“They made him angry with their pagan shrines, and made him jealous with their idols. God heard and was angry; he completely rejected Israel. He abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men.” (Psalm 78:58–60, NET 2nd ed.)
During the time of Joshua and the Judges, Shiloh was not only where the Ark of the Covenant was placed, it was the holy sanctuary of worship for all Israel. Jerusalem was not even founded yet. Shiloh was where the Israelites and God would meet for times of feasts and special events (like the Festival of Ingathering ; Exodus 23:16). It was the holiest of sites during the time of Samuel. Obviously, it was a sacred place.
Some time later, things changed at Shiloh. After a smaller house of worship was erected at the site, some Israelites began to go there for nefarious reasons. Truth be told, they set up idols and worshipped foreign gods. By the time of the prophet Jeremiah, Shiloh was known to be an evil place, where pagan worship was practiced and idols were venerated (Jeremiah 7:12, 26:6-9). This holiest of places became a cursed piece of soil which was later utterly destroyed by the Philistines around 1050 BC.
Shiloh had been one of the holiest places in all the history of Israel. Three hundred years later, it was a desolate land with no inhabitants and no worshippers. What changed the fate of Shiloh was the evil done there. When idolatry and evil were practiced there, God condemned the site. For 2800 years, Shiloh was lost to history. Only in the 1800’s, during an excavation, did archaeologists discover its ruins.
Psalm 78:58-60 explains what destroyed the holy shrine of Shiloh. Psalm 78:58 mentions that Israelites who erected “pagan shrines” provoked God. Their idols made God angry (Psalm 78:59). Because of their evil, God not only rejected Israel when this happened, God “abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh”, never to allow it to be a holy place again (Psalm 78:60). From that moment on, Shiloh’s fate was doomed. Even today, crops do not grow there, and the land is isolated and desolate.
The picture of Holy Shiloh is not pretty. Its desolation became notorious. Prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel knew of Shiloh’s destruction and abandonment. Jeremiah poetically announced that anytime Israel acted like they did at Shiloh, they would be cursed like was Shiloh (Jeremiah 26:6). Asaph, the author of Psalm 78 was convinced that when people erect idols and worship other gods, the Lord will “hear and be angry”. God will not stand by idly while people dabble with false religion and worship things instead of the Creator!
Recently, I read an article about famous people who made fun of God. One was a singer, who donned horns during a video, dressing up as Satan for a special event. Within a year, his fortunes had changed, his life was a mess, and he was destroying himself with the money he made from said video. Another person mentioned in the article was a famous song writer who wrote about being hell bent. A year after becoming famous, he was found dead, choked by his own vomit after a night of debauchery.
Many who have mocked God or openly worshipped in evil ways have found themselves cursed like Shiloh. Brazilian bi-sexual singer and poet Cazuza once publicly smoked a cigarette and facetiously announced, “God, that is for you”. At age 32, Cazuza rather suddenly died of lung cancer. Do you think it is coincidence? Tancredo Neves, who ran for president of Brazil told his followers how even God could not stop his presidency. Neves died suddenly a day before becoming president after his successful campaign. Do you think it’s just happenstance? NO! Even our scripture for today makes clear that you don’t do evil, worship other gods, and make light of God. God hears. God notices. To the unrepentant, God brings curses.
I find it interesting that many preachers are excited to talk about the love of God and the blessings of God but do not mention what happens when people purposefully defy God. How many sermons have you heard where the preacher warned against provoking the anger of God or sinning in defiance of God? Usually, pastors will water down the scriptures to make God appear as just “a nice old man”. Sometimes, they even refuse to read scriptures in their services that explain that God commands obedience and punishes evil doers.
What happened to Shiloh as presented in today’s scripture is proof that you don’t fool around with God. You don’t dabble in other religions or erect your idols. You never should give material things ultimate importance. God is the one who gave you life. God protects the innocent and rewards the faithful. God will not stand for evil. God will not allow false religion or fake gods to take His place. God brings blessings to the faithful but will curse those who promote evil.
Today’s meditation was not meant to be all warm and fuzzy. It was not written so you could feel good about yourself. It was written as a warning. As Galatians 6:7 teaches, “God is not mocked. A person will reap what he sows…” As the NET Bible translated this verse, “God will not be made a fool”. Yes, God does bring blessings when you show true biblical love, when you love your neighbor and love your enemies. God brings blessings when you obey his commands and put your trust in Jesus’ name. However, God is not made a fool. God cursed the ground of Shiloh for the evil done there. If you do evil, God will respond. God will not hold back. God takes a stand.
If you ever find yourself in disobedience before God, please confess your sin and ask for mercy. I do not want your life to be cursed. On the other hand, if you live in obedience to God in Christ, know that your faithfulness will be noticed and rewarded. While God does not tolerate evil, God also blesses the righteous who are willing to trust in our Lord and fulfill His mission.
