AN ENGINEERING AND ARTISTIC MASTERPIECE. 1st Kings 6:1-38 It was 480 years after the children of Israel left Egypt and built the Tabernacle, where the Lord manifested His presence in the middle of His people, that Solomon began to build the temple. The shape of the temple followed the same general pattern as the Tabernacle, but it was twice the size and permanent. When one approached the temple, there was an outer courtyard where the altar and the laver were in place. Then, there was the Holy Place with tables for the showbread (Bread of Presence), the golden lampstands, and the altar of incense.
Farthest in was the Most Holy Place, where the ark with the mercy seat on it was sitting. Over the ark in the Most Holy Place in the temple were two fifteen-foot-high cherubim carved from olive wood and overlaid with gold. The wings of the large cherubim extended the full twenty-cubit (30 feet) width of the building, touching the walls on each side.
The temple was a symbol of divine authority. At this central location for worship and sacrifice, there would be those who guarded God's word and kept it intact lest people sin by acting and worshipping independently as they chose. It was also a symbol of God's holiness. The temple was designed precisely, and each piece was made to fit perfectly before being moved to the temple location and placed in the building. As each stone and piece of lumber was laid in place, there was no sound of a hammer, saw, or chisel. Even the ledges around the outside of the temple were formed so that the three levels added to the outside of the building didn't need holes in the walls to attach them. The temple was erected in reverent, respectful silence. It must have struck a sense of awe into the hearts of everyone who watched it rise in silence before their eyes.
The temple was constructed on Mount Moriah, where Abraham had offered Isaac, and God's covenant with Abraham was confirmed. It was there that Araunah had his threshing floor and where God spoke to David when the plague was on Israel. David bought the threshing floor, the oxen, and everything else and built an altar there. God answered David’s prayer, and the plague that had killed so many people was stopped. The location was a place of great significance as a reminder of their covenant with God, the forgiveness God gives when confession and obedience change the hearts of the people.
We also have a sanctuary where we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. A scripturally gathered assembly is where God dwells among His people and can exercise authority when we submit to His word. The local assembly is a "House of God." Each believer is "fitly framed together" in the church and testifies that God knows who belongs where in this building of God made "without hands." When He is among His people, there is no need for raucous sounds and noise to produce worship. Instead, there is an extraordinary reverence and respect for the One in our midst. Care, concern, honor, and respect for God are expected when we come together as a company of His people.
Everything was set in the right place, and the symbolic cherubim, knobs, and flowers were made to follow in an enlarged way the pattern God gave for the Tabernacle. Those carvings of flowers, trees, and even cherubim did not break the second commandment because they did not depict God. They were symbols of paradise and pointed forward to the coming of Messiah and His reign of peace. The extensive use of gold was a symbol of God’s glory.
When a covenant is made with God, the focus is on our Lord with whom the covenant is made rather than on the king and leadership of men. The temple would remind those who came of the unchanging God with whom they covenanted as a nation. Every part of the temple would also testify to the holiness of God in contrast to the seriousness of sin that would be demonstrated at the altar in front of the temple. The promise of God to dwell in the temple among the people would have assured them as long as they obeyed God's laws. They knew the law was the standard of personal and national life. They were not cut off from God because of failure, knowing there was forgiveness provided for their sins when, in repentance, they brought their offering to God.
We, too, are covenant people who must give diligence to the One who has reconciled us to God. When forgiven of our sins, we are open to approaching God with reverence and godly fear. The incense of true worship that ascends from redeemed souls is accepted because of Christ's sacrifice when He died for us. We are now living stones "fitly framed together growing unto a holy temple in the Lord." If we ignore God's word and abandon Him in our hearts, the consequences of disobedience follow. God does not overlook sin. He has provided a way for us to be forgiven. If we do not avail ourselves of that, we lose the sense of His presence and power with us.
All those decorative things throughout the temple were illustrations of life and living things, reminding them of the Living God among them. He was not some distant memory of the past who had been with His people four hundred years before. He was presently in their midst and revealed Himself as the giver and sustainer of life, even though He was unseen to their natural eyes. Spiritual eyesight would see the evidence of God in those nobs, flowers, and cherubim with spread wings.
They would remind all who saw them of an "innumerable company of angels" in God's presence in heaven. The temple was like an outpost of heaven for His people to come. The temple was a place for God to dwell among His people rather than just for the people of God to come and worship. The inside dimensions were not to accommodate as many people as possible because almost everyone would be limited to the courtyard where the altar was. During the seven years when the temple was being built, the Lord's people would have been very aware of all that was happening. Every family would be affected somehow - either in providing labor or material.
The magnificent building would have been talked about by those who saw it and wondered about it because of its beauty and what it represented. Later, the people got used to it, and although it remained a place of national pride, many forgot that the point of the temple being built in the first place was to serve as a place for God to dwell among them.
It is also a danger to us if we get used to the house of God today being just another church. When we miss the wonder of the house of God, we begin to take divine things for granted, and the assembly becomes no more to us than a gathering place for us instead of where we gather "unto Him." There is place for human creativity and effort in the house of God as long as it is within the bounds of scripture. But that is only a tiny part of what gathering unto the Lord Jesus Christ means. When we are willing to be under His authority, our love and service for Him will be a joy to us, and we will appreciate where we are and what we can do for Him.
