Audio Access Available Above
"What
Matters Most" • 12.4.16 • Calvary Christian
Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Last week, we made note of Solomon's agreement with the Gentile King of
Tyre, Hiram, who would provide cedar and cypress trees for the construction of
the temple.
- We continue now as we study Solomon's achievement in constructing the temple
of God. Text
• I Kings 6:1,2 : "And it came to pass
in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel
had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over
Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build
the house of the Lord. Now the house which King Solomon built for
the Lord, its length was
sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits." : The
author notes this passage of time, connecting the building of the temple to the
night of the Exodus.
- Some scholars contend that Solomon had begun
to negotiate with Hiram, the King of Tyre, early in his reign and that it took
Hiram until this 4th year and second month to fulfill his part.
- While there isn't any consensus on what
actually took place, whether he delayed purposely or was delayed by Hiram,
there was a date in history that is measurable for the beginning of this
project.
- The house is measured in cubits, which relate
generally to the space between the tip of the elbow to the top of a man's
middle finger. A single cubit is roughly 18 inches.
- Given that measurement, the Temple was 90
feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet high. As far as a Temple goes, this is not
as large as you might think.
- The Temple wasn't great because of it's size.
In that respect, it's quite understated. It was great for it's advancement of
building arts but particularly for it's association with the Name of God!
- Some Christians may wonder, as I once did,
how they fit so many people into the Temple, given the number of people we see
gathered there in the gospels and Acts.
- Originally, this house was used solely by the
Priests. Later, Herod would build a much larger complex to accomodate larger
numbers.
- As far as this house, keep in mind that this
is not an architechtural feat of Solomon's dreams. The plan for the temple had
been delivered to Solomon by David, who received it from the Lord!
- I
Chronicles 28:11,12 give us the details of that transmission. As we walk toward
the temple, we begin with the view of the vestibule or the entry way. Verse 3.
• I Kings 6:3,4 : "The vestibule in
front of the sanctuary of the house was twenty cubits long across
the width of the house, and the width of the vestibule extended ten cubits from the front of
the house. And he made for the house windows with beveled frames." : The
word "porch" might make a bit more sense than the word
"vestibule." The porch area fit the width of the Temple and extended
out from it for 15 feet.
- The building was outfitted with recessed
windows to allow light to flow into the house, as well as for ventilation. Verse
5.
• I Kings 6:5,6 : "Against the wall of
the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all
around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all
around it. The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six
cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges
around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be
fastened into the walls of the temple." : Verse 5 reads like this in the NLT:
- "He built a complex of rooms against the
outer walls of the Temple, all the way around the sides and rear of the
building."
- These chambers or side rooms were affixed to
the walls. Their primary use was to support the building and were likely
employed for storage.
- These rooms kept the architects from having
to take away from the beauty of the Temple.
• I Kings
6:7-10 : "And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone
finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard
in the temple while it was being built. The doorway for the middle story was on the right
side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the
middle to the third. So
he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and
boards of cedar. And he built side chambers
against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the
temple with cedar beams." : The Temple was to be a
place of peace. Solomon understood this and made sure that all the cutting and
fitting of the stones took place at the quarry.
-
Now, you can be sure that the quarry was a noisy place where 330,000
supervisors yelled at the 150,000 workmen that were assembled there.
-
But you would not know any of that chaos when you came to the site. It was
delivered to the site and pieced together in relative silence. There is a
wonderful truth illustrated here.
-
The place of worship is always place of peace in the life of a believer. This
is a refuge for all.
-
But who we are as worshippers is predicated on what is built in our lives
elsewhere!
-
There is a hammer and chisel effect going on during the week as you serve Him
and obey Him in your varying circumstances.
-
When you come to worship, you are a fit among other "stones,"
assembled to honor God! If you come in feeling beat up from the week, take
heart in the knowledge that you are not alone!
-
Solomon's men finished with the walls, the storage chambers and the stairways
leading up through them. From there, he attached the ceiling to the temple, the
roof over the house.
-
We are looking at the whole house without it's divisions, perhaps even from an
external view. The building itself is taking shape.
-
As Solomon begins to focus on the inside of the building, God interrupts his
work with a word.
•
I Kings 6:11-13 : "Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: 'Concerning this temple which you
are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My
commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I
spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not
forsake My people Israel.'" : The
phrase "word of the Lord" suggests that this was delivered to Solomon
through a prophet.
-
There are those that believe that the books of Kings were written by a prophet
and indeed, prophets play a prominent role in the stories that are forthcoming.
-
The word itself regards the Temple that Solomon was building. It was to be an
ornate building for it's time. To any eye that was watching, the Temple was
going to be incredibly impressive.
-
Even now, with only the shell in place, the anticipation of it's glory was
growing.
-
You'd think that God was coming to compliment him. However, the tenor of the
message takes a different tone. At
first, it seems as though it has no relevance to the building at all.
