Solomon’s Temple
First Kings 5:1 to 7:51 and
Second Chronicles 2:1-18
Surely, I will not enter the house where I live or get into my bed, I will not allow myself to sleep or even close my eyes, until I find a place for ADONAI, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob (Psalm 132:3-5). So wrote King David, for it was his passionate desire to build a Temple for the glory of the LORD. Just one thing have I asked of ADONAI; only this will I seek: to live in the house of ADONAI all the days of my life, to see the beauty of ADONAI and visit in His Temple (Psalm 27:4). God knew David’s heart, but He made it clear that He had other plans for His beloved servant (Second Samuel 7). David was so busy fighting wars and expanding and defending the borders of the kingdom of Isra’el that he didn’t have time to supervise such a complex and demanding undertaking. Solomon, the man of peace, was God’s choice to build the Temple, and his father prepared him for the task (see the commentary on the Life of David, to see link click Fd – David Provided Resources for Building the Temple), and encouraged him to do so (see the Life of David Fc – David’s Charge to Solomon Regarding the Temple).
Since the days of Moshe, the people of Isra’el had brought their sacrifices and offerings to the Tabernacle, but now they were no longer pilgrim people, but a nation settled in their own land. The Tabernacle was a fragile, portable building for use in the wilderness. But the time had come for Isra’el to build a Temple to their great God. The nations around them had temples dedicated to their false gods, so it was only right that the people of Isra’el dedicate a magnificent Temple to honor the true and living God. In the second month (our April/May) of the year 966 BC, the fourth year of his reign, Solomon began the work, and these chapters record the several stages of that project (to see a video of Solomon’s Temple click here). 109
Leave A Comment