“They cried aloud to Heaven, saying.
‘What shall we do with these?
Where shall we take them?
Your sanctuary is trampled down and profaned.
Your priests mourn in humiliation.
Here the gentiles are assembled against us to destroy us.
You know what they plot against us.
How will we be able to withstand them?
If you do not help us?’
Their problem was simple as they cried out to heaven where God was. They wanted to know what to do about these cultic items since there was no Temple. Where should they take the first fruits and the tithes? The sanctuary was trampled and profaned. The priests were mourning. The gentiles were plotting against them to destroy them. There is no way that they can withstand them other than help from God.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 