1 Kings 5
- 1 Kings 4 has given us a picture of a very wise Solomon. 1 Kings 5 shows a Solomon who lacks wisdom both for the short term and the long term.
- 1 Kings 5.1 “friendly terms” is literally “loving David” which is political language for being allies. Hiram is checking out whether the alliance is going to continue.
- 5.2ff: Solomon’s letter to Hiram points out that he is following in David’s footsteps so there is no need for a change in political alliances.
- 5.4: Solomon points out that to take on a huge building project that he needed to have peace (shalom) and God has granted that. Again, in one of the on going themes of Kings we see that God has kept his promises to Israel by giving the nation rest.
- 5.6: Solomon’s terms for receiving the wood he needs for building the temple. These terms are rejected by Hiram in verses 8-11.
- 5.8: Hiram says that only his men will be used for felling the trees. Solomon may have hoped to have his men learn from Hiram’s men, but Hiram is not letting out an of his “industrial” secrets.
- 5.10-11: The financial deal that is struck is hugely expensive. Almost 2/3 of the annual harvest intake of Solomon is given to Hiram—plus he givens him a lot of Olive Oil.
- 5.12: The comment that God gave Solomon wisdom is most likely ironic i.e. God gave Solomon wisdom, but he sure didn’t use it in this deal with Hiram.
1 Kings 6
1 Kings 6 tells of Solomon’s building of the temple and God’s refocusing of Solomon’s priorities.
- 6.1 480 years may be symbolic rather than literal. It may symbolize 12 generations from leaving Egypt.
- 6.2 “Temple of the LORD” (NIV) is literally “the house of Yahweh”. This is important to remember because the people of Israel considered the temple to be God’s house, the place where he dwelled. This impacted how they approached the temple, the joy of having the temple in their midst, and the reason why it was important for people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts. Another note on this is that in Acts 2 where told that the disciples are at the house on the day of Pentecost. The house here refers to the temple.
- 6.2 “Temple” – house, one of the things that we often fail to realize is that the temple is not unique in it’s construction. Many temples of that day have the same basic structure—the portico, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. Also, many temples were covered with gold (vss. 21-22) and Cherubim were common figures both in temples and in throne rooms (vs. 23ff.) as symbols of protection. What sets the House off from all the other temples of the day is not its structure but the Ark of the Covenant inside which represents the throne of God and the covenant that he has made with his people. Other religions had an idol at the center that they sought to manipulate to get what they wanted, Israel had the Ark of the Covenant at the center that reminded them that Yahweh was their God and they were his people called to serve him.
- 6.11-13: As the first part of the House is constructed Yahweh comes to Solomon and reminds him that while the House is Solomon’s first priority, it is not Yahweh’s. God’s first priority is a people who live out the covenant faithfully—and a king who lives out that covenant faithfully. If the king fails, not only will God not inhabit the temple, God will withdraw from all of Israel.
2 Chronicles 2
- 2.3: It is interesting that the land of Israel does not have all the natural resources to build a temple worthy of the God of Israel. One wonders if there is a hint behind this need for other resources the words of the Psalmist, “The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it.” Because of the earth belongs to Yahweh, materials must be marshaled from many parts of it if God is truly going to be honored. This marshaling of resources also anticipates both the words of Isaiah and Revelation where we see the wealth of the nations being brought in.
- 2.6: In a theme that will return in his prayer of dedication Solomon declares that Yahweh, unlike the gods of the others nations, is not a regional deity who rules over only a small part of the earth. Instead he is the great God who can’t be contained by even the highest of heavens. This concept of Yahweh ruling over the entire earth is unique to the time and understanding of the gods.
- 2.7: We again see the investment of the nations in the building of the temple. This time it is the skills of the nations that are being brought in. These skills remind us that God can use the skills and wisdom of those outside his kingdom to accomplish his work. The word “skilled” is the same word as “wisdom”. This word connects with God’s blessing to Solomon of wisdom to rule. As he needs wisdom to rule, he also needs wisdom/skill to rightly build a temple for Yahweh.
