MONDAY
Last week we looked at the meaning of God’s mobile temple—the tabernacle. We saw that the tabernacle was like Eden but with sin in the world now. God’s presence was restricted to sinful humans. To get to the presence of God, sin must be atoned for by sacrifices.
The tabernacle served as the symbol of God’s presence for likely about 450 years or so.* After the time of the judges, we come to the united kingdom era of Israel’s history. The second king ruling the united kingdom, David, sought to built a permanent temple for God, but God tells him that his son will build him his dwelling place (2 Sam. 7:1-17). David gathers the resources for the temple but he doesn’t build it.
1 Chronicles 22:6–10 (NIV) 6 Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the Lord, the God of Israel. 7 David said to Solomon: “My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the Name of the Lord my God. 8 many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. 9 But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. 10 He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’
David is not permitted to because he has shed so much blood in war (1 Chr. 22:8; 28:3). Note that the tabernacle and the temple were built at God’s initiative. Keep this in mind; it will come into play as we continue on with the story of the temple.
Solomon, then, is the king who is to build the temple. Construction of the temple takes seven years (966-959 BC). The temple is like the tabernacle, but bigger. The same primary themes and spaces we talked about last week are present. The temple was structured similarly, containing the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place, the Outer Court. It held the artifacts: the ark of the covenant, the lampstand (10x in Solomon’s temple), the altar of incense, the table of showbread, the altar, and the basin. It was adorned with trees, rivers, and cherubim. The notable difference is the two massive cherubim in the Most Holy Place. Like the cherubim protecting the Garden of Eden, these cherubim are protecting the sacred space of God’s presence, represented in the ark of the covenant.**
For the rest of today, take some time to familiarize yourself with the temple construction. I’ve included pictures below and some videos that should give you a good picture of the temple.
*There is some debate as to the date of the Exodus. Some argue for the 12th c. BC while others argue for the 14th c. BC. It doesn’t really make much of a different.
**The description of cherubim in the Bible is an interesting rabbit trail we could track, but we don’t have time to do so now. Ezekiel sees a few visions of them and John in Revelation sees visions of them. In all, a cherubim is not a cute little winged baby, but a combination of a human, lion, eagle, and maybe even a bull. The idea is power, as these are the dominant creatures in their spheres.
Additional Content
Messages of Christ Solomon's Temple 3D
Messages of Christ Solomon's Temple Explained