1 Kings 6:1-38
1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.
2 And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.
3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.
4 And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.
5 And against the walla of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:
6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.
7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
8 The door for the middle chamber was in the right sideb of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.
9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,
12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:
13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.
15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.
16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.
17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.
18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with knopsc and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.
19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.
20 And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pured gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.
21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.
22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.
23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olivee tree, each ten cubits high.
24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.
25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.
26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.
27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.
28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.
29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers,f within and without.
30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.
31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.
32 The twog doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.
33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.
34 And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.
35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.
36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:
38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE
(vs.1-38)
The date of the beginning of the temple is given specifically in verse 1 as the 480th year after Israel had left Egypt, which was the 4th year of Solomon's reign, in the month Ziv, the second month of the year (v.1). All that time was required before Israel attained the zenith of their power and splendor. Sadly, it did not last very long - yet it was a fulfillment of God's promise to Israel that He would take Israel from Egypt and establish them in great blessing in the land of promise. The permanent fulfillment of this promise awaits the coming of the Messiah in power and glory, when He will establish Israel in millennial blessing.
The size of the temple was comparatively small, though its splendor was unsurpassed. The temple was 60 by 20 cubits and 30 cubits high (v.2). The vestibule at the front was additional to this, spanning the 20 cubits width and extending ten cubits outward (v.3). The cubit is understood to be between 18 and 22 inches. Surrounding the main building on all sides except the front there were chambers built three stories high, the lower rooms only 5 cubits wide, the middle six cubits and the upper seven cubits (vs.5-6). Their other dimensions are not given.
There was nothing like this in the tabernacle, for the tabernacle symbolizes God's dwelling among a pilgrim people on earth, who had tents rather than any settled dwelling place. The temple pictures the Father's house in heaven. In the temple, however, there could only be a limited number of rooms used by the priests, who were serving in the temple at a given time. But the Lord Jesus says, "In My Father's house are many mansions" (John 14:2). Thus the type is only a faint picture of the reality. The Lord is virtually saying there is room for all His redeemed people there. The word for "mansions" is better translated "abodes," permanent dwelling places. All believers will have their place there, for all are priests of God and in glory will function in the full capacity of priests, mainly in offering up spiritual sacrifices to God.
Verse 7 informs us that when the stones were quarried they were completely finished at the quarry, formed to exact size to fit in place, so that no hammer, chisel or other tool was heard in the actual building. This required remarkable skill. It pictures the skill of the Lord Jesus in hewing out sinners from the caverns of sin and fitting them perfectly for use in the house of God He is building today, the Church. The work goes on quietly but effectively, with no fanfare or ostentation. The world over the Lord is adding to the Church daily those who are being saved.
The doorway for the stairs up to the second and third floors was on the right side (v.8). Since no other door for the upstairs is mentioned, it seems that there must have been a hallway on the three sides, connecting all the rooms. Each of the rooms was 5 cubits high (v.10), though their length is not mentioned.
The temple inside was paneled with beams and boards of cedar (v.9). The tabernacle was built of acacia boards (Exodus 26:15). Acacia is a hard, desert wood and speaks of humanity in temporary circumstances of desert experience. Those boards picture believers as they are seen even now "in Christ" for they were covered with gold. But the cedar of the temple, a specially enduring wood, speaks of believers in glory, in the Father's house, also clothed with gold, the symbol of divine glory, reflecting the beauty of Christ for eternity, not only on earth.
While the temple was still in building, God spoke to Solomon, telling him seriously that God's dwelling in the temple would be conditional upon Solomon's obedience to God's statutes, his executing God's judgments and keeping His commandments (vs.11-13). How different this is to the fact that the Church of God is now established as "a habitation of God in the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:21). God's presence in the Church is not conditional on our obedience, but is based upon the permanent value of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, a divine work, with no condition of man's work involved at all.
Neither Solomon personally nor his family nor his subjects fulfilled the conditions God set down, so that eventually God withdrew from the temple. Ezekiel records the glory departing in stages (Ezekiel 8:4; Ezekiel 9:3; Ezekiel 10:18; Ezekiel 11:23). God did bear long with Israel's disobedience, but eventually, as the Lord Jesus said, "Your house is left to you desolate" (Matthew 23:38). This was solemnly finalized when the Lord Jesus, the Son over God's house, was rejected and crucified. What could the temple be without its Lord?
