Provincial Grand Chapter of Yorkshire West Riding
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Provincial Grand Chapter of Yorkshire West Riding Provincial Lectures - DIY The Domatic Lecture Ref: WR0511 1 Stage Direction: During this presentation the two Presenters will have to move around the temple as the story unfolds. When Companions take up the narration, they should stand at the behest of the appropriate Narrator. The lecture should begin with the lead Narrator introducing himself and his colleague. THE INTRODUCTION NARRATOR ONE (Thank the M.E.Z. for the invitation to present the lecture and introduce 2nd Narrator) It should give you an insight into the legend behind the Royal Arch Ritual, and with the aid of the Officers of the Chapter, bring to life the characters involved. We will start with the building of King Solomon's Temple, followed by its fall, then have a brief autobiography of the key characters in the ritual, before ending with the 'Julian Legend' which forms the basis of the re-enactment contained in the Ceremony of Exultation. There are a lot of names and dates in this story, but as Chapter Masons, much of it will be familiar and hopefully it will flesh out the connection between the Chapter Ritual and the historical narrative that underpins it. You should also notice some glaring differences between the two, some appropriation of other facts into the story and some sheer invention. Similar to the way the great film makers of today use a little poetic license to dramatize the facts of history and make them live. 2 THE TEMPLE NARRATOR TWO The legend which forms a distinctive feature of the Royal Arch ritual is not the same everywhere. The Irish Royal Arch based their legend on the repairing of the Temple as narrated by Josiah. The Principal Officers are Josiah the King, Hilkiah the Priest and Shaphan the Scribe. The English Royal Arch ritual is based on the rebuilding of the Temple as narrated by Ezra. The legend is better understood if we take a glance at the troubled history of King Solomon's Temple. Solomon inherited the throne when the era of military campaign under Saul and David was over. His external policies were based on détente, the fostering of political and economic ties with neighbouring states. On a practical level, Solomon's closest and most rewarding alliance was with his father's associate, Hiram King of Tyre. The basis was economical rather than political. In bilateral trade the products of the two neighbouring states were complementary. The agricultural economy of the Israelite Kingdom had an exportable surplus of wheat and olive oil which Hiram needed. The Phoenician Kingdom could supply Solomon's building projects with timber (from the Lebanese mountains), minerals, skilled labour and technology. They were among the best builders and architects in the region. NARRATOR ONE The building of the original Temple in Jerusalem, which was patterned after the Tabernacle in the wilderness, was started in the fourth year of Solomon's reign and completed in the eleventh year, about 950BC. King Solomon enclosed Mount Moriah within its walls, and by levelling and filling he created a platform for the Temple. The blocks of stone were quarried in the nearby hills and the cedar wood was supplied by Hiram, King of Tyre, from the Lebanese forests. The logs were transported to the coast, floated in rafts to the port of Joppa, and from there hauled up to Jerusalem. Hiram also delivered a large amount of the gold used in the Temple. However Hiram's most essential contribution was the skilled Phoenician artisans, architects, masons, carpenters and metal workers. Solomon paid in wheat and oil, but the deficit became so large the accounts had to be balanced by the cession to the Phoenicians of the Cabul district, a strip of territory containing twenty villages. The whole labour force involved in building the Temple and the Palace was said to number 80,000 on the building and another 10,000 on the cutting and transporting of the Timber; a massive number of people in those days, when populations were much lower than today. 3 NARRATOR TWO The Temple faced eastward towards the rising sun. The tribal elders and notables from all over the country gathered in Jerusalem for the dedication ceremony. The beauty of the Temple and its superb craftsmanship made it one of the wonders of the ancient world and added to the lustre of Solomon's reign. In summary, the building of this magnificent structure over a seven year period and at considerable expense was of great significance to both Solomon and his nation. Its importance went far beyond its architecture. It gave tangible expression to the covenant God had made with David. Its existence made Jerusalem not only the capital city, but the Holy City. Creating great prestige on Solomon and his capital Jerusalem. Long after its final destruction, its memory would remain, for a scattered people, the symbol of their future return. 