1 KINGS

Solomon's Massive Building Projects

1 Kings 5:1-7:51

INTRODUCTION

Normally when we think of the wisdom God gave to Solomon, we think only of the incidents of God speaking to Solomon at Gibeon and of the 2 women who claimed the same baby to be their own. The theme of Solomon’s wisdom though pervades the major part of the story of Solomon. Not only later does the Queen of Sheba marvel at the wisdom God bestowed upon Solomon, the theme of wisdom plays a prominent role in the present episode, the construction of the Temple and Solomon’s palace. At the very beginning of this episode Hiram, king of Tyre, declares: “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people” (5:7).

Although we do not hear this wisdom spoken of much in the following verses, what follows demonstrates the wisdom God has given to him. Never before had the Israelites embarked upon such an ambitious building program. From the early days of Abraham, the Israelites had been primarily shepherds, only later developing into farmers. For a brief spell were they engaged in the massive building projects of the Egyptians; however, their role in these projects was limited to making bricks, not in designing buildings. This was really a first for the Jewish people. In Israel they might have constructed homes but nothing like the massive buildings of the Solomonic period. As a result Solomon had not been trained to undertake such a massive building program which not only involved amassing building materials and the designing of buildings but also the employment and supervision of over 100,000 workers. The only explanation for his tremendous success was the wisdom God had entrusted to him.

PREPARATION FOR THE BUILDING PROJECTS (5:1-18)

Although God had entrusted Solomon with the wisdom to embark upon these building projects, Solomon still did not have the necessary materials to build these buildings. This provision came in the person of Hiram, king of Tyre, the Phoenician coastal city kingdom located to the north of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea. Upon Solomon’s succession to the throne, Hiram sent a delegation to Jerusalem to congratulate Solomon. Hiram had been a close friend of David as evidenced by the fact that he was acquainted with many of the details regarding the building of the Temple. Hiram wished to maintain a positive relationship with Israel (and therefore Solomon) because his territory was agriculturally challenged. He needed wheat and other grains produced in the fertile valleys of Israel.

Upon receiving Hiram’s delegation, Solomon enters into a friendship treaty with Hiram. Desiring to use only the best materials to build the Temple and his palace, Solomon arranges for Hiram to provide him with massive quantities of cedar wood. Solomon would send workers up to the forests of Lebanon to assist Hiram’s men as they felled the great cedars of Lebanon. To assist the Tyrian workers, Solomon conscripted 30,000 men whom he divided into 3 companies of 10,000. The 3 companies would rotate; they would work a month and be off 2 months so that they could tend to their own lands. In addition to these men, Solomon used the forced laborers of Canaanites in addition to the 70,000 transporters and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains (most likely the rocky areas around Jerusalem). (The question is whether these 150k. workers were forced laborers from the Canaanite population or were paid Israelite workers.)

In exchange for building materials and skilled workers from Hiram, Solomon agrees to send Hiram and Tyre enough food to maintain the Tyrian court for the duration of the building projects: 200,000 bushels of wheat and 200 bushels of the best olive oil (oil produced by unripe olives). Although this arrangement is going to demonstrate Solomon’s “wise” ability to get what he needs for his projects, the truth also is that he is engaging in a lavish expenditure of resources in order to obtain these supplies. Such extravagance at first will be welcomed by the people on account of the project involved (the building of the Temple); years later though this expenditure at the expense of the people and this idea of conscription of the Israelites will undermine the Solomonic dynasty over all Israel. Sacrificing in order to building the Temple for God is one thing; sacrificing in order to build palaces and luxury sweets for a despot is another matter.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE (6:1-38)

The General Overall Description (6:1-10)

The author of 1 Kings points out that the building of the Temple began in the second month (Ziv, our April/May) 480 years after the Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land. This was also the same as the fourth year of Solomon’s reign. This would place the building of the Temple at either 966 or 956 BC. The noting of the time is important because it stands as one of the major time markers in Israel’s history. Israel spends 430 years in Egypt (1876-1446 BC); after another 480 years (966 BC) Solomon builds the Temple; approximately 400 years later the Temple is destroyed and the Jews are sent into exile (586 BC); another 580 years later the Christ is born (4-6 BC).