2 Chronciles 3
- 2 Chronicles 3.1: The story of how this piece of land is acquired and how it is connected with God’s gracious ending of his punishment of David is found in 2 Samuel 24.
- 3.1: Mount Moriah is also the place that Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22). It is on this mountain that “God himself provided the lamb.
- 3.17: The two pillars (Jachim means “he establishes”; Boaz means “in him there is strength”) speak of God establishing his covenant with his people and his strength to maintain it. Those who saw those two pillars remembered God’s covenant promises and his ability to make those promises a reality. At the same time, there was the reminder of their need to be faithful to their part of the covenant.
7 comments:
I read an artical recently about the temple.. it spoke of us being built like the temple and in 1 Corin. 6:19 and a few other places in the Word we are reminded that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Temple had an outer court, an inner court, and the Holy of Holies (where God lives).
The outer court is where Jesus overturned the tables of the money changers that had gotten defiled and was suppose to be called the "House of Prayer" and was in need of being restored to what it was intended for.
Defilement is not in the spirit of a Christian, where God lives, but in the outter courts of our minds, and emotions and body.
I have been pondering this..
Reading about Solomon's temple reminded me again of these parts and the symbols they represent.
Does anyone have any thoughts on this?
I would love to hear.
Thank you for sharing, this was exactly what I needed to hear today!
I have been growing a lot spiritually - reading my Bible every day, praying for others instead of just being frustrated with them...
But, while my heart of hearts (like the Holy of Holies) grows closer to God and more Christ like, I still find myself "entertaining money changers in my outer courts" as I entertain gluttonous behavior and negative self talk. What you shared helped me to visualize myself sitting and talking with Jesus in the outer courts instead.
God's Word is in my heart (Psalm 119:11) (the Holy of Holies), Jesus is "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) (so He is also the ultimate sacrifice for me), but He is also my friend (John 15:15) (so He also wants to walk with me and talk with me in my "outer courts" as well). We serve a perfect and complete God!
1 Kings 5:13 My translation say that Solomon levied "forced laborers". The ESV is very similar in translation. Are we to understand this as "forced" against their own will?
Rich,
This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service. As we can see in the following verses Solomon was sensitive to their needs to be home and pulling long hours at "the office." I would liken this to us being chosen for a lengthy Jury Duty :)
Kristin,
Thanks for sharing .....I was thinking of the "Holy of Holies" as the covenant place, a secure place, where God lives once we accept Him and then "nothing in all creation can seperate us from Him", and then the next court out, the inner court, would be where we would place His Truth, or Word, I believe that place is called the "Holy Place", that is where the shew bread and lamp and incense was offered.
Then the outter court would be more open to "outside" things, to curruption.
Just my thoughts on this....
Our God is so symbolic that I wonder if there is something in this that we need to think about more....
Anyone else have some insites....?
That is just my take.
The other thing it is important to remember is that most often when the Bible talks about us being the body of Christ it is not talking about each of us, but rather the church (for instance, the church is the bride of Christ, not each of us individually). The main thrust of the NT is we are the body together.
Thank you Rich for posting that question, I was also wondering about that terminology.
Thank you Ryan for your interpretation, I found it very helpful. What you shared makes me consider "forced" to be indicative of the hard kind of work and not "forced against our will" which is how I had read it yet that didn't seem correct given the time off. Slaves don't usually get a day off let alone two months.
Thank you Terri.
Spirit = Holy of Holies (a covenant place) (is this perhaps also the part of us that is seated with Christ [Eph. 2:6]?)
Soul = Holy Place (an offering place)
Body = a place of Sacrifices and Cleansings
I appreciate how you explained this. It gives more definition to Neil T. Anderson's diagram of this (in Discipleship Counseling p.64). I always agreed in theory with his diagram but I really needed this Biblical foundation to see how God wants me to walk it out. Thank you :)
And thank you Larry!
Of all the Christian camps and churches I've been a part of, it is EGM where I have finally felt like a functioning part of the body of Christ :) I pray my "offerings, sacrifices, and cleansings" are a sweet aroma to our Lord - helping to present His bride in a way that blesses God and honors His holy name. I am so privileged and blessed to be a part of EGM!
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