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"You have taken My silver and My gold"

Text: Joel 3:5

TWO WICKED DEEDS NAMED

One of the wicked things the enemies did was to loot the sacred artefacts of the Temple.

“Because you have taken My silver and My gold,
And have carried into your temples My prized possessions.
Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem
You have sold to the Greeks,
That you may remove them far from their borders.”
Joel 3:5-6

1. “Because you have taken My silver and My gold… My prized possessions”

a) There were many holy (dedicated) artefacts in the Temple of God in Jerusalem.

b) The Babylonians were the invaders who conquered Judah and destroyed the temple.

i) The Biblical account is found in 2 Chronicles 36:17-21.

ii) The temple artefacts were brought to Babylon.

c) Joel’s additional perspective:

i) It is possible that Babylon had many allies.

ii) Among whom were the Phoenicians and the Philistines.

iii) They probably stole some of the silver and gold artefacts from the Babylonians.

2. “Carried into your temples”

a) The holy artefacts of the Temple in Jerusalem were placed in the temples of the Phoenicians and the Philistines.

b) The Philistines once took the ark of the covenant and put it into the temple of Dagon (1 Samuel 5).

c) This was done to help promote the idea that their gods were superior to the LORD God of Israel.

3. “Also the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem you have sold to the Greeks”

a) Human trafficking is an old practice.

b) The people of Judah and Jerusalem:

i) They were captives.

ii) To the victor belongs the spoils.

iii) The Lord’s people were treated with contempt.

iv) To add insult to injury, the Jews were sold cheaply (Joel 3:3).

4. “That you may remove them far from their borders”

a) It was not for profit that the enemies sold the Lord’s people.

b) Their intention was to remove Israel from living in Canaan and to scatter them.