May 11, 2024

Rēad to Read …Again

Daily Reading: II Chronicles 4-5

II Chronicles 5:1

Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.

The temple that Solomon built was basically twice the size of the Tabernacle in almost every detail. In our money today it is estimated that the cost of this temple would be somewhere between 2 to 5 billion dollars. Some have said that the craftsmanship was so perfect that it could not be duplicated today. Think about the rudimentary tools they had in 982 – 975 B.C. (it took 7 years to build). The life of this temple was relatively short lived as it was, it stood for about 400 years being totally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. But it was plundered of all its gold and precious accruements within five years after Solomon’s death.

There are a few outstanding features of the building of this temple that are worth knowing.

One. The plans for Solomon’s temple were given to his father David by the hand of God. When David related to the people of Israel the details of the Temple that his son would build, he said this, All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern. (I Chronicles 28:19) Just like God showed Moses the pattern for the tabernacle in the wilderness, God also showed David the pattern for the great temple. Only God, and He alone, has the right to determine the kind of house in which He will dwell. This is why the New Testament is so exact about the type of life a believer in Christ should live, for He lives in them, through the Holy Spirit.

Two. According to I Chronicles 22:5 the temple was to be exceedingly magnifical. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries…  Every child of God in the New Testament era should also attempt in everything to make their body, and their lives, exceeding magnifical, for in them He dwells.

Three. David prepared much of the building materials including the gold and silver for the temple before he died. The second part of I Chronicles 22:5 proves this, …I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. Likewise, a Bible believing Christian today should prepare abundantly before their death the “gold, silver, and precious stones” as one day our works prior to death will be judged. See I Corinthians 3:10-14. Someone may ask, “Why should I care about rewards in heaven?”  The only answer is that when they see those rewards, they will desire greatly to receive them.

Four. Think about this. The temple was built by 30,000 Israelites, and 150,000 Canaanites (I Kings 5:13-16, II Chronicles 2:17,18, 8:7-9). Every part was prepared some distance away, put into place, all without one sound of a hammer or any other tool. (I Kings 6:7).

These are amazing! It was amazing! But nowhere near as amazing as the Lord it represented and housed. He is still amazing today!

Dr. William T. Howe