A Place for God
Notes
Transcript
Solomon has laid the ground work and pulled resources and now it is time to start construction on the temple…. A Place for God.
1 Solomon began to build the temple for the Lord in the four hundred eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of his reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month. 2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and forty-five feet high. 3 The portico in front of the temple sanctuary was thirty feet long extending across the temple’s width, and fifteen feet deep in front of the temple. 4 He also made windows with beveled frames for the temple. 5 He then built a chambered structure along the temple wall, encircling the walls of the temple, that is, the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around. 6 The lowest chamber was 7½ feet wide, the middle was 9 feet wide, and the third was 10½ feet wide. He also provided offset ledges for the temple all around the outside so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls. 7 The temple’s construction used finished stones cut at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. 8 The door for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the temple. They went up a stairway to the middle chamber, and from the middle to the third. 9 When he finished building the temple, he paneled it with boards and planks of cedar. 10 He built the chambers along the entire temple, joined to the temple with cedar beams; each story was 7½ feet high.
The inclusion of the date of the beginning of temple construction reminds us that God has given Israel the promised land - prior to this the tabernacle was portable and moved with the people - they have finally settled and the intention is to never wander again.
The second date of importance… construction was started in Solomon’s 4th year as king.
The author gives us the dimensions of the temple - 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high - to give you and idea a basketball court is 94 x 50 so the temple was almost as long as a basketball court but only a little more than half as wide.
In today’s terms the temple height was about the same as a 3-4 story building.
The reality - the temple is about the same size as our worship center here at FBC.
It wasn’t the size of temple that made it impressive - it was it’s ornamentation and detailed work - and eventually it was God’s presence.
Verse 7 is something to consider - the work was done offsite so “no hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was heard”… but why?
Some thoughts -
Symbolic reverence for God’s Presence - as the future dwelling place of God the silence symbolized the holiness and reverence of the site - worship should be marked by peace, awe, and quietness, not the clamor of human work.
God’s order and preparation -this shows precision and forethought, nothing was haphazard because everything had to be prepared exactly before being placed - God does the same with us, shaping and setting us into His greater work.
Foreshadowing spiritual truth - the Messiah would be called the “Prince of Peace” (Is9.6) - the silent construction foreshadows how God builds His spiritual temple - the church - God’s work is done by His Spirit not by human noise of force. (Zech4.6)
Practical consideration - stones were heavy and by shaping them to the perfect size it helped limit the moving of extra weight.
Adherence to a biblical principle - Exodus 20:25 “25 If you make a stone altar for me, do not build it out of cut stones. If you use your chisel on it, you will defile it.”
11 The word of the Lord came to Solomon: 12 “As for this temple you are building—if you walk in my statutes, observe my ordinances, and keep all my commands by walking in them, I will fulfill my promise to you, which I made to your father David. 13 I will dwell among the Israelites and not abandon my people Israel.”
We are not sure how the word got to him but Solomon heard from the Lord - the gist of the message - just because you are building this building for God to dwell in doesn’t not mean He has to, if you (as the head of the nation) obey and keep all of God’s commands THEN God will dwell among you and not leave you.
14 When Solomon finished building the temple, 15 he paneled the interior temple walls with cedar boards; from the temple floor to the surface of the ceiling he overlaid the interior with wood. He also overlaid the floor with cypress boards. 16 Then he lined thirty feet of the rear of the temple with cedar boards from the floor to the surface of the ceiling, and he built the interior as an inner sanctuary, the most holy place. 17 The temple, that is, the sanctuary in front of the most holy place, was sixty feet long. 18 The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with ornamental gourds and flower blossoms. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen. 19 He prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple to put the ark of the Lord’s covenant there. 20 The interior of the sanctuary was thirty feet long, thirty feet wide, and thirty feet high; he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the cedar altar. 21 Next, Solomon overlaid the interior of the temple with pure gold, and he hung gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary and overlaid it with gold. 22 So he added the gold overlay to the entire temple until everything was completely finished, including the entire altar that belongs to the inner sanctuary. 23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim 15 feet high out of olive wood. 24 One wing of the first cherub was 7½ feet long, and the other wing was 7½ feet long. The wingspan was 15 feet from tip to tip. 25 The second cherub also was 15 feet; both cherubim had the same size and shape. 26 The first cherub’s height was 15 feet and so was the second cherub’s. 27 Then he put the cherubim inside the inner temple. Since their wings were spread out, the first one’s wing touched one wall while the second cherub’s wing touched the other wall, and in the middle of the temple their wings were touching wing to wing. 28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold. 29 He carved all the surrounding temple walls with carved engravings—cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms—in the inner and outer sanctuaries. 30 He overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and the outer sanctuaries. 31 For the entrance of the inner sanctuary, he made olive wood doors. The pillars of the doorposts were five-sided. 32 The two doors were made of olive wood. He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold, hammering gold over the cherubim and palm trees. 33 In the same way, he made four-sided olive wood doorposts for the sanctuary entrance. 34 The two doors were made of cypress wood; the first door had two folding sides, and the second door had two folding panels. 35 He carved cherubim, palm trees, and flower blossoms on them and overlaid them with gold applied evenly over the carving. 36 He built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and a row of trimmed cedar beams. 37 The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year in the month of Ziv. 38 In his eleventh year in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the temple was completed in every detail and according to every specification. So he built it in seven years.
30 feet at the rear of the temple was set aside for the holy of holies - this is where the ark of the covenant rested and thus the meeting place with God. It was 1/3 of the entire temple.
Everything was paneled with cedar and that was then overlaid with gold.
The wood provided a smooth, uniform surface to receive the gold, and it was easier to care with decorative motifs (cherubim, palm trees, flowers) before overlaying them.
In the holy of holies two cherubim were placed - there were in the middle with wings stretched wide - each one had a wing that touched a wall and the other wing tips touched the other cherubim filling the whole space.
Cherubim in scripture guard places of God’s holiness and presence - Genesis 3.24 they guard the entrance to Eden, Exodus 25.18-22 the cover the mercy seat of the ark guarding the place where God’s presence dwells - they moved with the throne of God Ezekiel 1 & 10 - symbolic of worship and reverence - heavenly attendants to God.
Construction began in the 4th year of Solomon’s reign and took about 7 years and 6 moths to complete. It will stand for nearly 400 years and is the only Solomonic structure Israel will rebuild post exile. The temple becomes a sign for the people of their relationship to God.
Three Takeaways
Appearances aren’t as important as what’s on the inside.
Appearances aren’t as important as what’s on the inside.
The temple was not the most impressive structure ever built, the outside did not differ greatly from many of the other structures in Jerusalem.
Inside however, was vastly different. The amount of beauty and ornamentation that covered the inside was amazing.
We can dress ourselves up and make ourselves look a certain way but if we aren’t changed on the inside.
What truly made the temple the most glorious place in history is what makes us the greatest of all creations… the presence of God.
We must treat the things of God with honor and reverence.
We must treat the things of God with honor and reverence.
Just like they kept the noise of construction away from we must keep the noise of the world away from the things of God.
Much like the stones were cut away from the temple so to our faith is built behind the scenes - in prayer, in discipline, in personal devotion.
The work done in private eventually becomes what the world will see - keep both places set apart for God.
Obedience to God is greater than what we build.
Obedience to God is greater than what we build.
God reminded Solomon that His presence wouldn’t depend on the building , but on Solomon’s obedience.
We can start program after program, we can build buildings, we can build membership but no amount of outward success can replace a heart that walks in obedience to God.
If we are obedient then God will bless out efforts and build something that lasts.
