Send us a text Why was the temple so important to the Israelites? How did the temple and its location shape the whole biblical narrative? If you really want to understand why the Old Testament contains so much talk about good kings and bad kings and the building and rebuilding of the temple, you have to understand the consolidating of Judaism in the temple in Jerusalem. When Jesus talked about the destruction of the temple, not one stone will lay upon another in Luke 21, he spoke retrospectiv...