1 Kings 6:11-13 Walk in My Statutes!

 ”Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”“

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭11‬-‭13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. If you walk in My statutes: This was a conditional promise to Solomon and his descendants. It depended on the obedience of Solomon and his descendants.

b. I will perform My word with you… And I will dwell among the children of Israel: God promised an obedient Solomon that he would reign and be blessed, fulfilling the promises God made to David about his reign (2 Samuel 7:5-16). He also promised that His special presence would remain among Israel as a nation.

i. We might say that there was nothing particularly new in this promise. These are essentially the same promises of the Old Covenant made to Israel at Sinai. But this was an important reminder and renewal of previous promises.

c. And I will dwell among the children of Israel: God was careful not to say that He would live in the temple the way pagans thought their gods lived in temples. He would dwell among the children of Israel. The temple was a special place for man to meet with God. (Guzik)

Walk in My Statutes!

”Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”“

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭22‬:‭37‬-‭40‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Moses summed up all in the ten commandments, to which, truly interpreted, all the precepts of Scripture are reducible. Christ here brings the ten to two.” (Poole)

I at times have difficulty with number two and have to remind myself, Jesus loves them too.

Blessings 

1 Kings 6:7-10 Boards Of Cedar!

 ”And the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built. The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third. So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar. And he built side chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they were attached to the temple with cedar beams.“ ‭‭I Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. No hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built: The stones used to build the temple were all cut and prepared at another site. The stones were only assembled at the building site of the temple.

i. This speaks to the way God wants His work done. The temple had to be built with human labor. God did not and would not send a team of angels to build the temple. Yet Solomon did not want the sound of man’s work to dominate the site of the temple. He wanted to communicate, as much as possible, that the temple was of God and not of man.

ii. This speaks to the way God works in His people. Often the greatest work in the Kingdom of God happens quietly. Yet the building site of the temple was only quiet because there was a lot of noise and diligent work at the quarry.

iii. This speaks to God’s work in the church. “But why is this so particularly marked? Is it not because the temple was a type of the kingdom of God; and the souls of men are to be prepared here for that place of blessedness? There, there is no preaching, exhortations, repentance, tears, cries, nor prayers; the stones must be all squared and fitted here for their place in their New Jerusalem” (Clarke).

b. He paneled the temple with beams and boards of cedar: These were some of the finest building materials available. The impression is of a magnificent building.

c. He built side chambers against the entire temple: This describes the rooms adjacent to the temple, surrounding it on the north, west, and south sides. These side chambers were built in three stories. (Guzik)

Boards of Cedar!

One thing I noticed that is omitted, the smell of the cedar throughout the temple! It’s known for its qualities, preventing rot and particularly its odor that protects from pests and insects.

I’ve always enjoyed woodworking with cedar, especially when it’s cut. Cedar is used for split rail fencing, to line closets and chests for protecting clothing especially wool.

Have you ever smelled cedar?

Blessings 

1 Kings 6:1-6 By The Spirit!

 ”And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord. Now the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits. The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the house was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and the width of the vestibule extended ten cubits from the front of the house. And he made for the house windows with beveled frames. Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all around, against the walls of the temple, all around the sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers all around it. The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple.“ I Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. In the four hundred and eightieth year: This marking point shows just how long Israel lived in the Promised Land without a temple. The tabernacle served the nation well for more than 400 years. The prompting to build the temple was more at the direction and will of God than out of absolute necessity.

i. The date in 1 Kings 6:1 also gives a marking point for the Exodus. As many suppose, the reign of Solomon began in 971 b.c. and ended at 913 b.c. (the temple was begun in 967 b.c.). This means that the Exodus took place in 1447 b.c.

b. He began to build the house of the LORD: This was when the actual construction began. Solomon probably started to organize the work right away. There is some evidence that it took three years to prepare timber from Lebanon for use in building. If Solomon began the construction of the temple in the fourth year of his reign, he probably started organizing the construction in the very first year of his reign.

i. Yet the work was carefully organized and planned even before Solomon became king. 1 Chronicles 28:11-12 tells us, Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the vestibule, its houses, its treasuries, its upper chambers, its inner chambers, and the place of the mercy seat; and the plans for all that he had by the Spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, of all the chambers all around, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the treasuries for the dedicated things.

ii. The writer of 1 Kings never tells us exactly where the temple was built, but the writer of 2 Chronicles tells us that it was built on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1), the same place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac and Jesus would be crucified (on another part of the hill).

c. The house which King Solomon built for the LORD: This chapter describes the building of the temple and its associated areas. There are four main structures described.

