Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

When Jesus came into Jerusalem the third year of His ministry, He had just raised Lazarus from the dead. This made believers of many Jews, so much so, that the chief priests and Pharisees cries out, "'What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. IF we let Him go on like this , all me will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away our place and our nation."
(John 11:47-48). And they determined to not only to kill Jesus, but also Lazarus, whom He raised from the dead, because many were leaving them and believing in Jesus (John 11:49-53 & 12:9-11).

He has His disciples untie a young donkey that had never been ridden, and He rode into Jerusalem as the people shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David" and showered His way with their garments and palm branches -fulfilling prophecy (Matthew 21:1-9). "And as He was now approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!' And some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to Him, 'Teacher rebuke your disciples.' And He answered and said, 'I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!' And when He approached the city and wept over it, saying, 'If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.'" (Luke 19:37-44). As He entered city, all of Jerusalem was stirred asking, "'Who is this?' And the multitudes were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.'" (Matthew 21:10-11). When He entered Jerusalem, He went into the temple.

 That brings us to our question, "Why was the temple a 'robbers' den'?". The temple was built about 1,005 years before Christ by Solomon, the son of David, who was not allowed by God to build it, although he wanted to, because of his shedding of blood in battle (1 Kings 5:4). Building it took seven years to complete and it was a magnificent structure (1 Kings 6:all). However, that temple was destroyed by Babylon 589 years before Christ (2 Chronicles 36:6-19). Then the temple was rebuilt by Zerubbabel, grandson of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, but aged men wept when they compared this temple to Solomon's (Ezra 3:8-12). Then king Herod, desiring to gain favor with the Jewish people, updated the temple-which took 46 years to complete (John 2:20) by reworking it. This was completed about sixteen years before Christ, but this was still the second temple which Jesus still fulfills the prophecy in Haggai 2:9. 

So then, for the answer to our question we turn and read, "And Jesus entered the temple and cast out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but you are making it a robbers' den.' Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the Temple, and He healed them. But the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were crying out in the temple saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David,' they became indignant, and said to Him, 'Do you hear what they are saying?' And Jesus said to them, 'Yes; have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babes Thou hast prepared praise for Thyself'?' And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and lodged there."
(Matthew 21:12-17).

Those overseeing the temple allowed moneychangers, those that charged a fee, probably high at times, to exchange the Roman coin into a Jewish half shekel which was the tribute to be paid by each male to the temple by Old Testament Law (Exodus 30:15), and also for convenience sake they allowed sacrificial animals to be sold there to the people that needed them, again for profit, maybe high at times, all in the Court of the Gentiles of the temple, which is the outer court of the temple itself. Now those overseeing the temple also probably made extra money by charging a fee to let them sell on the temples premises, which it was not built to do. There was nothing wrong in these people providing a service to those that needed their service, either the half-shekel or the animal for sacrifice,but they created a robbers den by turning the temple itself into a flea market for prophet to those overseeing the temple to fill their own pockets when they should have found a proper area away from the temple to do the same, and that is the answer to our question of why Jesus said the temple became a robbers den!

May we be careful to not turn the church building into a robbers den and use it for its intended use, a house of prayer and worship!