-
It's a reminder from God that Solomon is to walk in His statutes. This is
virtually a restatement of what David had spoken to Solomon in I Kings 2:2-4.
-
When your Father and God the Father speak the same thing to you, you had better
think!
-
God speaks here before Solomon begins to build the inside of the building, which
is the true place of honor and importance.
-
If the temple structure is to have it's greatest power, the people who come to
it must have a commitment to the Word. God's word is to shape the course of the
King's life.
-
He's to execute, to bring to pass, all of God's judgments. As the King
especially, God's rule is to be extended through him to the people of God.
-
He is to keep, to preserve all of God's commandments and walk in them.
-
Don't just recognize them as God's commandments, but honor them by personal obedience.
- This is the King of Israel! He is the
greatest King in that part of the world in that day and God talks to him as
though he were His own little child! But that is exactly what he is!
-
When God made His promise to David, He promised that he would treat Solomon
this way, chastening him if the need arose. (II Samuel 7:14) Solomon is subject to God's word as any son is!
-
God looked in upon His son with what amounts to a warning. He does the same for
every single one of us that belong to Him! None of us is above hearing such a
thing from the Lord!
-
Perhaps you chafe at hearing it again, but I warn you that it can never be
heard enough, especially if the God of the Universe takes time in the Bible to repeat
it!
-
God is calling us all to have this heart attitude of submission with regard to
His Word. This part is universal! We aren't to be hearers only.
-
Some foolishly believe that hearing alone makes them godly people. Nothing
could be further from the truth! God is honored, worshipped by those who seek
to live out His Word!
-
God is calling you to walk in His ways, meaning that you must forsake your own
ways! Every family on earth has a "way." You hear people say it all
the time. "It's just our way."
-
If your families way is governed by Biblical principles, by all means, follow
your family way. But if your family way conflicts with God's Biblical way, your
allegiance as a Christian is to God!
-
You are a new creation in Christ! Old things have passed away. Old habits die
hard, so you had better be resolved to "kill them harder" by
submitting yourself to God's Word!
-
He's calling you to be the executor of His will, meaning that you find your
will to be secondary to His. These were Christ's exact words from Gethsemane,
when He contemplated the Cross.
-
"If there be no other way, then Your will, not my will be done!" Is
that your heart toward God's Word? God's commandments are not mere suggestions!
-
Why do you think that God needed to give Solomon this word now? Could it be
that he was becoming increasingly impressed with the temple and forgetting the
God of it?
-
Was he beginning to relate more to God though what he was doing for Him, rather
than what he was toward Him? Either could be true.
-
Can you not hear the Lord's intent as He speaks to Solomon? "Solomon, I
created the heavens and the earth in 7 days with the power of my own
speech!"
-
"Solomon, don't lose the sight of who I am to you and what matters most to
me! Your relationship with me isn't based on what you do for me, but what you
are for me!"
-
These are good reminders for us as well. Doing something for God will never replace
a heart that is responsive, obedient and loving toward God!
-
God says all of this to Solomon before he begins to complete the inner portions
of the temple.
-
The significance can't be overlooked: Be sure that the inside of you matches
the glory that you plan for the inside of this building!
-
Without obedience, you can build the most beautiful building and it will lay
empty because God will not honor it with His presence! It won't matter how
beautiful you make it!
-
May I say to our hearts today: It doesn't matter what the outside of your life
looks like if there isn't a heart that beats for Him inside! This is a warning
for every heart in hearing distance.
-
This warning was also intended for the nation of Israel. Why else is it
recorded? Soon, they would have such pride in simply having the temple that
they forsook the God of the Temple!
-
This next phrase is specific to Solomon. God's promise to Solomon was conditioned
upon His obedience. Notice the language carefully. "If you do these
things, then I will do these things!"
-
This is typical Old Testament, covenant language. In this case, God promises to
perform His word that He had spoken to David particularly about Solomon.
-
He would be with the King and establish his Kingdom. (II Samuel 7:8) More importantly, God would dwell, He would settle
down among His people and never leave them.
-
Solomon's response to God's Word would trickle down to the people. If he held
God's Word at a premium, God's people would follow with the same heart and
attitude.
-
No wonder God would promise to settle down in such an environment! Ultimately,
that was to be the goal of the Temple. Verse 14.
•
I Kings 6:14-18 : "So Solomon built the temple and
finished it. And
he built the inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of
the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and he covered the
floor of the temple with planks of cypress. Then he built the twenty-cubit room
at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built
it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. And in front of it the temple
sanctuary was forty cubits long. The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds
and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen." : The inside was divided into the inner and out sanctuary, 30
feet and 60 feet respectively.
-
All was made with cedar, with these ornate carvings of buds and open flowers.
-
Are there symbols here or are these simply artistic renderings for the sake of
art and beauty? When I think of buds and flowers, I can't help but think of
life and beauty.
