Part Three – The City of One Heart

Research Note: Verse 12 says Jehovah gave them “one heart” (lev echad) to act in harmony with His word. For a deeper look, see the NWT Study Bible note on verse 12 and the Insight entry on “Heart” (section on figurative use). The temple atmosphere...music, incense, priestly garments...is described in Insight under “Temple” and “Priest.”

“When Jehovah gives you one heart, you stop asking who’s from where and start asking who’s here to worship.”

Jerusalem shimmered in the afternoon light. White limestone walls rose high, the temple mount crowned with gold. The streets pulsed with pilgrims: men in wool tunics dyed with madder red orindigo, women in linen robes with woven sashes, children darting between stalls selling olives, honey cakes, and roasted lamb skewers.

The smell of incense drifted from the temple courts. Levites in fine linen moved with purpose, harps and cymbals gleaming. Priests in white robes, sashes deep blue, prepared the altars.

No one asked where you were from. Judahite, Ephraimite, Zebulunite...it didn’t matter. They sang the same psalms, bowed to the same God, and ate from the same sacrifice.

But not everyone was pleased. A stern Judahite merchant muttered to his friend, “Look at them...northerners. They’ve ignored the temple for years, and now they come?” His friend shrugged. “Jehovah invited them. Who am I to turn them away?”

Eliab overheard and felt a pang...unity was here, but it was fragile.

As the lambs were slaughtered and the blood dashed against the altar, Eliab noticed something that would change the way he saw Jehovah’s people forever.