God
made advance preparation before Solomon started building the temple. God had given Solomon’s father, David the
building plans and David had prepared a lot of the materials needed. God had given Solomon rest from any military
threats so he could now begin building the temple.
Hiram
king of Tyre was as friend of David’s and had helped him build his palace. Solomon asked if he would help build the
temple. The two made an agreement that
Hiram would provide the wood and some craftsmen. Solomon would supply wheat and oil for Hiram’s
household. Many other people also helped
build the temple. It was an honor to
carry out this work for the Lord. The
temple was viewed as one of Solomon’s greatest contributions.
Are you
blessed with special skills?
How are
you using them for God’s work?
In the
4th year of Solomon’s reign he began to build the temple. This was 480 years after the exodus of Israel
from Egypt. He built it on Mount
Moriah. This is not the only time we
read about Mount Moriah. In Genesis 22:1-8 God told Abraham to go
there and sacrifice his son Isaac, but God intervened and spared Isaac by
providing a lamb for the sacrifice. In 2 Samuel 24:18-25 David built an altar
there. Jesus was crucified on that same
mountain. God provided a sacrificial
lamb for Abraham and He provided Jesus as the sacrificial lamb for us.
Principle: God always provides.
The
temple was 60 cubits long, 20 wide and 30 high.
It had many rooms and floors. Chapter 6 gives full details of the construction
of the temple. The most important room
was the inner sanctuary called “The Most Holy Place” or Holy of Holies. This was the resting place for the Ark of the
Covenant and the place of annual atonement for the nation’s sin. It was overlaid with pure gold which
reflected God’s rich beauty and incomparable value. The Most Holy Place was symbol of God’s
reigning presence among His people.
They
used only blocks dressed at the quarry meaning no hammer, chisel or any other
tools were heard at the temple site. Maybe
this was because Solomon wanted it to be a place of reverence for the house of
God’s building project making it relative quiet. Pounding hammer noises would not show respect
or reverence. It’s the same today in our
churches. There should be an attitude of
reverence and worship with only rejoicing and praising.
How do
you show reverence when you enter your church?
I think
we’ve lost reverence in our churches today.
I remember when women wore dresses, hats and even veils. We definitely didn’t were flip flops and
short shorts. We dressed in our best not
like we were going to play golf. When entering
and attending church we were expected to do it in a quiet respectful manner. Men removed their hats when inside churches
or any other building. I know it’s may
seem stuffy to some people to dress and act this way, but remember we are
entering a holy place and we are meeting God’s Spirit. So where’s the reverence and awe? I’m not saying it’s all about our dress,
because we can worship in any kind of clothing as long as we worship in
sincerity and in truth. (John 4:24). When we consider the sinfulness of the
worshipers and the holiness of God, there’s no room for disrespect. He is God and we are not.
“The Lord is in His holy temple:
let all the earth keep silence before Him.” – Hab. 2:20.
“Worship the Lord with reverence, and rejoice with trembling.” – Ps. 2:11.
Ways to show reverence in church –
Be
punctual – don’t stroll in 15-20 minutes late.
This disturbs others as they worship.
Being on time shows respect not only to God, but to others.
Be
prepared – worshipers need time and opportunity to prepare themselves for
participation in worship.
Don’t
bring food or drink into the sanctuary – surely you can go 1 hour without
coffee. Drinks get spilled and it’s
disrespectful to God and other worshipers.
Dress
for church – in our culture it seems we are dressing down instead of up. The way we dress speaks volumes about who we
are and how we view God and His house.
Keep
quiet – it’s very annoying for the people around you if you are constantly
talking during church.
I guess
I’m on my soap box now. There one other thing
that really bothers me. What about our
habitual speech when we use God’s Name in vain?
It seems to be common today to say, “Oh my God” or “Jesus” as slang in
our conversations. God’s name alone is
holy and should be reverend. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the
Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.” – Ex. 20:7
The
Word of the Lord came to Solomon, if he followed the Lord’s decrees, carried
out His regulations, and kept all His commands and obey them, the Lord would
fulfill through him the promise given to David.
The Lord would live among the Israelites and not abandon them. God knew the mistakes Solomon was about to
make so this was a warning to him before he chooses to make those mistakes.
Solomon
spared no expense in building the temple.
He wanted it to be great because God is greater than all other
gods. The foundation of the temple was
laid in the 4th year. In the 11 year it was
finished in all its details according to its specification. It took 7 years in total to build the temple. Solomon was the temple’s architect, but the
plans were not his own. He used the
plans David had already made through the Spirit of God (1 Chron. 28:11-12). Hebrews 9:24 explains the reason for
this arrangement. It was a copy of the
real temple in heaven.
The
period of Solomon’s temple lasted for 410 years until it was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar
of Babylon (2 Kings 25).
The
temple emphasized the presence of God in the midst of His people. He was always there and accessible. The Holy Place and the Most Holy Place
emphasized God’s holiness and His inaccessibility due to the sins of the
people. When Jesus died on the cross, the
curtain or barrier of the temple between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place
was torn in two. This symbolized that
God is now open to all through the death of Christ. Now blood of an animal is no longer needed
for forgiveness of sin.
The
temple is called the house of the Lord. 1 Cor. 3:16 tells us that Christians
are God’s temple. God’s Spirit lives in
Christians. Eph. 2:19-22 tells us the church is the temple of God and Jesus is
the foundation or the strong base.
Christians are like the stones of the temple where the Holy Spirit lives. 2 Cor.
6:12 reminds us that we should honor God with our bodies. God has promised to never leave us. We are to obey His commands and follow His
decrees. Remembering that His Spirit
dwells in us helps us realize what an awesome privilege it is.
Where
and what is the temple today?
·
Christ Himself is the true temple.
·
Every believer is a living temple where the
Spirit of God dwells.
·
The church is a temple enriched and beautified
not with gold and precious stones, but with the Spirit’s gifts and graces.
·
Heaven is the everlasting temple where the
church will be fixed and no longer moveable.
Solomon
finished the work that God gave him to do.
Are you
finishing the work God has given you?
Are you
committed to God’s work?
How can
you work and serve in a way that reflects the greatness of God?
Principle: We are to finish the work God has given us.
Next
time we will continue our study of 1 Kings. Hope to see you here.
__________________________________________
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