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This is the final segment in our series about Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. The site overlooking the city of God is such a beautiful location that I believe it warrants a beautiful story to help us embrace its splendor. Permit me to share a lovely ancient Jewish legend describing how this hilltop was selected.
Long before the House of God was built, two brothers are said to have lived on Mount Moriah. One was a single man; the other had a wife and family. These two exemplified brotherly love. They lived together in complete unity. They shared the same house without dissension. Every morning, they got up early and shared the tedious work of farming the hill.
Soon, it was time to harvest. The sheaves were gathered and carefully divided into two identical piles. Each brother would garner an equal share in the fruit of their labors. When finished, the two brothers returned home to rest in preparation for the difficult day of threshing ahead.
The unmarried brother had a fit of conscience. Later that night, he returned to the threshing floor and carefully redistributed the harvest. His heart was pure. He reduced his portion of the sheaves to make his brother’s pile larger, thinking, “It is neither right nor necessary for me to keep an equal portion of God’s bounty. My brother is a good man caring for a wife and family. It is better that he receive a bigger portion.” Then he quietly returned to bed.
Shortly thereafter, the married brother awoke. He told his wife, “My darling, things are not right. It is unfair that my brother has an equal share of the harvest. I already receive a greater share of happiness because of the love I have from you and our children. My brother has neither.” So they quietly went to the threshing floor and together, they transferred a portion of their sheaves to the pile of the single brother.
When daylight came, the two brothers went to thresh the sheaves. As they reached the threshing floor, both brothers were amazed. Each pile was again equal! Perplexed, they quietly finished their work and went home. That night, each brother determined to return to the threshing floor to bless the other. God’s timing is always perfect. So it was again that quiet night. The two brothers arrived simultaneously. In an instant, they both understood the other’s heart. Embracing, they gave each other a kiss of brotherly love.
According to the legend, God chose the site for His Holy Temple to honor brotherly love. I wonder if this story inspired King David to write his famous Hebrew song “He-nay ma-tov oo-mah-na-yim, shevet ha-chin gom ya-chad.” This lovely message is memorialized in Psalm 133:1. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.”
In perfect worlds and fairy tales everyone lives happily ever after. Sadly, the history of the Temple Mount has not been as idyllic. Rather, it seems to have perpetually been at the center of conflict. Students of Scripture are familiar with the startling prophesy of Jesus. He correctly foretold that the Temple would be utterly destroyed saying, “Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).
Recently, a viewer in our TV audience asked if Jesus was correct? The Western Wall still stands and is made of those stones! Having seen that text quoted by Jewish anti-missionaries as an example of a so-called false prophecy, I did my best to comfort my troubled sister. I explained that the quote might have referred specifically to the Temple itself. The Western Wall is not actually a wall of the Temple. Rather, it was a portion of the larger Temple Mount complex. More relevant to this investigation, I believe that Jesus painted a word picture of what was to come. Soon after His death Roman armies caused the cessation of religious Jewish life in Jerusalem. The issue was not the placement of the few remaining stones. It was rather the annihilation of our Temple and sacrificial system.
Since the Temple’s structure was a great wonder of the ancient world, it was an unimaginable possibility to Jewish leaders. Even the disciples of Christ were astonished at the cryptic prophecy. Herod’s Temple was more than a glorious structure adorning the Temple Mount. It was the jewel of Jerusalem and the centerpiece of Jewish life drawing pilgrims from around the world.
This fact may be best understood in light of the economy of the ancient world. Dominated nations were forced to pay tribute to the ruling empire. Rome incurred costs to keep Israel under its thumb. They supported an army to maintain pax romana--the peace of Rome. Since the main industry of Jerusalem revolved around the Temple, it was important to Rome and Israel.
In the simplest terms, the Temple was a cash cow. Unethical religious leaders probably skimmed Temple taxes to create their own aristocracy. Nonetheless, Jerusalem provided significant revenues to Rome and provided a worthwhile return on investment. Consider the following quote from my book, Jewish Sects of the New Testament Era.
“The sacrificial system, with its husbandmen, priests, Levites, moneychangers, dove sellers and hotelkeepers made Jerusalem a thriving metropolis. During the important pilgrim festivals, Jerusalem was gorged with people as the holidays brought multitudes to the city. The population swelled and the tourist trade exploded. Jerusalem was heavily dependent on the pilgrims. The city had no seaport for shipping income. The city’s location did not independently lend itself to popular trade routes for growth. The natural resources of the area were limited. Farming was not incredibly prosperous. Without the pilgrims, the city could not thrive. The Temple in Jerusalem assured Herod, Rome, and the Sadduccean high priest of perpetual wealth. Jerusalem was prescribed by God as the only place in the world where a Jew could offer sacrifices . . . The only acceptable location for the altar was in the Temple. The Temple brought the pilgrims. The Temple brought the Temple tax. The pilgrims brought the money. The city flourished because of the tourist trade. Rome had a steady source of tax income.”