Look back on your recent choices. Do they reflect obedience to God or a penchant to worship worldly things? Do they exhibit a faithful life or some form of ill-will. In the end, God will be the judge. You can count on that.
Some time later, things changed at Shiloh. After a smaller house of worship was erected at the site, some Israelites began to go there for nefarious reasons. Truth be told, they set up idols and worshipped foreign gods. By the time of the prophet Jeremiah, Shiloh was known to be an evil place, where pagan worship was practiced and idols were venerated (Jeremiah 7:12, 26:6-9). This holiest of places became a cursed piece of soil which was later utterly destroyed by the Philistines around 1050 BC.
Shiloh had been one of the holiest places in all the history of Israel. Three hundred years later, it was a desolate land with no inhabitants and no worshippers. What changed the fate of Shiloh was the evil done there. When idolatry and evil were practiced there, God condemned the site. For 2800 years, Shiloh was lost to history. Only in the 1800’s, during an excavation, did archaeologists discover its ruins.
Psalm 78:58-60 explains what destroyed the holy shrine of Shiloh. Psalm 78:58 mentions that Israelites who erected “pagan shrines” provoked God. Their idols made God angry (Psalm 78:59). Because of their evil, God not only rejected Israel when this happened, God “abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh”, never to allow it to be a holy place again (Psalm 78:60). From that moment on, Shiloh’s fate was doomed. Even today, crops do not grow there, and the land is isolated and desolate.
The picture of Holy Shiloh is not pretty. Its desolation became notorious. Prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel knew of Shiloh’s destruction and abandonment. Jeremiah poetically announced that anytime Israel acted like they did at Shiloh, they would be cursed like was Shiloh (Jeremiah 26:6). Asaph, the author of Psalm 78 was convinced that when people erect idols and worship other gods, the Lord will “hear and be angry”. God will not stand by idly while people dabble with false religion and worship things instead of the Creator!
Recently, I read an article about famous people who made fun of God. One was a singer, who donned horns during a video, dressing up as Satan for a special event. Within a year, his fortunes had changed, his life was a mess, and he was destroying himself with the money he made from said video. Another person mentioned in the article was a famous song writer who wrote about being hell bent. A year after becoming famous, he was found dead, choked by his own vomit after a night of debauchery.
Many who have mocked God or openly worshipped in evil ways have found themselves cursed like Shiloh. Brazilian bi-sexual singer and poet Cazuza once publicly smoked a cigarette and facetiously announced, “God, that is for you”. At age 32, Cazuza rather suddenly died of lung cancer. Do you think it is coincidence? Tancredo Neves, who ran for president of Brazil told his followers how even God could not stop his presidency. Neves died suddenly a day before becoming president after his successful campaign. Do you think it’s just happenstance? NO! Even our scripture for today makes clear that you don’t do evil, worship other gods, and make light of God. God hears. God notices. To the unrepentant, God brings curses.
I find it interesting that many preachers are excited to talk about the love of God and the blessings of God but do not mention what happens when people purposefully defy God. How many sermons have you heard where the preacher warned against provoking the anger of God or sinning in defiance of God? Usually, pastors will water down the scriptures to make God appear as just “a nice old man”. Sometimes, they even refuse to read scriptures in their services that explain that God commands obedience and punishes evil doers.
What happened to Shiloh as presented in today’s scripture is proof that you don’t fool around with God. You don’t dabble in other religions or erect your idols. You never should give material things ultimate importance. God is the one who gave you life. God protects the innocent and rewards the faithful. God will not stand for evil. God will not allow false religion or fake gods to take His place. God brings blessings to the faithful but will curse those who promote evil.
Today’s meditation was not meant to be all warm and fuzzy. It was not written so you could feel good about yourself. It was written as a warning. As Galatians 6:7 teaches, “God is not mocked. A person will reap what he sows…” As the NET Bible translated this verse, “God will not be made a fool”. Yes, God does bring blessings when you show true biblical love, when you love your neighbor and love your enemies. God brings blessings when you obey his commands and put your trust in Jesus’ name. However, God is not made a fool. God cursed the ground of Shiloh for the evil done there. If you do evil, God will respond. God will not hold back. God takes a stand.
If you ever find yourself in disobedience before God, please confess your sin and ask for mercy. I do not want your life to be cursed. On the other hand, if you live in obedience to God in Christ, know that your faithfulness will be noticed and rewarded. While God does not tolerate evil, God also blesses the righteous who are willing to trust in our Lord and fulfill His mission.
Look back on your recent choices. Do they reflect obedience to God or a penchant to worship worldly things? Do they exhibit a faithful life or some form of ill-will. In the end, God will be the judge. You can count on that.