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1 Kings

1 Kings 6

Solomon Builds the Temple

1 Kings 6

Solomon started the construction of the temple in the 480th year after they came out of Egypt.  The tabernacle had housed the holy of holies for most of this time.  During part of David's reign, including the beginning of Solomon's reign, the Ark was in Jerusalem but the tabernacle remained in Gibeon (1 Chronicles 16:39-40).  It is somewhat thought provoking that the religious practices continued at the tabernacle when the very thing that represented the presence of God was absent.  The holy of holies was empty!  It seems we are a people that draw comfort from religion, even when it is devoid of God.  This is happening all around us and the bible speaks repeatedly to these practices.  Worship without relationship is empty religion; its going through the motions.  It's like checking the boxes to apease God (Isaiah 1).  Religion without God is a bandaid for our sin nature.  The problem is this bandaid can't stand up; it only hides the problem for a while.  Our sin nature won't heal or go away on its own; it's a condition of our flesh and while we seem to become very good at ignoring it, the affects from it are insurmountable.  After exposure to the elements of this world, our religious bandaid will fall away and be discarded, trampled on in the gutters of the city.  We need something more permanent!  We need a change of heart.  We need to recognize our deep need and pursue the one who can bring everlasting change to our condition.  We must arrive at the cross where our creator will meet us and know us and we can know Him.  We can abide in Him and He in us (1 John 2:24-25).  He will transform us; giving us a new heart and new desires. 

Religion should be a label for our relationship with God, not a boo boo bandaid for our sin nature that makes us feel better about a miserable godless existence.

Solomon built this temple, not out of need, but by the prompting of the Lord (Psalm 78:60, 67-69).  It was grand and ornate, reflecting the beauty and majesty of the Lord.  The Tabernacle had nothing attractive or flashy about it, yet the inside was holy.  It illustrates Jesus in that 'he has no form or comliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him."  Solomon's temple is grand, as the Lord is grand.  But as we've seen so many times, a good start doesn't guarantee contintued good or a good finish; men will bring their sinful nature there and it will become a place of empty religion.

The temple proper was about 90' long, 30' wide, and 45 feet high with the courts around it.  This made the entire temple area about two thirds the area of a football field.  The temple was made of stone overlaid with cedar, overlaid with gold.  Solomon built the temple according to the directions given to David in 1 Chronicles 28:11-13, 19. 

Verse 7 is sure to say that no hammer, axe or iron toll was heard in the house while it was being built.  This is amazing and would cause them to make detail plans and have very detail oriented craftsmen.  We'd relate this to prefab construction.  For Solomon, this was a display of the work of the Lord for the glory of the Lord.  This wasn't to be the glory of the work of man; Solomon minimized the work of their hands to accentuate the glory of God.

Chuck Smith tells of the story of how each stone was marked and had a place.  One day a stone shows up and no one knows where it goes, it was cast aside.  The temple continues until they get to the end and are ready to set the capstone.  They send orders to the quarry they need the capstone.  The quarry says they already sent it.  The builders remember setting aside a stone and they find the stone that became known as the capstone the builders rejected. 

Cherubim were sculpted and covered in gold.  They touched the outside walls and touched wings in the center.  They were fifteen feet long and fifteen feet tall each.  The cherubim are repeatedly seen at the throne of God; surrounding and serving Him.  This pattern and design is a glimpse into the throneroom of God Most High!

In the fourth year the foundation was laid and in the 11th year the temple was finished.  An incredible 7 years in the making.

 

©2016 Doug Ford