The Jerusalem temple played an integral role in the worship of the ancient Israelites. It became the center of the sacrificial system that earlier had been performed at the portable tabernacle accompanying the Israelite tribes under Moses and his successors. As a permanent, beautiful structure constructed with the wealth of King Solomon, the temple represented the best they could offer for the house of the Lord.
The temple also became an important political symbol, as its location in Jerusalem — a previously unconquered Canaanite city before Solomon’s father, King David — also represented the capital of the monarchy. The centralized worship in Jerusalem also followed the directive throughout Deuteronomy to worship at the place where God’s name was placed, interpreted as Jerusalem (see Deuteronomy 16:2, 6, 11).
However, many lived some distance from Jerusalem, so pilgrimage festivals — Passover, Feast of Weeks (Shavu’ot) and Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) — became opportunities three times a year for many to travel to Jerusalem. (Some shrines in places where Israelite military garrisons were located, such as at Arad and Elephantine in Egypt, were modeled after the basic structure of the temple and may have been allowed exceptions to the rule.)
The Jerusalem temple also functioned as a treasury and storehouse for the tithes and offerings of the people. Not surprisingly, then, it later became the target of various Near Eastern empires and leaders who wanted to plunder the riches of the temple and show their perceived dominance over the God of the Israelites. Unfortunately, Solomon’s temple was destroyed by the Babylonians around 586 B.C.
A temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt several decades later, now commonly referred to as the “second temple,” but without the same splendor and size of Solomon’s, as the people did not have the same resources to draw upon. Yet still it provided a place for sacrifice and prayer. During the time of Herod the Great, the second temple turned into a grander structure through a massive remodeling project stretching over decades. This temple was the one Jesus visited many times and in whose courtyards Jesus and the early apostles taught. The Jerusalem temple was permanently destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., thereby ending a functioning temple in Jerusalem for the previous two millennia.
Inside the temple
But what happened inside the temple while it was standing? First, it was quite different from modern temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where various covenant practices and ceremonies — such as proxy baptisms, endowments and sealings — take place inside the building of the temple.
Since anciently only priests could enter the actual temple building itself, the courtyards played a much more prominent role. It was in the temple courtyards where worshippers gathered to pray, bring offerings, donate tithes, listen to teachers and choirs, and seek access to the promised blessings of redemption and holiness the temple worship offered.
The interior of the temple was divided into two sections: the holy place and the Holy of Holies. The two sections were separated by a tall, heavy, embroidered curtain or veil. The Holy of Holies was accessible only to the high priest once a year, on the Day of Atonement, as sacrificial blood was sprinkled for the purification of the community.
During the first temple period, the Holy of Holies housed the ark of the covenant, a significant repository of remembrance of great things God had done for their people. It held things like a pot of manna, Aaron’s staff and, most importantly, the tablets of the law Moses received on Mount Sinai (see Hebrews 9:4). (1 Kings 8:9 mentions only the two stone tablets at the time of the temple’s dedication, so perhaps the other items had been removed or were placed near the ark in the Holy of Holies but not inside it.)
The ark had large cherubim figures on the outside that “guarded it,” and the ark was sometimes referred to as the mercy seat, as it was viewed as a type of throne from where God could extend mercy. Sadly, the ark of the covenant disappeared when the Babylonians destroyed the first temple, and there are various traditions about what happened to it, from being hidden to being burned.
The holy place housed the table of shewbread, the menorah and the altar of incense. These items, symbolically representing God’s presence among the people and their prayers ascending to God, were regularly attended to by priests. Immediately outside the temple were the altar and brass laver.
Individual, family and community offerings were made at the altar by priests and Levites, while the laver allowed them to wash themselves from all the blood of the animal sacrifices. The requirements for the sacrifices, detailed in the book of Leviticus, vary depending on their purpose and time of year (since some were tied to certain festivals), but overall they represented contrition, repentance and renewal of commitment to God.
When the sacrifices were not burnt offerings wholly consumed on the altar, portions of the sacrifices were shared among worshippers and Levite priests as a sacred meal, especially for Passover.
Offerings and temples today
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is unique among Christian denominations with its continuation of building and worshipping at temples. Today, instead of animal sacrifices and other food offerings, Latter-day Saints are asked to offer a broken heart and a contrite spirit for similar purposes of redemption, cleansing and holiness (see Psalm 51:17; 3 Nephi 9:19-20).
One could describe the ancient Jerusalem temple as functioning under the Aaronic Priesthood, while today’s temples are under the Melchizedek Priesthood with its sealing power.
Therefore, today’s temples focus on the individual progressing through covenants and the gospel of Jesus Christ until symbolically entering the presence of God. Elements of the ancient such as altars, the principle of sacrifice, some of the clothing, 12 crafted oxen, veils and a house of the Lord for His name and holiness are adapted to this new pattern.
The temples remind us of God’s constant efforts on our behalf, from Creation to redemption, so that we can learn, grow and return to live forever in His presence. The temple is the locus of God’s power on earth and the means to share in His power through the eternities.
— Jared Ludlow is a professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.
