Eventually, the unique place chosen by the Lord was Jerusalem. No matter in what region an Israelite lived, he had to set aside the top tenth of his harvest and bring it at the set time to Jerusalem. He had no right to eat this portion at home. Although this practice may seem quite awkward to us, it was a test whether the Israelites would act according to their sight or according to God’s sight, whether they would do things according to their choice or according to the Lord’s choice. From God’s point of view, the practice of bringing all the tithes to Jerusalem was very economical.
Perhaps you would say, “This does not seem economical to me. It was awkward for people to travel so far with their produce. Why didn’t God allow His people to enjoy the top tenth where they were?” Do you think that you are wiser than God, that you are more intelligent than He? You must renounce your thoughts concerning this matter and take the word of the Bible. God’s economy is for oneness, for unity. The children of Israel went to Jerusalem three times a year in order to be united. If there had not been this place of unity, those in the north would have said, “It is too far to go down to Jerusalem to worship. Let us establish a center here in our territory.” Then those in the south would have said, “It is not convenient to go to Jerusalem. Let us have a center in our region.” Suppose the tribe of Naphtali said, “Let us establish our own center,” and the tribe of Dan said, “We don’t like those in Naphtali. Let us establish our own place of worship.” If this had been permitted, the children of Israel would have been divided. However, throughout the centuries, the children of Israel have not been divided as far as their worship is concerned. Although the nation of Israel was divided into the northern and southern kingdoms, they were still united by the unique place of worship chosen by God.
All the Israelites had to go to Jerusalem to worship three times a year, and they had to go not just for an overnight visit, but to dwell together for several days. Suppose two Israelites, neighbors, had trouble getting along with each other. In fact, they were enemies. Nevertheless, at the time of the feast of Passover, according to the law, they both had to go to Jerusalem to worship. Although they might travel to Jerusalem by different routes, they had to approach Mount Zion by the same pathway. Furthermore, as they were ascending Mount Zion, they had to sing Psalm 133: “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” Thus, these two brothers had to forgive each other and be reconciled. Otherwise, they would not be able to offer their sacrifices to the Lord. If they had attempted to offer their sacrifice while still at enmity with each other, the Lord would have said, as the Lord Jesus did hundreds of years later, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift” (Matt. 5:23-24). By this illustration we see that the requirement to gather in Jerusalem at the time of the appointed feasts forced the children of Israel to be one. If there had not been this regulation, these Israelites who were at enmity would never have been reconciled. The one may have said, “If he goes to Jerusalem, then I will go to another place of worship.”
This is precisely the practice of today’s Christianity. There is no unique place of worship, and every Christian worships according to what is right in his own eyes. Whenever a Christian is unhappy with others in a certain group, he feels free to go to another group. If after a period of time he is no longer happy with those in that group, he will look around for a third group. Perhaps, he will eventually start a meeting in his home. When after a few years those in that group are no longer happy with one another, some will start a meeting on the next street. This is the confusion of today’s Christians. Where is the unique place of unity? There is no such thing among Christians. In fact, if you talk about it, you will be condemned as narrow-minded. Today, nearly everyone feels the right to establish a worship center as he chooses. Instead of the proper restriction and regulation there is confusion. But no man-made worship center is recognized by God. Rather, every such center is sinful in His eyes, for it is the practice of the principle of Babel. The principle of Babel is division and confusion. Babel is the origin of Babylon, and the very characteristic of Babylon is division resulting in confusion. In the eyes of God the division and confusion among Christians today is Babylon. Nevertheless, many Christians persist in talking about love and the unity of the Body. But hardly any will give up their divisions. Instead, they justify their divisions. If you rise up and tell them to forsake the divisions and eliminate the confusion, they will accuse you of being narrow-minded and of causing more divisions. What a deplorable situation!