Faithfulness to God and obedience to His word are the only ways to claim and enjoy God's presence. Holiness and obedience go together, and as long as they are maintained, we can experience the blessedness of fellowship with God and the conscious knowledge that we are in the house of God when we are in an assembly of His choosing.
There was no sound of industry when the temple was erected, no sound of change, only the voices of laboring men putting each piece of material in its designated spot. The plans had been made long before and out of range of the site where God would dwell with His people when the temple was built. The harsh sounds of hammers shaping stones, shovels, and saws making things fit after they arrived on the building site were not heard. This was a holy work being done by people, each using hands that had developed skills to be used in an area of service for God. From the forest and mines, from quarries came all of the parts of the marvelous building, ready to be joined to appropriate pieces on either side with a purpose to fulfill.
The temple of God today is rising from different places and lands. The material is readied in every part of the world, and then each piece is added to the dwelling place of God, which is not made with hands. Living stones are being formed to fit perfectly together to gladden God’s heart. Some hear the Word of God being read by others and, quickly, by faith, accept what is unmistakably authentic. Many listened to the Word spoken in public meetings, and when it was clearly explained, they, too, put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is revealed to us through the words of the scriptures. Everyone is brought together in the house of the Lord as the Holy Spirit of God draws us to the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We won’t see the building until the bride of the King is brought together as one at the rapture of the church. All of us will live there in the Father’s house, fulfilling a predetermined role that only He knows is most suited to the need and the person. Each person brings unique features to add to those brought by others of precious faith. Each one has been formed to fit as the Architect chooses. As the Bride of the Lamb, the Temple of God, the sheep of His pasture, or the City Foursquare, all of the saints have been prepared by the Lord, and all will rejoice because God brought us there.
An assembly of Christians that gathers permanently in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is called “The House of God.” The purpose of God for an assembly in a geographical location is to display God’s wisdom [Eph.3:8-11] to those in that fellowship of believers and to prove by its unity the Lord’s care and authority and love [Jn.17:21,23] for His people. In the house of God, by the teaching given, we focus that all glory belongs to God [1Cor.1:10-31]. The assembly is to separate from evil within [1Cor.5:7,13] and without [2Cor.6:17] even though that may not be popular with believers and unbelievers.
The principle of headship [1Cor.11:3-5,10] is demonstrated by the sisters' visible head coverings and elders' guidance. Maintaining edifying, [1Cor.14:26]; peaceable, [1Cor.14:33]; orderly, [1Cor.14:40] conduct should be evident in the house of God. The Lordship of Christ as it relates to the assembly [Eph.5:23; Col.1:18] is intended to be seen in the house of God. The house of God should be active in the Gospel with the Lord’s servants [Phil.4:14-18]. There should be a practical demonstration of a work of faith, a labor of love, and patience of hope [1Thes.1:3], and the house of God should be an example to other assemblies [1Thes.1:7]. The purpose also includes proclaiming the Gospel [1Thes. 1:8], abounding in love to one another and all men [1Thes.3:12]. Those in the house of God must show the proper respect for individuals seen in care for each other [1Thes.5:11]; concern for one another [v.11]; respect for spiritual leaders [v.12,13]; warning for the unruly [v.14]; cheer for the feeble-minded [v.14]; support for the weak [v.14]; love toward all [v.14].
The purpose of an assembly involves God-ward: A dwelling place (negos – inner shrine) [1Tim.3:15; 1Cor.3:16] for our Lord with us. It is to be where God can find His joy among His people. Praise and worship continually ascend to Him because we are gathered unto His Person 24/7. The fire never went out on the altar, and our service, worship, and praise are always ongoing for the Lord. Building the house: [2Chr.2:4] is the evangelist's work. Displaying the Beauty of the house [Ps.27:4] is the teacher's work. Maintaining Behavior in the house [1Tim.3:15] is the work of the elders.
The purpose of the House of God for the believers is to provide a place of holy fellowship for the mutual edification of all. It is a place of safety, a place to combine the gifts and talents of all for the glory of God, a place of fellowship by sharing divine things, and a place of edification for the development of character and maturity in the Lord’s people.
The purpose of an assembly toward the world is to carry out the great commission [Mat.28:17] by preaching the Gospel through which disciples are made [Acts 14:21], baptizing the converts by which the disciples are marked [Acts 8], and teaching all the Lord commanded by which disciples are molded [2Tim.2]. Then, we consolidate the gains of the Gospel [Acts 2:40-47; 1Thes.1:7] as the disciples are gathered into Christian congregations to function under the divine presidency of the Holy Spirit. It is an outpost for the further advancement of the Gospel of Christ [Phil.2:15]. When God established assemblies in the truth in the early days, the apostles left them to give their faith a chance to work. Those same principles and practices are carried out today.
We are not alone when involved in building the church; the Lord Jesus told Peter, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” God is using His people to build on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and Jesus Christ is the chief Cornerstone. From all over the world, people are being added to the kingdom of God, and the finished dispensational church will soon be completed. When it is done, our Lord Jesus Christ will come for us.