Building the temple… (3 things)

• 1^st – The materials for the Temple… vs. 1-18 Read: I Kings 5:1-7
  • 1^st – King Hiram of Tyre sent Ambassadors to the new King of Israel… vs. 1-3
    • Solomon sent a message back to King Hiram – He and King David had been friends…
      • And David had always wanted to build a Temple to God – II Samuel 7:1-2
      • But David was not be allowed to build the Temple because of the wars he fought…
      • I Chronicles 22:8 – “You have killed many men in the great battles you have fought. And since you have shed so much blood before me, you will not be the one to build a Temple to honor my name.”
    • Yet God promised to allow Solomon to fulfill the plan of David – build the Temple…
      • My father always wanted to be a missionary – but he had diabetes and could not go
      • But because he was faithful as a Dad – God called his son to be a missionary!
      • We want things to happen today but God never seems to be in a rush…
      • It might even mean we never see God do a work – he uses our kids / grandkids!
      • God does not work with our time – He fulfills all His promises in His time!
  • 2^nd – Now Israel had no more enemies – they had peace on every side… vs. 4
    • The word enemies – is literally the word satan – satan had been defeated!
    • And without satan there was peace – so it was time to build the Temple!
    • We do not get to ‘hang out’ with Jesus yet – we are still in the battle…
    • Many in the world are still lost – so there is a lot of work to be done…
    • But one day satan will be defeated – and it will be time to worship in the Temple…
    • In heaven we will be able to hang with Jesus and each other for eternity!
  • 3^rd – Solomon asked king Hiram for supplies… vs. 5-12
    • He needed LOTS of cedar trees from Lebanon – to use in building the Temple…
      • The Cedars of Lebanon were famous for their huge size – and durability…
      • They could grow to be over 40m tall – and could be up to 2.5m think!
      • A hard wood – they were perfect for constructing large buildings! 
    • King Hiram agreed to give Solomon as much wood as he wanted…
      • His men would cut the trees – build them into rafts – and float them to Israel…
      • Then from Joppa – II Chronicles 2:16 – Solomon could bring them to Jerusalem…
      • In return Solomon provided food for the people of Tyre every year…
      • 160,000 sacks of rice (270 million) / and 400,000 liters of olive oil (P320 million)…
      • The total cost of materials and labor for the Temple was in the billions!
      • Solomon took the great wealth God had given him – and invested it in the Lord!
      • People waste their entire lives trying to get things that do not last…
      • People work for years in order to afford toys / laptops / cell phones…
      • Things that only last for a few months – then break and are useless…
      • When it is all said and done – they end up with nothing to show for all their work!
      • How much better to invest out time / talents / money – in the Lord!
  • 4^th – Solomon raised a HUGE work force to build the Temple… vs. 13-18
    • There were so many trees harvested – Solomon hired 30,000 men to move them…
      • In shifts of 10,000 – they would be one month in Lebanon / 2 months at home…
      • An additional 70,000 men were hired as helpers on the project…
      • As well as 80,000 stone cutters who provided HUGE bocks for the Temple…
      • The stones were between 10-20m in length – weighing over 50 tons each!
      • Overseeing the project were 3,600 foremen to organize the HUGE work force!
    • In all there were almost 200,000 men working on the project…
      • I once had a pastor tell me – ‘Many hands make for light work’…
      • One man can only accomplish so much – but when many men work together…
      • There is no limit to what they can accomplish for the Lord!
        
