That is why the destruction of the Temple (587) was the equivalent of total desolation, 182 and took on the proportions of a national catastrophe
The dramatic sequence appears to be stereotyped, whether rooted in personal or collective experiences. The experience of the need for salvation reflected in biblical prayer covers a wide range of situations. Other prayers revolve around the axis of wonder. They foster a sense of wonder, contemplation and praise. The axis of instruction gathers up three types of meditative prayer: syntheses of sacred history, instruction for personal and communal moral choices (frequently including prophetic words and messages), description of the conditions necessary for participation in the cult. Finally, some prayers revolve around the axis of popular feasts. There are four in particular: harvests, marriages, pilgrimages, and political events.
48. Privileged places of prayer include sacred spaces, sanctuaries, especially the Jerusalem Temple. But prayer is always possible in the privacy of one’s home. Sacred times, fixed by the calendar, mark the times for prayer, even personal prayer, as well as the ritual hours of sacrifice, especially morning and evening. We notice different postures for prayer, standing, with raised hands, kneeling, fully prostrate, sitting or lying down.
If one can distinguish between the permanent and the dispensable elements in thought and language, the treasury of Israel’s prayer can serve to express, at a profound level, the prayer of human beings in all times and places. That is to say the permanent value of those texts. Certain Psalms, however, express a type of prayer that will gradually become obsolete, in particular, the curses and imprecations hurled at enemies.
Hence the importance of pilgrimage, as a symbol of unity (Ps 122)
In appropriating the prayers of the Old Testament just as they are, Christians re-read them in the light of the paschal mystery, which at the same time gives them an extra dimension.
The Jerusalem Temple. Built by Solomon (c. 950 B.C.), this edifice of stone, dominating the hill of Zion, has enjoyed a central place in Israelite religion. Aided by the religious reform of Josiah (640-609), 179 the deuteronomic law prescribed one sanctuary in the land for all the people (Dt 12:2-7). The Jerusalem sanctuary was designated as “the place chosen by the lordyour God as a dwelling for his name” (,21, etc.). Several etiological narratives explain this choice. 180 The priestly theology (P), for its part, designated this presence by the word “glory” (kabod), evoking the manifestation of God, at one and the same time both fascinating and awesome, especially in the Holy of Holies, above the ark of the covenant covered by the propitiatory: 181 the nearest contact with God is based on pardon and grace. The eagerness to rebuild it at the end of the Exile (Hg 1-2) and to celebrate there a worthy cult (Ml 1-3), became the criterion of the fear of God. The Temple radiated blessing to the ends of the earth (Ps 65). In the work of the Chronicler, the Temple is clearly at the centre of all religious and national life.
The Temple is both functional and symbolic space. It serves as the place of the cult, especially sacrifice, prayer, teaching, healing and royal enthronement. As in all religions, the material edifice here below evokes the mystery of the divine dwelling in heaven above (1 K 8:30). Because of the special presence of the living God, the Temple becomes the origin par excellence of life (communal birth, rebirth after sin), and of knowledge (word of God, revelation, wisdom). It plays the role of axis and centre of the world. Nevertheless, a critical relativisation of the symbolism of the holy place can be observed. It can never guarantee and “contain” the divine presence. 183 Parallel to the criticism of a hypocritical and formalist female escort in Buffalo NY cult, the prophets exposed the conceit of placing unconditional confidence in the holy place (Jr 7:1-15). A symbolic vision solemnly presents “the glory of the Lord” departing from the holy place. 184 But this glory will return to the Temple (Ezk 43:1-9), to an ideal, restored one (40-42), a source of fecundity, healing and salvation (47:1-12). Before this return, God promises the exiles that he himself will be “a sanctuary” () for them.