4 THE FALL NARRATOR ONE The glory of the beautiful Temple was of brief duration, for after King Solomon's death, ten tribes under Jeroboam broke away to form the independent kingdom of Israel, but Judah and Benjamin remained faithful to the line of David, and held the mountain stronghold of Jerusalem, which was of great strategic importance, as it commanded the trade routes between two warring countries Syria and Egypt. As a result, Palestine was ravaged by both sides for a period of four hundred years. The Temple was initially sacked and re-built three times. It was first sacked in 927 BC, when Solomon's son, Rehoboam succeeded him as King. He reigned from 922 to 915 BC. In the fifth year of his reign, Shishak, King of Egypt, invaded his kingdom, sacked Jerusalem and carried away all the gold from the Temple, but not the famous brass work. In 722 BC the independent Kingdom of Israel became an Assyrian province, the ten tribes being taken into captivity. At Jerusalem, Hezekiah secured peace by paying tribute, and he, to some extent, restored the Temple worship and eighty years later Josiah repaired the Temple and refurnished it with gold vessels. Josiah was unfortunately killed by the Egyptians during a war with Assyria. It was sacked for a second time in 586 BC, when the Babylonian army under King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and assaulted the City of Jerusalem. After a siege that lasted over a year, and left the inhabitants starving and dispirited, the city fell, and its King, Zedekiah, the last King of the line of David, was captured, as he tried to escape across the plains of Jericho. Nebuchadnezzar's revenge was merciless; all the nobles of Judah were executed. King Zedekiah, in chains, was forced to watch the slaughter of all his sons. It was the last sight he ever saw, with the image of horror still burning in his brain. Zedekiah's eyes were put out and he was taken, blind and helpless, as a captive into Babylon. It was sacked for a third time only two years later in 588BC, and the Temple vessels, both gold and brass, were carried away to Babylon. This time the two defending tribes were also carried away into captivity, but General Nebuzarraden left the poorer sort, and those that voluntarily yielded, in the country of Judaea, commanding them to till the land. 5 NARRATOR TWO Assyria was now nearing its end. Cyrus (550-530B.C.), who conquered it in 538BC and occupied Babylon, invited the two tribes to return and to rebuild the city and the Temple. He supplied them with treasure and materials and promised to restore the golden vessels carried away by Nebuchadnezzar. The walls of Jerusalem as well as those of the Temple had to be rebuilt, but while the work was in progress, Cyrus died, and his successor, Cambyses, influenced by the surrounding nations hostile to the Jews, stopped the work. Darius who succeeded Cambyses, agreed to complete the work and accordingly Zerubbabel, accompanied by Joshua the Priest, returned to Jerusalem to carry out the undertaking, the Jews being comforted and encouraged by Haggai the prophet. Accordingly, as a matter of History, Zerubbabel, Joshua and Haggai were associated only at the time of the resumption of work under Darius, and not in the days of Cyrus a hundred years earlier. An ancient letter, written by Aristeas, a visitor to Palestine from Egypt, has left us a vivid description of the Temple's appearance at the beginning: "When we arrived in the land of the Jews we saw the city situated in the middle of the whole of Judea on the top of a mountain of considerable altitude. On the summit the Temple had been built with all its splendour. It was surrounded by three walls more than 70 cubits (35. 5metres) high... The temple faces east and its back is towards the west The whole of the floor is paved with stones, and slopes down to the appointed places, that water may be conveyed to wash away the blood from sacrifices, for many thousands of beasts are sacrificed there on the feast days. And there is an incredible supply of water, because an abundant natural spring gushes up from within the temple area" The rebuilt Temple had a tragic history. It was plundered, profaned, re-dedicated (165 BC) by Judas Maccabeus, again profaned, again plundered, and finally pulled down to the very foundations by Herod the Great, in order that he might rebuild on a grander scale as a memorial to himself. The Herodian Temple was the magnificent structure that existed at the time of Jesus Christ.