If It Feels Like God Has Abandoned Us Today, He Probably Has

Now that the land was under Israelite control, the entire community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle. [Joshua 18.1] 

Although Joshua 18.1 is the first mention of "Shiloh" as a stand-alone word in the Bible, the compound "Taanath-shiloh" is first found in the description below of Ephraim's assigned territory in the Promised Land:

The following territory was given to the clans of the tribe of Ephraim. The boundary of their homeland began at Ataroth-addar in the east. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon, then on to the Mediterranean Sea. From Micmethath on the north, the boundary curved eastward past Taanath-shiloh to the east of Janoah. From Janoah it turned southward to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan River. [Joshua 16.5-7]

With what knowledge I have of the Bible to date, and, without resorting to extra-Biblical material, I can only conclude that Shiloh, where the Tabernacle was located in Ephraim's territory, is one and the same as Taanath-shiloh, first mentioned in the description of Ephraim's territory.

While this may seem to be only trivial information, it really is not. Shiloh, in Ephraim's territory, became the permanent home of the Tabernacle where God's presence dwelt.

As Bible history will play out, it is recorded later that Shiloh in Ephraim's territory lost its status as the place of God's dwelling, and, after time, the place of God's dwelling would be re-established in Jerusalem in the land of Judah.

Psalm 78 explains this transition in detail:

But they kept testing and rebelling against God Most High. They did not obey his laws. They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow. They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols. When God heard them, he was very angry, and he completely rejected Israel. Then he abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh, the Tabernacle where he had lived among the people. He allowed the Ark of his might to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands. He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession. Their young men were killed by fire; their young women died before singing their wedding songs. Their priests were slaughtered, and their widows could not mourn their deaths. Then the Lord rose up as though waking from sleep, like a warrior aroused from a drunken stupor. He routed his enemies and sent them to eternal shame. But he rejected Joseph’s descendants; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim. He chose instead the tribe of Judah, and Mount Zion, which he loved. There he built his sanctuary as high as the heavens, as solid and enduring as the earth. He chose his servant David, calling him from the sheep pens. He took David from tending the ewes and lambs and made him the shepherd of Jacob’s descendants—God’s own  people, Israel. He cared for them with a true heart and led them with skillful hands. [Psalm 78.56-72]

We should take to heart the reason why God abandoned Shiloh as His dwelling place. In a word, that reason was idolatry. God's people had become unfaithful to God by worshiping idols and so, God "pulled out."

We should likewise then take to heart why God chose Jerusalem in the land of Judah as His new dwelling place. It was because of David's fierce devotion to God alone.

As simple as it gets, God's demand for undivided devotion to Him alone (Exodus 20.2-7) was ignored. The original place of His dwelling had become a hotbed for idolatry so He abandoned it for another place where undivided devotion prevailed. If God's people do not trust Him alone, He will have nothing to do with them. His jealousy will not allow it.

It must be understood that God's jealousy did not go away with the Old Testament! In fact, as genetics go, Jesus inherited every bit of God's jealousy. We need no further proof of this than Jesus' own well-known demand for exclusivity in the New Testament:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

For the modern Church to think that Jesus will stay around in the presence of idols any more than God would stay around in the presence of idols is ludicrous.

The fact that Jesus said, "follow Me" is evidence that He is moving. If we are not moving with Him. He is leaving us - abandoning us to whatever it is that we follow instead of Him alone. "Whatever it is" is an idol.

Before we start adamantly defending ourselves that Jesus has not abandoned us, we need to understand that Jesus' presence has not changed since His time on earth:

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. [Acts 10.38]

Jesus' words must not be ignored regarding His work in and through us:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. [John 14.12] 

Are ALL who are oppressed by the devil being healed in today's churches? We all know the answer is "no!" And, we cannot deny that everything Paul warned Timothy about below better describes today's churches than do Acts 10.38 or John 14.12:

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. or people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! [2 Timothy 3.1-5] 

Why is this true? Because God always has, and always will, abandon idolatrous people. Idols are, at their very core, doubt in God. Doubt in God is not just a little indiscretion of the Church - it is a blasphemous declaration that God is insufficient! Doubt in our heart is faith in idols. Jealous God simply will not hang around for such. Jesus' addendum about forgiveness gives us a clue as to the origin of idolatry:

Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” [Mark 11.22-25]

Forgiveness can only be selfless. There is no such thing as selfish forgiveness. "Self" is the platform (the origin) upon which all idolatry germinates and grows strong. 

NOTE: "Self-awareness" is what Satan sparked when he asked "Has God really said...?" and then, when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they provided the fuel for the first flame of sin to burn in the world. The "original sin" was not eating the fruit, but doubt in the hearts of Adam and Eve. 

Unforgiveness then is pure idolatry to "self." Unforgiveness is doubt in our heart that God alone is judge of all men thus necessitating that we make judgement ourselves. Jesus is effectively communicating in Mark 11.25 that a person cannot believe who cannot forgive. The idol of "self" stands in the way.

Again, doubt in our heart is idolatry - doubt in our heart is faith in idols. Idols are therefore more of a problem today than they have been at any other time in history. We have unprecedented quantities of things to trust today instead of God. My short list is debt, insurance, medicine and technology.

God would have to apologize to the ancient people of Ephraim for abandoning Shiloh because of idolatry if today He moved in unrestrained power among His idolatrous people. Jesus only reiterated this truth:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. [Matthew 16.24 (also, Mark 8.34 & Luke 9.23)]

Until we associate "your own way" with "self" and, therefore, idolatry, we will never fully comprehend what Jesus demanded in this passage, let alone, the first three of the Ten Commandments. The story of Shiloh bears out this truth.

If it feels like God has abandoned us today, He probably has - because of our idolatry. Curses do not lie. We ARE the church Paul warned Timothy about. The doctrines of Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Word of Faith, or any other denomination (including non-denominational) only frustrate those separated from God by their idolatry (whether they acknowledge it or not) because they categorically refuse to give up their own way, take up their cross, and follow Jesus.

Father, Your Light is Your Word, Jesus, showing us that we must give up our own way ("self"-serving idolatry), take up our cross (undiluted faith) and follow Him. May my only goal be to do so. So be it.