By: Obed Pineda
After answering the Macedonian’s plea for help, the apostle Paul arrived in Athens due to the relentless efforts of his adversaries that were persecuting him (cf. Acts 16:6-10, 17:1-16). The inspired Luke recounts that “while Paul waited for them [Silas and Timothy] at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols” (Acts 17:16, addition mine). Paul was being stirred (like the coals of a dying fire are stirred to awaken the flame) because as he was “considering the objects of your worship,” he was able to perceive that the anchor of their idolatry was how they ignored that “God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands” (Acts 17:23a, 24). The apostle’s perceptive eyes were on target when he correctly identified one of the major contributors to idol worship thriving in almost every society throughout history. If anyone would dare protest that in our modern culture that is no longer true, this author gently shifts their eyes toward the famous cities of the Vatican, Mecca, and Jerusalem since they are all considered by the followers of their respective religions as the “holiest” cities linked to their beliefs. Sadly the Lord’s Church is not exempt from falling prey to this fatal misconception either, since too often the building where the saints gather to offer worship unto God, is also misunderstood to be the church where His presence dwells. Therefore, it becomes evident that temples are indeed accomplices of those who darken Divine counsel with superstitious philosophies. History concurs that these temples were very important to ancient cities, being the focal point of their community. It was their understanding that their patron gods lived in those lavish buildings, watching over them, providing for them, as well as protecting them from their enemies. Because it was common knowledge that the gods could be found on those “holy grounds,” festivals were regularly celebrated around these edifices to honor and please these “deities.” Furthermore, history also relates that these temples were some of the world’s earliest banks considering that the wealthy would deposit their most valued possessions there trusting that, with the gods presence guarding over their treasures, they were in the most secure place in the world. Keeping this in mind, it makes much sense why temples were always a primary target for conquering invaders. The capture of a temple by an enemy was a massive blow to the morale of the inhabitants of a fallen city; it was a confirmation that they had been abandoned by their gods. When an enemy took full possession of a city’s temple, with all its treasures, it was understood that they had been bestowed by their own patron deity as the new, legitimate ruler of that land. This brightly illuminates why God allowed the Philistines to capture the Ark of the Covenant at the Battle of Ebenezer (cf. 1st Samuel 4:10-11). It also provides further insight to the warning that Jeremiah was instructed to give to the kingdom of Judah. Let us recall that in our previous composition, we learned that Jeremiah had spoken out against the Jews’ vain confidence in the temple, erroneously believing that God’s holy presence was still among them despite their sinful practices (cf. Jeremiah 7:1-27). The prophet of the Lord was commanded to speak out against their hypocrisy prior to the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, taking the first Jewish deportees and some of the articles from Solomon’s Temple in 606 B.C. (2nd Kings 24:1-7, 2nd Chronicles 36:5-8). Holy Writ verifies that “In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord” (Jeremiah 26:1). Daniel adds that “in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it” (Daniel 1:1). This plea to Judah from Jeremiah, on behalf of Jehovah God, to repent and return to God is known by scholars as Jeremiah’s Temple Sermon because he was ordered by the Lord to “Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not diminish a word” (Jeremiah 26:2). God orders His prophet to remind the people of Judah about what happened at Shiloh by urging them to “go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I set My name at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel” (Jeremiah 7:12). According to Holy Scripture Shiloh was north of the city of Bethel, and historical geographers place them ten miles apart (cf. Judges 21:19). After Joshua had finished conquering the Promised Land, “the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them” (Joshua 18:1). Shiloh became the city where the tabernacle of the Lord remained during the entire period of the judges until Samuel (cf. 1st Samuel 1:3, 2:24, 12-17, and 3:1-21). Remember that the tabernacle was where the Levite priests would offer the burnt and sin offerings before God, and also that it served as the resting place for the Ark of the Covenant (cf. Exodus 26). That was the case until, at the Battle of Ebenezer, the Almighty allowed the Philistines to defeat Israel, capture the Ark, and take it to their capital city of Ashdod (cf. 1st Samuel 4:10-11, 5:1ff). Holy Writ declares that “there was a very great slaughter, and there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers” (1st Samuel 4:10). Biblical scholars concur that after the Philistines defeated Israel, they possibly entered Shiloh and burned the city. An archaeological discovery of a layer of ash in the modern region, dated back around the same time frame when this battle took place, provides a strong indication that Shiloh was likely burned by them. It is also worthy to note that the Ark of the Covenant never returned to Shiloh after it was taken captive by the Philistines (cf. 1st Samuel 7:1-2, 2nd Samuel 6:1ff). The Holy Spirit reveals that the reason for this is because “they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. When God heard this, He was furious, and greatly abhorred Israel, so that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had placed among men, and delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hand” (Psalm 78:58-61). The Hebrew poet’s inspired words demonstrate the purpose for God alluding to Shiloh through Jeremiah. The Holy of holies unveils to Ezekiel “the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary…for they say ‘The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land’” (Ezekiel 8:6, 12). The religious leaders of Judah believed they could “secretly cheat” on God, overlooking His omniscience and omnipresence. They foolishly believed that they could simultaneously serve two masters. Falling in love with their lie, sealed the inevitable outcome. To be continued…