Robbers' Den

Author: Joseph Date: December 24, 2023

Yeshua entered Jerusalem and then went up to the temple. When He arrived, He began driving out those who were buying and selling things. The sellers were selling such things as doves, vessels of various items, and also other animals as well. The merchants at the temple were accused of making the house of prayer into a place like a “robbers’ den” (Matthew 21:13). Why was it a robbers’ den?

First, they were defiling the holiness of the site by making it into a place of profiting and bargaining. The temple, as dedicated even from the time of King Solomon, was a place to worship and give offerings to God, both as commanded and as freely willed (1 Kings 8:22-53). But this purpose was distorted by the presence of these merchants who were drawing the focus away from worshiping God.

It was also common for merchants to use deceitful scales and measurements to earn unjust gain from their sales, so their greed was an additional sin that made the matter worse. Because of the kinds of items they were selling, it was also likely that they were trying to sell the sorts of animals and goods that people would need for their sacrifices and offerings. Essentially, they were “selling” forgiveness. If you had enough money, you could give a “pristine” offering at the temple and you could be “assured” of the quality of the item being offered to God. Of course this was a deception, but the merchants saw no wrongdoing in their own actions. In fact, the priests of the temple had approved of the merchants’ presence there! (Mark 11:18). They were robbing their customers and they were robbing God of pure-hearted offerings.

"...they were robbing God of pure-hearted offerings."

A “robbers’ den,” Yeshua called this mess of a market on the temple grounds. And He drove them away, not permitting them to continue their robbery. The priests and scribes sought to destroy Him for interrupting their schemes. However, such disregard for God’s holiness would bring this temple to its destruction later in history.

Many churches communities and ministries conduct themselves as robbers’ dens. Are you not an “official member” of the church you attend and unable to be in fellowship with those who “pay their dues”? Perhaps you have been to a church where if you do not tithe according to a particular policy, you are considered in “disobedience” to God and therefore in sin? (Wrongly accused, of course). Does your church have an excessive dress-code that goes beyond modesty and into formality that clearly demonstrates a certain wealth requirement? Robbery after robbery. Many contemporary Christian communities have found ways to “buy” entrance into the community and place an unnecessary stumbling block before people who are genuinely seeking God.

Other churches say that you are not truly worshiping God unless you can speak in tongues. Nowhere is this found in the Scripture. This is a spiritual robbery. Placing a requirement that is not commanded and also distracting people from their own desire to worship. This leaves people with a false sense of inadequacy of worshiping God and hinders their willing spirit into despair. Not raising your hands enough? Not singing loud enough? These are also robberies in the place of worship. There is no such requirement. Worship can be done without even speaking a word (Psalm 65:1; Habakkuk 2:20). Both material and immaterial robberies take place within the Christian community that, if they remain, will cause a great stumbling block to anyone who enters their doors.

Yeshua did not permit the robbery to continue in the temple and in the end the temple was destroyed because it had become so corrupted by mankind’s distortion. The same will happen to a community of believers that does not cease its robbery. If the community does not come to repentance, God will bring judgment upon them to cleanse them of this filth that is profaning His holy name.

What patterns of behavior might be in your community that either physically or spiritually rob the people who enter it? What changes can be made to cleanse the community and cause repentance back to a pure form of worship before God? You can make the difference at your local community. Your “status” in that community is unimportant, whether a deacon, elder, pastor, or “layperson.” When God wants to speak through you to His people, they need to heed the voice of God through you. Don’t wait until judgment comes upon your community to speak out. If you are aware of sin that is robbing the community, let it be known and begin a call to repentance.

Matthew 21:12-16 (Mark 11:15-18; Luke 19:45-48)

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org