I must point out that the New Testament portrayal of Jesus driving the moneychangers and the dove-sellers out of the Temple is often misunderstood. Scoffers criticize Jews as though the trade was immoral. It was not! The practice was mandated to protect the sanctity of the Temple. Roman coins brought by pilgrims from abroad were minted with images of Caesar—worshipped as a pagan god. These idolatrous coins could not be used in the Temple. Moneychangers literally changed the unusable pagan money into Temple approved coins.
Similarly, the dove-sellers performed biblical requirements (Deut. 14:24-26). It was impractical to bring farm animals on the long journey to Jerusalem. It was unrealistic to expect pilgrims to arrive with a spotless, unblemished sacrifice after carting their farm creature across the fierce, unforgiving Judean desert. Hence, the Temple system required a sophisticated industry to provide the needed sacrificial animals.
Supply and demand created a tremendous animal husbandry niche market. The sacrificial system created an insatiable need for doves, bulls, lambs, and all the animals stipulated in the Bible for the Levitical system to be maintained.
Nevertheless, in spite of the financial ramifications, shortly after the Crucifixion, Rome brought Jerusalem to utter destruction. The Temple was destroyed and Rome’s scorched earth policy brought fulfillment to the words of Jesus.
Last month I mentioned that three efforts were attempted to rebuild the Temple. I describe the first two attempts that took place while yet under Roman control. The last effort to reconstruct the Temple came at the end of the Byzantine period in 614 C.E. The Persian rulers of the empire were kindly disposed to the Jews of Jerusalem. Control of the city was temporarily restored to the Jews. This was an enormous step in light of the fact that Rome had previously forbidden a Jewish population during Emperor Hadrian’s reign. Plans to rebuild the Temple were initiated and hope was rekindled for a new Jewish Temple. These dreams were crushed in 629 C.E. when control over Jerusalem was returned to the Christians under the direction of Emperor Heraclius.
In 638 C.E., a new Muslim leader, Caliph Umar captured Jerusalem from the Byzantine Christians. He was a respectful and humble Muslim ruler. He did not dress in royal garb. He was careful to not show disrespect to the religious symbols of other faiths. His conquest was relatively bloodless and peaceful. When he came to the Temple Mount, it is reported that he was astonished by the filth and degradation that had befallen the Jewish holy site under Christian control. Sadly, Church history proves that my people were often treated better under Muslim rule than under Christian domination. Jewish life under Caliph Umar was a relatively good time for Jews but sometimes, bad things happen to good people.
War has casualties. The kindly Caliph became a statistic. In 644, a Persian prisoner of war killed him. His successor, Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik aggressively worked toward establishing the Islamic character of Jerusalem. In 688 he commissioned the construction the now familiar golden “Dome of the Rock” on the Temple site. The Al Aksa Mosque is now one of Jerusalem’s most recognizable structures. It stands near the Western Wall and the site remains a source of strife.
I pray that an end to this conflict will come soon. This Temple Mount is of special interest to Jews, Muslims, and Christians and each must have the right to worship. I hope this series of articles has presented a fitting focus on the subject. Perhaps the whimsical story of brotherly love can teach us something in a world filled with hatred. I believe that God sent His Son to die for all peoples. Jews, Muslims, and Christians need Him to find peace. Brotherly love requires this truth to be shared.
Copyright Randy Weiss
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Randy Weiss, Ph.D., is a Jewish believer in Jesus serving in ministry since 1973. He is a member of the Board of Directors of WME and a contributing editor to World Evangelism. He hosts CrossTalk, a weekly TV program and teaches about the Jewish festivals, Israel, and the Jewish origins of the Church. Dr. Weiss is Dean of Jewish Studies at Columbia Evangelical Seminary and an adjunct faculty member of Global University. Randy is married with 6 children and 3 grandchildren.
If you are interested in visiting Israel, join Randy on his upcoming Holy Land tour October 23, 2001. Call 1-800-688-3422 for a tour brochure. If you would like a FREE copy of this entire series about the Temple Mount, please contact Randy at CrossTalk, P.O. Box 2528, Cedar Hill, Texas 75106-2528. Send e-mail to him at randy@crosstalk.org. Please send him your comments on this article and remember to pray for the ministry of Dr. Weiss.
