The Temple’s Missing Item

The priests performed many tasks in the Temple. We attempt to relate these tasks as Zechariah might have perceived them in our book Advent Journeys. Zechariah served many roles during his twenty-five years of active service before retirement. In all, and even with even with the politics and toil which comes with a heavy work cycle, Zechariah never lost his zeal.

Looking int the Tower of David Museum

With all of its magnificence (see the previous two blog posts) and all of its organization, the Temple of Zechariah lacked one thing. The most important piece of furniture, the throne of God, the box which was called the Ark of the Covenant, was missing. This box which held Israel’s treasures: the Ten Commandments, Aaron’s rod and a jar of manna, was sacred and the place where in history God had resided. The Ark of the Covenant had gone before Israel in battle and it was the first item brought to Jerusalem for Solomon’s Temple.

Jerusalem from the Ramparts Walk

The Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat upon it was the place where the High Priest was to place the blood from Israel’s atonement offering each Yom Kippur. But in the days of Zechariah it was missing, and every priest was aware of this fact. One priest wrote: “After the Ark was taken away a stone remained there from the time of the early Prophets,” and it was called ‘Shetiyah’. It was higher than the ground by three fingerbreadths.”

Temple Mount from Ramparts Walk

Another priest said: “Once when a priest was occupied he saw a block of pavement that was different from the rest. He went and told it to his fellow, but before he could make an end of the matter his life departed. So they knew assuredly that there the Ark lay hidden.”

Jerusalem from Tabtznik Park

The Holy of Holies remained important even without the Ark of the Covenant. The High Priest continued to go in every year on the Day of Atonement. He would sprinkle the blood on the place where the Ark of the Covenant had been placed before. To a priest of a lower level, like Zechariah, the Altar of Incense was the closest he could come to the Holy of Holies. It was at this place that the Angel met him and announced that he and Elizabeth would have a son.

Temple Days of Service

Zechariah the Priest looked forward to serving the Lord at the Temple each time the opportunity afforded itself, which was about five weeks per year. The journals in the book Advent Journeys attempts to share Zechariah’s passion and dedication for the Lord’s work.

Scrolls inscribed by a Sofer

The scripture relates to us as background the manner in which Israel’s priesthood is organized. At first, in the days of Moses, there were four divisions created in order to setup, tear down and carry the Tabernacle as it traveled across the wilderness. Once the Tabernacle became a permanent fixture in Shiloh, the priests were not needed for transportation. We can almost sense in 1 Samuel that common priests ceased to serve in the Tabernacle under Eli and his sons.

Temple Mount with Mount of Olives behind

In the establishment of the Temple in Jerusalem by King David, the orders of Priesthood were reestablished, and increased to twenty-four orders. The names of each of these orders can be seen in 1 Chronicles 24-26.

Home of one of the High Priests

King David assigned some priests as gate-keepers: some to give the offering, some to cook meals and some for administration. David also organized Temple musicians, who shared their gift of music for generations.

Home of one of the High Priests

As the population of Israel grew, so did the priesthood. With the establishment of a permanent structure, all priests were not needed every week, so a system of rotation called Mishmarot and Ma’amadot was set up. All priests would serve during the three harvest festivals, and then in rotation once every twenty-four weeks. The scripture tells us Zechariah was a Priest of the order of Abijah.

Zechariah in the Temple

The Temple of the first century is a fascinating place! The Temple itself was the center of activity, serving thousands of people each day. The plaza around the Temple was a meeting place of pilgrims who came from long distances to bring an offering and merchants who were selling the offering to the pilgrims. It was a place of contention for Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes, Herodians, Zealots, and others who came to argue politics and religion. It was also a place for locals, who came to watch the commotion.

The Robinson Arch entrance to the Temple

The Temple itself was a modern building, having been totally reconstructed by King Herod the Great. The magnificent Sanctuary was a hundred cubits square and a hundred cubits in height. The Temple Mount measured five hundred cubits by five hundred cubits. Its largest open space was to the south, the next largest to the east, the third largest to the north, and its smallest was to the west. The King had erected the monstrous edifice in order to claim bragging rights (it was a third larger than Solomon’s Temple) and hopefully to appease the Jews who could be a rebellious and obstinate people.

Jerusalem at the time of Jesus

Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist and the subject of this week’s readings in Advent Journeys, was of the generation of priests who had served in both the old Temple and the new facility. The priests enjoyed the spaciousness and modernalities of the new superstructure. The priests enjoyed the tables of marble upon which the sacrifices were prepared. They talked about parading down the colonnades on the east and west of the Temple itself early in the morning. They bragged about the wooden device which Ben Katin had made for the laver. They knew that no expense had been spared in the construction of the new Temple.

