We have lied to and about victims—refused to believe them, sent them away, and blamed them as the cause of the problem—and in doing so, we have blasphemed the name of our God. This means we have revered our systems more than our God.
The same gifts and abilities that can make a man or woman an effective and powerful leader can hide a dangerous level of self-absorption and hidden insecurities with zero regard for anyone but themselves.
In great systemic failure, many Christian systems have not only covered up for abusers, leaving many free to continue to abuse, but also we have presented them as good, even godly, and kept them in high places.
Meant to be their hiding place, the sanctuary was instead a safe place for those who steal. That is what “den of robbers” means. The building erected for the single purpose of the worship of God and a refuge for His people was converted into a market.
Our Lord cracked a whip and turned tables over because in what was meant to be God’s house and a safe place for His sheep was a place of exploitation of the lambs. They were being robbed of a refuge in the house of God.
Trauma stories do not first come out with a beginning, middle, and end. They come out in broken pieces, disordered and perhaps unclear.