• 2^nd – The construciton of the Temple… vs. 1-38 Read: I Kings 6:1-2 / 7 / 11-14
  • 1^st – In the 4^th year of King Solomon’s reign / 480 years after Egypt… vs. 1-6
    • King Solomon began to build the Temple of the Lord – it took 7 years to complete…
      • The Temple was 90’ long / 30’ wide / and 45’ high – larger than the Tabernacle…
      • On the east there was a porch that extended out 15’ from the front of the Temple…
      • The other 3 sides had storerooms / each storeroom was 3 stories high!
      • They were used to store the treasures of the temple – Nehemiah 10:37
    • The inside of the Temple was covered floor to ceiling in pure gold!
      • It was meant to be an awe-inspiring representation of heaven itself!
      • But as amazing as the Temple was – it is nothing compared to heaven…
      • I Corinthians 2:9 – “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
      • Heaven is not the most amazing place we can imagine – beyond our imagination!
      • It will take ages – literally 1000s of years – in heaven for God to reveal it all to us!
  • 2^nd – All of the stones for the Temple were cut away from the site… vs. 7-10
    • There was no hammer or chisel heard inside the Temple…
      • All the stones were finished in the quarry – then just assembled at the site…
      • Each stone was a perfect fit – they did not even need mortar between the stones…
      • To this day you can still see the quarry where Solomon cut out the rocks…
      • On the north side of Jerusalem – by the Damascus gate!
    • When God builds His House He does not use wood and concrete….
      • I Peter 2:5 – “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house…”
      • God uses something far more precious – He uses us to build His house!
    • Did you ever wonder why God did not take us right to heaven when we got saved…
      • Why leave us here on earth where we got through trials and temptations…
      • The reason is because we have a lot of ‘rough edges’ that need to be polished off…
      • We are not going to be ‘chiseled’ / ‘shaped’ in heaven – the work takes place here…
      • God put us through trials to mold/shape us into the people He wants us to be…
      • So that when we arrive in Heaven – we will already be a perfect fit!
  • 3^rd – The Holiest of All… vs. 15-38
    • Inside the Temple – Solomon made a room 30’ long for the Ark of the Covenant…
      • The Temple was divided inside into 2 parts – the Holiest / the Holy of Holies…
        • The Holiest was the 1^st room inside the Temple – only the priest were allowed…
        • The Holy of Holies was the inner room – where the presence of God dwelt…
        • The walls were decorated with carvings fruits and flowers…
        • Against the back wall were two gold Cherubim (angels) – each 15’ high…
        • Their wings stretched 30’ across the whole room – over the Ark of the Covenant…
      • The Ark was a wooden box roughly 4’ x 2’ x 2’ – covered inside and out in gold…
        • The Ark held the 10 commandments written on stone…
        • It was meant to keep the most important of all treasures – the Word of God!
        • The cover for the Ark – was called the ‘Mercy Seat’ – the foot stool of God…
        • It was there – from on top of the Ark – God would speak to the people of Israel…
        • So how can we meet with God – hear from the Lord – today…
        • Through His Word – just like in the Ark – God speaks to us from His Word!
    • Solomon closed the room with two great olive wood doors – covered in gold…
      • Because the way into His presence was closed – Hebrews 9:8
      • When Jesus died – God opened the door that separated man from God!
      • No longer is the way to God closed – it was opened up through the Cross!
      • Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
      • The Holiest of all – is now our family room – where we can boldly enter…
      • Coming to our Father for mercy and Grace whenever we need it!
  • 4^th – The Lord gave a message to Solomon… vs. 11-14
    • The Temple was VERY impressive – but God did not want them to trust in the Temple…
      • God wanted them to remember the Temple was just stone – it had no power to save
      • If Israel thought that because they had the Temple – God was with them…
      • If their faith was in the Temple – then their faith was in the wrong place!
        
    • Our problem is never a lack of faith – it was where our faith is placed…
      • Our faith is only going to be as effective as what we put our faith in…
      • I have seen people put faith in money – but money disappears as quick as it comes…
      • They key to having effective faith – is putting our trust in Jesus!

We will find we are clean – staying away from sin – walking with the Lord!

3^rd – The construciton of the palace… vs. 1-51 Read: I Kings 7:1 / 13-15 / 23-26

1^st – Solomon took 13 years to build his palace… vs. 1-12

The palace was made up of a building called the ‘Forest of Lebanon’…

It likely got its name because of the large quantity of trees used in its construction…

It was 150’ long / 75’ wide / and 45’ long – much larger than the Temple…

The Palace contained the ‘Hall of Pillars’ – almost as large as ‘The Forest’…

It also had the ‘Hall of the Throne’ – where Solomon sat to judge the people…

Finally there were the living quarters – for Solomon and his many wives!

The palace was 4 times the size of the Temple – took twice as long to complete…

And the whole palace was constructed of very large costly stones / and cedar…

Solomon gave a lot to the Lord – but he kept even more for himself…

As a result Solomon began to focus more on this life – than eternal life!

Matthew 6:19-21 – warns us not to story up ‘treasures’ here on earth…

Because wherever we put our money / time – is where our heart will also be!

If we store up all our treasures here on earth – then we will not be seeking Jesus!

2^nd – Solomon hired a skilled bronze worker from Tyre… vs. 13-51

His name was Hiram – his mother was from Israel – his father from Tyre…

Hiram made 10 water carts / and various other bronze utensils…

The weight of all the bronze used was so great – it could not be measured…

He made two bronze pillars for the Temple – each 40’ tall / 7’ wide…

Decorated on top with lilies – each would have weighed over 25 tons!

They stood at the entrance to the Temple – Jachin (God built) and Boaz (strength)…

Bronze in the Bible is a picture of the judgment of sin…

So before you came into the presence of the Lord – you had to deal with your sin!

Hiram also made the Bronze Sea…

A HUGE bronze pool used by the Priests to wash their hands and feet…

15’ across – 7 ½’ deep – it could hold about 40,000 liters of water…

12 full size bronze oxen – 3 facing in each direction – supported it!

The priests had to wash before the went into the tabernacle or to the Alter – or die…

The obvious questions is – why just wash the feet and hands – why not the rest…

Peter asked this same question of Jesus when He washed the disciples feet…

John 13:10 – “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean…’”

This is obviously not referring to hygiene – if you just wash you feet – you will stink…

It is a spiritual picture – your feet are where you go – your hands are what you do…

If where you go and what you do is clean – the rest of you will also be clean!

We as believers need to be careful where we go – and what we do…

If we find ourselves going along with others to placed where bad things happen…

But if we are attending Bible studies / spending time with Godly believers…