Underground tour shows large stones of Temple Mount

The magnificence and wonder of the construction can still be seen on the underground tour of the Western Walls. If you would like to see and touch the stone structure, please accept this as an invitation to join our family on a June 2018 tour of the Holy Land. More information can be found on our website.

Marker for location closest to Holy of Holies

Around the Temple were service buildings constructed to facilitate every portion of the work. There were six chambers in the Temple Court, three to the north and three to the south. Those to the north were the Salt Chamber, the Parwah Chamber, and the Rinsing Chamber. To the south were the Wood Chamber, the Golah Chamber, and the Chamber of Hewn Stone. There were seven gates to the Temple Court: three to the north, three to the south, and one to the east. Those to the south were the Kindling Gate, next to it the Gate of the Firstlings, and the third was the Water Gate. The one to the east was the Nicanor Gate, beside which were two Chambers, one to the right and one to the left; the one was the Chamber of Phineas, the keeper of the vestments, and the other the chamber of them that made the Baken Cakes.

Archaeological finds south of original Temple Mount

The new Temple was in every way a stark contrast to the Temple built under the leadership of Ezra, Joshua, Zerubbabel and Nehemiah. Zechariah approached the Temple with a sense of awe each week of his service.

Israel Adventure - Day 12

Each morning on the way to breakfast I walk through the oldest modern Jerusalem subdivision. These homes were built in about 1860 to alleviate overcrowding in the walled city. Now they are an exclusive housing division located very close to the Old City.

After breakfast at Aroma Coffee we joined our tour group this morning at Hebrew Union for a walk to the Jewish Quarter. We began the day with a tour under the Old City by the Western Wall of the Temple.

The tour began with a brief orientation by our tour guide, who recounted for us the history of Mount Moriah. During the time of Jesus the western side of Temple Mount faced a valley. Most of the priests lived on the other side, so they built a causeway over the valley. During the tour, we looked up at vaulted ceilings which are the bottom of that elevated path.

After the destruction of the Temple the entire valley was filled with stone. After that the Arabs raised the city so they would not have to traverse a valley getting to the Dome of the Rock.

We approached the Western Wall at the largest block in the wall construction, which weighs 570 tons (45’ x 11” x 15’). Herod figured out how to move this block into place when he was building the Temple - an impressive task. The block was so heavy that when Titus gave the order to tear down the Western Wall, the Roman army could not move this massive piece of stone, so they started chipping away to try to decrease the size and weight. The progress of the Roman army’s attempts to knock down the walls can be see along the top and right side of the block, but they could not move the massive stone.

We walked along the wall to the north, which continued for about 150 meters. We saw typical Herodian stones along the wall. Each level of block was stepped back so the wall would not appear to be falling on the people as they looked upward toward the top. The pathway led downhill until we hit the bedrock. Because the Temple was built on bedrock that has a natural incline, the bedrock was cut down and became part of the stones - King Herod had the bedrock carved like the stone for consistency and quality. We reached the original street level and saw how roads were paved. Eventually we hit a spot along the path where we could see the other side of the street as it existed 2,000 years ago.

The path extended into the aqueduct and ended at a cistern developed for the Antonion fortress. Pictured in the cistern is our guide. Above is a block which is under homes and in the streets.

At the end of the tour we walked to the Jewish Quarter. The entrance of the tunnel is located at the Western Wall Plaza, so we walked past the Western Wall (although we did not go to the public part of the wall). The picture below shows the Western Wall as we are climbing. The Dome of the Rock is visible in this picture.

At the top of the stairs we stopped at a church and inn managed by the Teutonic Templar Knights. The church’s architecture was made in gothic style.

Next we went to the Wohl Museum of Herodian Archaeology which contains six homes from the time of Jesus. These are not normal homes, but the homes of the wealthy on top of new Mount Zion. This can be seen in the jars found at the site;

The mosaics seen in the houses;

And the large mansion which may have belonged to the High Priest:

Dr. Ilan then took us outside and onto the Cardo which ran through Jerusalem from the Damascus Gate to the Zion Gate. This road is shown on the map at Madaba, Jordan. The street was wide with shops on each side. As we walked, we saw where the ruins were uncovered and could imagine where shops were set along the street according to the ancient style. As we walked further along the Cardo, Dr. Ilan pointed out where shop spaces became more modern and the street was not as wide. Eventually we came to the Muslim Quarter, where the streets are even narrower and more crowded.

