Lesson 257 - Junior

Memory Verse

"Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it:  except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain" (Psalm 127:1).

Notes

God's Plan

With a command from the Lord to carry out a duty, there always comes the needed wisdom to fulfil that command. When God told Noah to build an ark, He also gave the plans for that great ship. When the Lord commanded Moses to erect a Tabernacle in the wilderness, He gave detailed instructions for the same. Now when a Temple was to be built in Jerusalem, the same God gave the pattern to David, who said, "The LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern" [1CH:28:19]).

David's Last Days

One day David said to Solomon his son, "It was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God" [1CH:22:7]). Then he told of the gold, silver, brass, iron, timber, and stone that he had prepared. "And," he said, "thou mayest add thereto." Then, like the God-fearing father that he was, he said, "Arise therefore, and be doing, and the LORD be with thee" [1CH:22:14], [1CH:22:16]).

David well knew that the task was by no means a small one. He asked the people, "Who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the LORD?" Surely David's last days were his best. How happy he now was when "with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy"[1CH:29:5], [1CH:29:9]). Let us listen to a few words taken from David's prayer just before his death: "Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty:... thine is the kingdom, O LORD,... all this store that we have prepared to build thee an house for thine holy name cometh of thine hand, and is all thine own" [1CH:29:11], [1CH:29:16]). Does this not remind you of the prayer our Saviour taught us to pray?

In answer to David's prayer that the Lord would give Solomon a perfect heart, "to keep thy commandments,... and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision" [1CH:29:19]) and also in answer to Solomon's request of the Lord, God gave Solomon wisdom, knowledge, riches, and honour.

The Time and Place

After the death of David, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, in the second month, he began to build the House of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.

Had we lived in those days of long, long ago, and had stationed ourselves upon one of the four mountains on which Jerusalem is built, and had looked to the east, we could have seen the distant windings of the Jordan River and the grey of the Dead Sea. Looking to the south, we could have viewed the hill country of Judea and Bethlehem; and looking to the west, we may have seen a haze on the distant horizon, which marked the line of the Great Sea. Just below lay the valley cut by the Brook Kidron, over which our Saviour passed the night He was betrayed in the Garden.

Willing Skilful Workers

Shall we turn back the pages of history and briefly follow the construction of Solomon's Temple? There were no labour troubles -" a job for every man and a man for every job. Just as David had said, "There shall be with thee for all manner of workmanship every willing skilful man,..." [1CH:28:21]). Huge stones were excavated from limestone quarries, then chiselled and cut to size before taken to the Temple site. Some stones have been found at the Temple site, which are 40 feet long and five and six feet thick, weighing more than 100 tons. The top of the mountain was greatly enlarged, in order to accommodate the Temple and surrounding courts, by placing these stones around the sides of the mountain, and supporting them with immense pillars. Thus were formed terrace upon terrace and huge underground caverns. We read that Solomon owned 40,000 horses. The remains of underground stables for horses and places for chariots have been uncovered. Double doors gave access from the street to row of stalls, paved with rough stones to keep the horses from slipping. Holes to halter the horses, hitching poles, and stone mangers have been found.

The Cedars of Lebanon

Off to the Lebanon forests went the woodcutters. There they cut the mammoth cedars, a very valuable variety, which could be beautifully carved. There was no power equipment, so the work was done by hand, which accounts for the great number of men needed to do the work. There must have been great joy in the hearts of the woodcutters as 10,000 axes swung back and forth; 10,000 men with hearts beating as one man, with but one objective " building the Lord's house. Then they cry, "Timber!" as a giant cedar crashes to the earth -" another beam for the Lord's house. After a month of hard work they returned home for a period of two months, to be replaced by another 10,000. Thus 80,000 workmen and 3,300 officers were responsible for this part of the work. Then to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea some of the 70,000 burden-bearers carried the cedars. Huge rafts floated down the sea to Joppa, from where the cedars must be taken across country to Jerusalem. There, without axe, hammer, or any tool of iron, each piece was put into place [1KG:6:7]). Much fir was also needed, for the floor was planked with fir.

Solomon's navy brought gold from faraway Ophir, which meant a three-year voyage for the ocean-going vessels of those early days, for the Suez Canal did not then exist.

