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Joshua 18 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Spiritually, Shiloh is an important landmark for worship during this time period. In both Judges and Samuel, we see special worship take place at this location. This would also be the location God would allow the Philistines to overtake Israel and snag the ark of the covenant from them. This was a consequence to the sin that entangled them so often.
As I think of Shiloh, I picture a battleground of sorts that would have been prime real estate for spiritual warfare.
Up to this point, Israel’s central encampment in the land had been at Gilgal, near Jericho, where they had observed several religious ceremonies (Jos 4:19-20; Jos 5:2-12; Jos 9:6). Now the entire congregation moved to Shiloh, about fifteen miles northwest of Jericho, where they set up the tent of meeting. This would remain an important Israelite religious center for several hundred years (Jos 19:51; Jos 21:2; Jdg 18:31; Jdg 21:12; 1Sa 1:9) until the taking of Jerusalem in David’s day.
Nelson’s New Illustrated Commentary
It was a place sanctified by God’s Spirit that was holy and righteous. When Israel trampled that responsibility, the floodgates were opened for the enemy to pour in. We see a picture of this in Jeremiah 7.
“Look, you put your trust in deceitful words. 9 You steal, murder, commit adultery, tell lies under oath, offer sacrifices to Baal, and worship gods that you had not known before. 10 You do these things I hate, and then you come and stand in my presence, in my own Temple, and say, ‘We are safe!’ 11 Do you think that my Temple is a hiding place for robbers? I have seen what you are doing.
12 Go to Shiloh, the first place where I chose to be worshiped, and see what I did to it because of the sins of my people Israel. 13 You have committed all these sins, and even though I spoke to you over and over again, you refused to listen. You would not answer when I called you. 14 And so, what I did to Shiloh I will do to this Temple of mine, in which you trust. Here in this place that I gave to your ancestors and you, I will do the same thing that I did to Shiloh.
Jeremiah 7:8-14 GNB
Where is the practicality in this today? Our bodies are living temples of God’s Spirit. We must ask ourselves, are we defiling the temple of God in our lives? Are we taking for granted the dwelling place for His Spirit, allowing the enemy a foothold to the inside? These are interesting thoughts to consider.