At this point we were released to see the city. The group went to eat lunch at a shawarma place (Kosher). We sat down and I met a man who went to school with Denise, proving that the world is a small place.

We then went shopping, first stopping into Moshe Shorashim’s Shop, which we visited on our trips with John Delancey. (Please plan to go on a trip to Israel in 2018 with me, and see this shop. The trip will cost about $5,000 per person … let me know if you have any interest [no obligation] so I can put you on the mailing list.)

As we left the city we saw the “traditional” Upper Room site and King David’s tomb.

Our day finished with a great dinner of Salmon, sweet potato latkes, rice, and green beans at Caffit, a restaurant about a block from our apartment.

Worship in the Tabernacle

During week one of Advent Journeys we walk with Zechariah as he serves in the Temple.  The Temple and its practices are an image of the Tabernacle Moses built in the wilderness.  The Tabernacle contains an important picture which will help us understand what God desires in our worship.

Approach: The Tabernacle of Moses was surrounded by a white linen fence symbolizing the purity of God’s holiness.  The whiteness of the linen stood out in sharp contrast against the dirty sand of the desert just as God’s righteousness stands out against man’s sins.  The white linen surrounds a compound of holiness.

The Tabernacle represents the place where we go to meet God to worship Him.  The first step in worship is to have a heart which desires to worship God.  While this step might not seem necessary to say, there are many who come out of tradition, because they are forced, or because they are going with someone who wants to worship.  Unless our hearts are desire worship, we will probably not meet God.

In a period of repentance, we are to see ourselves as God sees us. Because “all have sinned,” we should pray for understanding, and see forgiveness from our sin.  We should bring a gift to God because we love Him.  For the Christian, Jesus is our Sin Offering, so as we approach the altar of sacrifice, we should realize the price for sin has already been made.

When we come to the place of worship, our lives should be ready for worship.  This means if we have a problem with another person we will resolve the problem before we come to the Tabernacle.  Jesus said, “if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,24leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”

Entry: There is one door into the Tabernacle (there were more entries to the Temple).  Jesus said, “I am the door, and the person who enters through me will be saved.” (John 10:9).  Jesus explained that any who climb in over the fence are thieves or robbers.  There is but one way into the Tabernacle and into the presence of God.

Step One: As one enters the Tabernacle the first item seen is the Brazen Altar, the place where sacrifices are made.  Leviticus 1-7 describes five sacrifices.  The most important as we enter the place of worship is the sin offering.  We must come understanding we are sinners, confessing our sin, and receiving atonement for our sins.  This occurs on the Brazen Altar … and through the offering of Jesus on the cross.

Step Two: The next item we see in the Tabernacle is the laver, the place where the priests wash their hands and feet.  The lesson here is that as sin offerings are made the hands of the priest become blood covered and greasy, and they need to be cleaned.  The offering has been made, but there is a residual on the priest’s hands.  The connection to life is that often, even though people are forgiven of sin by God, they do not forgive themselves.  The laver is the place to remind us if God forgives us, we are truly clean.

The Holy Place: Once sin has been forgiven by God and we have forgiven ourselves, we can enter into the place of worship.  In the Holy place there are three items of furniture:

1. The Menorah which symbolizes God is light and in Him is no darkness.  The Menorah of the Tabernacle also teaches us of God’s eternity because the light does not go out day or night.
2. The Table of Shewbread shows the desire of God to have fellowship with man.  On the table are twelve loaves of bread symbolizing all twelve tribes of Israel.  There is also the cup of the drink offering.  With the bread and wine we enjoy communion with God.
3. The Altar of Incense stands next to the veil of the Tabernacle.  This place is as close as a common priest can come to the Holy of Holies where symbolically God dwells.  The scent of the incense ascending to God represents the prayers of the saints.

The veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies was torn in two parts when Jesus died.  This renting of the cloth symbolizes our forgiveness and that fact that common man may now approach God.

Inside the Holy of Holies was the Ark of the Covenant.  This box, built by Moses, contained the Ten Commandments, the rod of Aaron, and a jar of manna God gave to feed Israel in the wilderness.  God gave each of these items to teach Israel His intentions.

On top of the Ark of the Covenant is the Mercy Seat, symbolically the throne of God.  On either side of the Mercy Seat stands an angel to accomplish God’s bidding.  Angels are God’s messengers.   More tomorrow.