The Holy Place

The Temple proper was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high, all of cedar overlaid with gold. The Oracle, or Holy of Holies, was separated from the Holy Place by the blue, purple, and crimson veil [2CH:3:14]). The Oracle was a perfect cube, 30 feet each way. Inside this room were two cherubims of olive wood, overlaid with gold, each 15 feet high, and from tip to tip of wings also measured 15 feet. Can you imagine the breath-taking beauty of this scene, the wing of the one touching the wing of the other and their opposite wings touching the wall, their faces looking down upon the spot where the Ark was to be placed? The walls had carved figures of cherubims, palm trees, and open flowers, covered with gold. Even the floor was overlaid with pure gold, as was also the altar of cedar, in the Holy Place. David had provided pure gold for the Temple; and is it not interesting to note that for the altar of incense, which is a type of sanctification, he had provided refined gold? [1CH:28:18]).

According to Plan

Solomon built also the court, which contained the brazen altar, which typifies salvation. Everything was made according to the plan of God, and very much like the Tabernacle in the wilderness. However, the Temple was much more costly and its dimensions were double those of the Tabernacle. Its value has been estimated at between two and five billions of Naira.

Two huge pillars stood just outside the Temple, with chains on the top from which hung 100 pomegranates of brass. Let us consider for a moment the porch in front of the Temple. It was 30 feet long and 180 feet high, the inside of which was overlaid with pure gold. Imagine a church tower about as high as a 15-story building -" all gold within!

The Temple was not an edifice like our present churches that accommodate a congregation, but was for the purpose of conducting the worship service; and the congregation was on the outside. (See Lesson No. 70, Book Six, for worship service.) The Temple proper was completed in seven and a half years but an additional 13 years was required for the completion of Solomon's house, the magnificent galleries, courts, porches, and halls. Only if we had lived in the days of Solomon, and, like the Queen of Sheba, had seen the House of the Lord, could we fully comprehend the beauty of the Temple, the size of the stones, the elaborate carvings and decorations of gold.

The Old and the New Jerusalem

Not only in Palestine, but in all the then-known world, the Temple in Jerusalem was the centre of Jewish worship; and every synagogue faced toward the Temple. Daniel, while in captivity, many years later, opened his windows toward Jerusalem and prayed, although at that time the Temple lay in ruins.

Today, are the windows of your soul open toward Jerusalem? Not toward the city that has been three times destroyed and rebuilt, but toward that heavenly Jerusalem? Are you looking, as Abraham of old, "for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" [HEB:11:10])? Are you longing to see that City of pure gold which John saw, "the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven" [REV:21:2])? If so, you must prepare for that place. If you expect to fit into that beautiful Temple above, you must be shaped and tooled here below in order that you may be placed into that structure without the sound of a hammer. How do we receive this shaping and cutting and refining? "Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" [JER:23:29]). God's Word can burn out of the heart all undesirable substance; and its hammer can chip away here a little and there a little, if one will but yield to it.

Our Building

Another word picture we find in the Bible shows you and me each erecting a building. We need not go to the Lebanon forests for cedar, the quarries for stone, the plains of Jordan for brass, or to Ophir for gold. Instead, we dig into the Word of God. There we find our building supplies and at the altar of prayer God provides our needs.

The very first step in the construction of our temple is to go to Jesus Christ, who is the Foundation: "But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ" [1CO:3:10-11]). Through His Word we learn that the most important parts of the temple are the three experiences of Justification, Sanctification and the Baptism of the Holy Ghost. These experiences were represented in Solomon's Temple by the brazen altar in the outer court, the golden altar in the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies behind the veil, or curtain.

After these spiritual experiences have been received let us carefully select only the best materials for the interior decoration. Just as Solomon brought pure gold to the Temple at Jerusalem, we must place the very best substance in our building. Much prayer and consecration are needed in our structure, also obedience and love, mixed with the substance of faith. We learn that the trial of faith is much more precious than gold [1PE:1:7]), and we decorate our temple with "the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit." Another improvement is wisdom, called "an ornament of grace" [PRO:4:9]).

Let us continue to improve, polish and decorate our hearts with indestructible materials. Then, when the fire comes that shall try every man's work of what sort it is, our "building," unlike the Temple in Jerusalem that was thrice destroyed, will abide, and we shall receive a rich reward [1CO:3:13-14]).

Questions

1. Why could not David build the House of the Lord?

2. Did King Hiram co-operate with Solomon?

3. How did King Solomon pay Hiram's men?

4. How many hewers in the mountains did the king have?

5. How long had Solomon been king when he began to build the Temple?

6. What was the size of the Temple?

7. Describe the Oracle, where the Ark was to be kept.

8. Do you think Solomon used any inferior materials?

9. What may we learn from this?

10. How long was Solomon in building the Temple?