The inside walls of the temple were built of cedar from the floor to the ceiling, and the floor with planks of cypress (v.15). Cypress is a hard, durable wood of fragrant smell. Cedar is not so hard but just as durable.
The inner sanctuary also had walls of cedar and was 20 cubits in all three dimensions (vs.16, 20). This was 10 cubits less in height than the temple proper, but nothing is said as to what was done with the other ten cubits. The outer sanctuary was twice the size of the inner, being 40 cubits long and the same width and height. These are the same proportions as are seen in the tabernacle (Exodus 26:15).
The cedar walls were carved with ornamental buds and open flowers (v.18). Of course these would be visible through the overlaying gold. These buds and flowers are a reminder of resurrection life, just as in eternity the Father's house will portray the wonderful joy and beauty of the resurrection of Christ, a life vibrant and eternal.
Then the inner sanctuary was prepared as a place for the ark. This was the only article of furniture inside the holiest of all. It speaks of Christ as the Sustainer of the throne of God, for the mercy-seat covering the ark symbolizes God's throne, which is not only a throne of justice and authority, but a throne of grace or of mercy, from which God's mercy is dispensed to those in need (Hebrews 4:16).
The inner sanctuary was a cube, 20 cubits in length, breadth and height (v.20). This is beautifully symbolic of the Trinity. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The unity and equality of each member of the Trinity is pictured in this. We cannot say that the Father is part of God, nor the Son or the Spirit are part of God. The cube tells us that the Father is God, the Son is God and the Spirit is God; for it could not be said that the length is part of the cube, the width also a part and the height a part. Every point within the cube is comprehended in the length, also in the width and in the height. If one dimension is taken away, nothing is left. Thus, while God is a triune Being, the oneness of the Godhead is also emphasized.
The sanctuary was overlaid with pure gold, and the cedar altar also (v.20). This was evidently the same altar as mentioned in verse 22 which was placed in the outer sanctuary next to the inner sanctuary. This altar was for offering incense. It pictures Christ as the Sustainer of the worship of His people. The altar of burnt offering was outside, for on this were offered the many animals, all of them speaking of the value of the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary for us. Now, being raised from the dead, He "dieth no more," but He receives worship.
Having overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, Solomon also had gold chains stretched across the front of the inner sanctuary. The gold chains were evidently in addition to the doors (v.31). The veil also was in place there, for chapter 8:4 tells us that all the holy furnishings of the tabernacle were brought to the temple; and of course at the time of the death of the Lord Jesus, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. Gold speaks of the beauty of the glory of God, for the temple was His dwelling.
Also, in the inner sanctuary were two cherubim carved from olive wood. The olive is symbolic of Christ from whom the Spirit of God (the oil) is sent from the Father (John 15:26). These were also covered with gold (v.28). Their size was large, with their wings stretched sideways, each measuring 10 cubits from wing tip to wing tip. Being side by side, their inside wings touched each other and the outside wings touched the wall on either side, thus spanning the whole width of 20 cubits. The cherubim symbolize the government of God. Since there were two this reminds us of the perfect balance of God's government, involving both justice and grace which are equally important (vs.22-27).
Besides this all the walls of both the inner and outer sanctuary were carved with figures of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. The number of these is not mentioned, nor the size of the cherubim. Likely they were smaller than the first two mentioned. But God was thus insisting on His government of grace and truth, which people too easily forget. The palm trees speak of Christ who bears fruit with unfailing consistency. The open flowers picture the mature beauty (not buds) of the Lord Jesus. Thus we see the four principles that are of paramount importance if God was to dwell there - grace, truth, fruitfulness and beauty.
Doors of olive wood were made for the entrance to the inner sanctuary (v.31). There were two of these doors and they also had carvings of figures of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers (v.32). In the tabernacle there were no doors, but only a veil, because the tabernacle was temporary as God's dwelling while Israel were journeying in the wilderness; but in the temple there were evidently doors as well as the veil.
There were also doors by which to enter into the outer sanctuary The posts for these were made of olive wood (v.33), but the doors themselves of cypress (v.34). These two had carvings of cherubim, palm trees and open flowers, all overlaid with gold (v.35).
The court surrounding the temple was fenced with three rows of hewn stone and a row of cedar beams (v.36). It may be difficult to envision just what is meant by this, and the spiritual significance of it may be just as difficult to discern.
Seven years were required for the building to be completed. This may seem a long time when so large a number of workmen were engaged in the work, but there had to be painstaking labor involved in the great detail of the work, for the temple pictures the Father's house in glory.