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I can't help but think of flourishing health, which is the state that all of
God's priests live in when they are serving their God! That is who would be in
this room!
-
God's priests, who often dealt with death and sacrifice, would only have to
look at the wall to be reminded that God is not the God of the dead, but of the
living! Verse 19.
•
I Kings 6:19-28 : "And he prepared the inner sanctuary
inside the temple, to set the ark of the covenant of the Lord there. The inner sanctuary was twenty
cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high. He overlaid it with
pure gold, and overlaid the altar of cedar. So Solomon overlaid the inside of
the temple with pure gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the
inner sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. The whole temple he overlaid with
gold, until he had finished all the temple; also he overlaid with gold the
entire altar that was by the inner sanctuary. Inside the inner sanctuary he made
two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. One wing of the cherub was five cubits, and the other wing
of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of
the other. And the other cherub was
ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and shape. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so
was the other cherub. Then he set the cherubim
inside the inner room; and they stretched out the wings of the
cherubim so that the wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the
other cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each other in the
middle of the room. Also he overlaid the
cherubim with gold." : The inner sanctuary corresponds
to the Holy of Holies. Solomon readied this room for the ark of the covenant!
-
The symbol of God's throne, the ark of the covenant was going to be stationed
in it! You'll notice that the inner sanctuary is a perfect cube. New Jerusalem will
be a much larger cube!
-
Once the rooms were made, they were overlaid with pure gold. Today, our gold
standard is 24 karat. The gold of the ancient world was of a much more refined
quality.
-
One commentator that I listened to noted that the gold found in Pharaoh's tombs
had an almost translucent quality to them! The gold was solid, but light could
be observed through it!
-
The whole temple was overlaid with gold. Today, gold sells for $1,179.90 per
ounce.
-
In order to overlay the entire Temple with pure gold, one would need well over
a billion dollars to perform this single task alone! Can you imagine entering
into this temple?
-
I wouldn't want to touch a single thing! Everything within eyesight would be
too much for me to purchase if I broke it! The vast wealth represented would
have taken a person's breath away!
-
The Most Holy Place had ornamental buds and open flowers carved into the wood,
but the inner sanctuary was accompanied by these 8 foot cherubim carved out of
olive wood.
-
Every priest knows the beauty of this life but only the High Priest would get
to see the magnificence of what heaven was like!
-
The powerful angels, the cherubim, stand in the very presence of God, ready to
serve at His beck and call! The High Priest would walk into a very privileged
but fearful place!
•
I Kings 6:29-36 : "Then he carved all the walls of the
temple all around, both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of
cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. And the floor of the temple he
overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries. For the entrance of the inner
sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and doorposts were one-fifth
of the wall. The two doors were of olive wood;
and he carved on them figures of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and
overlaid them with gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm
trees. So for the door of the sanctuary he
also made doorposts of olive wood, one-fourth of the wall. And the two doors were of cypress wood; two panels
comprised one folding door, and two panels comprised the other folding door. Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open
flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work.
And he built the inner court with three rows
of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams." : The
carving work on the temple would have been an amazing thing to observe.
-
Cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. What do they have in common? They are
all God's creation that He deems to put the spotlight upon!
-
Once the walls were carved the floor was overlaid with gold and then the doors
were attached to the temple. They were carved upon and overlaid with gold.
-
Over and over you see the lavish use of gold. Remember that in heaven, the
streets are paved with it! This temple is to remind the people that their God
is in heaven where gold is common!
•
I Kings 6:37,38 : "In the fourth year the foundation
of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the
month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its
details and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it." : Half a million men were involved in this.
-
It took them 7 years to build and it seems, 6 months to finish with the detail
work. They did this all by hand. No modern machinery. No computers.
-
How did it take so many men so long? Think of the conditions that we know
about. The size of the stones were enormous. The movement of the timber was
just as difficult.
-
Think of the time that it takes to carve and to perfect the tiny details that
went into this. Now think of the details that are common to every construction
site.
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When it was finished, it was the jewel of the Nation. Wouldn't you like to have
been there?
Conclusion
- I wonder what
impresses you about this building that we have studied. Perhaps it's the
architecture or the lavish use of gold. Don't miss the point of it all!
- The Temple
was to be the house of God, the place where He would allow His presence to settle
among His obedient people. The greatness of this building begins and ends with
Him!
- Today, you
are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. God has spared no expense in purchasing you,
offering the currency of Christ's blood for your very souls.
- He bought you
and now His Spirit has settled in you. He chisels and hammers upon you, making
you fit with other stones, bringing you and I together to honor God.
- What a
privilege we have! Yet, please heed the warning. Never be so impressed with
what God has done with you, that you forget to be who God has made you to be!
- You are to be
His vessel, His servant and most importantly, His obedient child, who trembles
at His Word. Let us be externally what we are internally: Wholly His!
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