worship of Yahweh. Dig sites uncover remnants of standing stones and burial pits containing animal and human bones. These physical layers confirm the biblical descriptions of unauthorized shrines.
Worshippers built these shrines using smooth stones from the ravine floor. Men dragged these heavy, water-worn cobbles out of the mud to serve as local gods. They poured drink offerings of wine and grain over the cold rocks. The stones stood as crude monuments to fertility and survival in a harsh landscape where rain determined life and death.
A polished rock requires no builder, only the heavy patience of rain.
This rain eventually washed the shrines away. The prophetic authors reject these water-worn monuments. They insist the Creator dwells in high places. The text also brings him down into the dirt, claiming he lives with the crushed in spirit. The smooth stones remain buried under 15 feet of valley soil.