1st Kings 6:1-38 AN ENGINEERING AND ARTISTIC MASTERPIECE
It was 480 years after the children of Israel left Egypt and built the tabernacle in which the Lord's manifested His presence among them, that Solomon began to build the temple. The shape of the temple followed the same general pattern as the tabernacle only 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 in which at this central location for worship and sacrifice, there would be those who guarded God's word and kept it intact lest people would sin by acting and worshipping independently as they chose. We have a sanctuary as well in which we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places. A scripturally gathered assembly is a place where God dwells in the midst of His people and is able to exercise authority when we submit to His word. The local assembly is a "House of God."
The temple was designed and then each piece made to perfectly fit before it was 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 that went 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. Each believer is one who is "fitly framed together" in the church and testifies to the fact that God knows who belong where in this building of God made "without hands."
The temple was erected in reverent silence. It must have struck a sense of awe into the hearts of all the people who watched it rise in silence before their eyes. It was a symbol of the holiness of God. When He is among His people there is no need for raucous sounds and noise to produce worship. Rather there is an awesome reverence and respect for the One who is in our midst. Care, concern, honor and respect for God is expected when we come together as a company of His people.
Everything 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. 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. We too are a covenant people who need to give diligence to the One who has reconciled us to God.
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. When one has been forgiven of his sins, the way is open to approach to God with reverence and godly fear. The incense of true worship that ascends from redeemed souls is accepted because of the sacrifice Christ made when He died for us. We are now living stones "fitly framed together growing unto an holy temple in the Lord."
The promise of God to dwell in the temple among the people would have given assurance to them as long as they obeyed God's laws. They knew the law and knew it 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. If we ignore God's word and abandon Him in our hearts, the consequences of disobedience follow. God does not ignore 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 the carvings and symbols of cherubim were not depicting God in any way nor an attempt to make an image of Him, so they were not breaking the second commandment. They would remind all who saw them of an "innumerable company of angels" that are in the presence of God in heaven. The temple was like an outpost of heaven to which His people could come.
The temple was really a place for God to dwell among His people, rather than just being a place for the people of God to come and worship. The inside dimensions were not to accommodate as many people as possible because almost all of the people 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 going on. Every family would be affected in some way - either in providing labor or material.
The magnificent building would be talked about and wondered at because of its beauty and what it represented. Later on, 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 for a palace for God. It is a danger to us as well 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 little part of what it means to gather unto Lord Jesus Christ. 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.
1Kings 6:7. “And the house, when it was in building, was made of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.”
STONE MADE READY. There was not sound of industry – no sound of change; Only the voices of laboring men The plans had been made – out of range Of the site where God dwelt when done - Were the harsh sounds of hammer, shovel and saw Each used by hands of developing skill From the forest and mines, from quarries came all Ready to be joined, a purpose to fulfill.
The temple is rising as from different places and lands. Material is being readied and then each piece added To the dwelling places of God not made with hands And living stones form together God’s heart to gladden. Some heard the Word read; many heard the Word spoken Every one brought together in the house of the Lord.
We won’t see the building until as the bride of the King All of us live there in the Father’s house. Each person comes with their unique features to bring Having been formed to fit as the Architect chooses. As the Bride of the Lamb, or 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.
“I think today, Gracious God, of the work going on all over the world. I do not know much of the activities that are bringing people into the kingdom of God, but I pray You will prosper their work. I am rejoicing and anticipating the day when we are all together. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”