The author of 1 Kings first describes the general overall characteristics of that Temple. Before we look at this in greater detail, we need to know that many of the building terms are obscure to the modern translator of this passage. As a result, we can only take a stab at some of the details of the Temple.

The Temple measured 90 ft. long x 30 ft. wide x 45 ft. high. The building was constructed of stone which had been cut and finely chiseled at the quarries, chiseled not at the site of the Temple. This guaranteed that great quietness surrounded the actual construction of the Temple as a token of reverence towards God. In front of the Temple proper he constructed a porch which was 30 ft. long (in harmony with the width of the Temple) and 15 ft. wide. Solomon most likely had windows put in at the top of building. Most OT scholars claim that these windows had openings which were narrower on the outside and wider on the inside.

Wrapping around the Temple was a 3-storied building. It wrapped around 3 sides of the building; only the front of the building where the porch was located was not wrapped by the 3-storied building. The first story was 7 1/2 ft. wide, while the second story was 9 ft. wide, and the third was 10 1/2 ft. wide. A winding staircase connecting the three floors was what made the difference between the width of the 3 stories. This 3-storied building was most likely used for storing items necessary to maintain the Temple. This 3-storied wrapping was not technically attached to the Temple itself in order to make sure that the Temple was not desecrated. Instead support beams rested upon rebates in the Temple wall.

Although the main part of the Temple was built with stone, Solomon had the interior of the Temple covered with cedar from floor to ceiling. The floor was covered with cypress wood. As a result, no stone was visible.

The Holy of Holies and the Holy Place (6:15-38)

Solomon next divided the interior of the Temple into 2 rooms, the front room measuring 60 ft. long and the back room measuring 30 ft. long. He also lowered the ceiling of the back room from 45 to 30 ft. As a result, the back room to be called “The Holy of Holies” measured 30 ft. x 30 ft. x 30 ft., a cube which was considered perfection in the ancient world. The 2 rooms were separated by a wooden wall made of the cedar wood. Doors in the wall gave access to the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place. 2 Chronicles 3:14 tells us that a curtain also was used in this area to help separate the 2 rooms. It is most likely that the curtain hung within the doorway itself so that whenever the high priest opened the doors, he did not expose the Holy of Holies to the Holy Place. As he passed through the curtains, they immediately closed behind him so that the Holy of Holies remained unseen from the Holy Place.

On the cedar wood in both rooms Solomon had engraved palm trees, gourds, flowers, cherubim. Most likely these engravings were in 3 layers with the middle layer alternating between palm trees and cherubim, and the upper layer composed of the flowers and the lower layer composed of the gourds. Moreover, he overlaid the entire inner structure with gold from top to bottom, including the floor and ceiling. (Many OT scholars have scoffed at this; however, other structures from this time have shown that this in fact is not preposterous; gold would have been used in abundance in constructing this Temple.) The significance of all this will be touched on later.

Inside the Holy of Holies Solomon brought the ark of the covenant which Moses constructed in the Sinai wilderness. In addition to the ark of the covenant being in the Holy of Holies, Solomon had erected 2 cherubim who stood over the ark. Each cherub was 15 feet high. Each one had a wing which stretched outward towards the wall and another which stretched inward towards the ark of the covenant. Each wing was 7 1/2 ft. long. Since there were 4 wings, the total combined length of all the wings was 30 ft. As a result the wings which stretched outwards touched the 2 walls of the Holy of Holies, while the other 2 which stretched inward touched each other. The faces of the 2 cherubim faced the doors of the Holy of Holies. While the ark itself had 2 cherubim which looked down upon the ark, these 2 cherubim had a different purpose. The 2 smaller cherubim on the ark could be transported from place to place with the ark. Whenever Moses broke camp, the priests followed Moses carrying the ark of the covenant; it was very mobile. Not so in this case. Whereas the ark and the tabernacle could be moved all around Israel, these 2 massive cherubim indicated that the time for moving was over. God placed His name upon this site, and He is not going to remove it.

THE TEMPLE FURNISHINGS (7:13-51)

Because of lack of time it is necessary just to touch upon some of the furnishings used in the Temple worship. Inside the Holy Place were 10 lamp stands and 10 tables (all overlaid with gold). The tables served the purpose of displaying the Bread of the Presence (bread which symbolized God was in their midst). (Although the author of 1 Kings does not go into detail regarding this, inside the Holy Place was an altar overlaid with gold which was used to burn incense, a symbol of the prayers of God’s people which moved towards the Holy of Holies. Outside the Temple was the Brazen Sea a large basin/bowl made of brass with a diameter of 15 feet, a depth of 71/2 feet, and a circumference of 45 feet. This was placed upon 12 brass/bronze oxen which were grouped in 3’s with one group facing north, the second east, the third south, and the fourth west. The Brazen Sea rested upon the rumps of the oxen. The priests used the water in the Brazen Sea to cleanse themselves before performing their duties. Also in the courtyard were 10 other bronze/brass stands which supported bronze bowls filled with water; this water was used to cleanse the instruments used in the Temple worship. Also in the courtyard was the altar of burnt offering where the animals were sacrificed.

The Temple is finished 7 years later during the eighth month (Bul) of the 11th year of Solomon’s reign. (Some will criticize Solomon for spending more time on constructing his palace than on constructing the Temple. Remember though that David had already done a lot of the preliminary work on the Temple before he died. This and not sin may account for the difference in the amount of time Solomon himself spent on the Temple construction.)

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE TEMPLE

As glorious and as important as that first Temple was, its significance lay primarily in the fact that it pointed beyond itself to something greater. First, the Temple served as a type of teaching tool God used to instruct the Israelites. Whatever else the Jews should have come away with after viewing the Temple, they should have come away impressed with the enormity of their sins. The great altar outside the Temple itself was used on a daily basis as hundreds of sacrifices were offered for the sins of individuals. The massive Brass Sea was constantly used by the priests to remove the filth and dust of sin from them. Concerning the Temple service and offerings, the author of Hebrews writes: “for in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year” (Heb. 10:3). The Temple itself should have made the people long for the coming of Christ who with His one sacrifice removed sin once and for all (Heb. 10:12, 14).

The exclusive element of the design of the Temple should have made the people long for the coming of Christ. The closer and closer you got to the Holy of Holies where God made His presence known, the fewer the number of people who could get near the Holy of Holies. Outside the courtyard of the priests all Israel could assemble. Within the courtyard of the priests only the Jewish men could enter. Inside the Holy Place only the priests could enter, while within the Holy of Holies only the High Priest could enter and that just once a year. Only He could meet God face to face. With the ripping of the Temple curtain from top to bottom at the death of Christ, all people now have immediate and permanent access to God if they approach Him through Christ.

Next, several features of the Temple can be found in other future persons and structures. For example, after the Temple was built, the people were told to worship God nowhere else. The Temple was now God’s designated place to meet Him. Jesus alluded to as much when He informed the Jewish religious leaders that His body was the true Temple of God (John 2:21) and when He informed the Samaritan woman that He and not the Jerusalem Temple nor the Samaritan Temple was the place to worship God in Spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24). Yes, God did restrict worship to Himself from the time of Solomon to Jesus at the Jerusalem Temple; however, from the time of Christ onward, this worship was strictly localized in the person of Jesus.

The materials and engravings along the walls pointed beyond themselves to an even greater structure, the new Jerusalem. First, like the Holy of Holies the new Jerusalem itself was in the shape of a cube (144k. stadia x 144k. stadia x 144k. stadia). Since God dwelt in both places, the cube which was an ancient symbol of perfection was the only appropriate dwelling place for God. Like the Temple, one of the prominent features of the new Jerusalem is the preponderance of gold. There is so much gold in that new city that even its streets are paved with gold.

Next, the engravings along the walls of the Temple remind us of another place in the OT, the Garden of Eden. The Garden of Eden was noted for not only having lush vegetation (palm trees, opening flowers, and gourds); it was also noted as the place of the cherubim. Because of the curse the cherubim were placed at the entrance to the garden to prevent people from reentering it. God now through the Temple is instructing us that He is in the process of creating a new Eden. In the New Jerusalem we see the new Tree of Life whose fruit gives life and whose leaves give healing to the nations. From the throne proceeds the River of Life which like the river(s) in Eden waters the new Jerusalem. Whereas in the old Garden of Eden the cherubim were symbols of God’s curse upon mankind, in this new Garden the curse has been lifted (Rev. 22:3) so that the cherubim now represent God’s protection, favor, and presence.