· The temple proper (the house which King Solomon built), divided into two rooms (the holy place and the most holy place).

· The vestibule or entrance hall on the east side of the temple proper (the vestibule in front of the sanctuary). It was thirty feet (10 meters) wide and fifteen feet (5 meters) deep, and the same height as the temple proper.

· The three-storied side chambers (chambers all around) which surrounded the temple proper on the north, south, and west sides.

· A large courtyard surrounding the whole structure (the inner court mentioned in 1 Kings 6:36).

d. Its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits: Assuming that the ancient cubit was approximately 18 inches (perhaps one-half meter), this means that the temple proper was approximately 90 feet (30 meters) long, 30 feet (10 meters) wide, and 45 feet (15 meters) high. This was not especially large as ancient temples go, but the glory of Israel’s temple was not in its size.

i. Allowing for the outside storage rooms, the vestibule, and the estimated thickness of the walls, the total size of the structure was perhaps 75 cubits long (110 feet, 37 meters) and 50 cubits wide (75 feet, 25 meters).

ii. The dimensions of the temple also tell us that it was built on the same basic design as the tabernacle, but twice as large. This means that Solomon meant the temple to be a continuation of the tabernacle.

e. He built chambers all around: These seem to be side rooms adjacent to the temple, yet not structurally part of the temple. The New International Version translates 1 Kings 6:5: Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.

(Guzik)

By The Spirit!

David had all the plans for the temple by the Spirit!

Likewise,

”But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.“

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

”Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.“

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭20‬ ‭BSB‬‬

Is the Holy Spirit in you?

Blessings

Indwelling-of-the-Holy-Spirit.html

1 Kings 5:15-18 Foundations!

 ”Solomon had seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in the mountains, besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the work. And the king commanded them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the foundation of the temple. So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.“

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Seventy thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone: This seems to describe the number of Canaanite slave laborers that Solomon used.

i. Ginzberg relates some of the legends surrounding the building of the temple. “During the seven years it took to build the Temple, not a single workman died who was employed about it, nor even did a single one fall sick. And as the workmen were sound and robust from first to last, so the perfection of their tools remained unimpaired until the building stood complete. Thus the work suffered no sort of interruption” (Ginzberg).

b. Besides three thousand three hundred from the chiefs of Solomon’s deputies: This was the middle management team administrating the work of building the temple.

c. Costly stones: This is literally quality stones, showing that Solomon used high-quality materials even in the foundation where the stones could not be seen.

i. This speaks to the way we should work for God. We don’t work for appearance only, but also to excel in the deep and hidden things. “I want, dear friends, to urge that all our work for God should be done thoroughly, and especially that part of it which lies lowest, and is least observed of men” (Spurgeon).

ii. This speaks to the way God works in us. He works in the deep and hidden things when others are concerned with mere appearances. “We have been the subjects of a great deal of secret, unseen, underground work. The LORD has spent upon us a world of care. My brother, you would not like to unveil those great searchings of heart of which you have been the subject. You have been honored in public; and, if so, you have had many a whipping behind the door lest you should glory in your flesh… All those chastenings, humblings, and searchings of heart have been a private laying of foundations for higher things” (Spurgeon).

iii. This speaks to the way God builds the church. He wants to do a work of deep, strong foundations instead of a work a mile wide but an inch deep. “To maintain solid truth you need solid people. Vital godliness is therefore to be aimed at. Twenty thousand people, all merely professing faith, but having no energetic life, may not have grace enough among them to make twenty solid believers. Poor, sickly believers turn the church into an hospital, rather than a camp” (Spurgeon).

d. The Gebalites quarried them: “Some suppose that these Giblites were the inhabitants of Biblos, at the foot of Mount Libanus, northward of Sidon, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea” (Clarke).

(Guzik)

Foundations!

“All those chastenings, humblings, and searchings of heart have been a private laying of foundations for higher things” (Spurgeon).

I don’t believe I can count the number of chastenings, humblings and searchings of my heart!

Can you count yours?

Blessings 

1 Kings 5:13-14 Delegated Responsibility

 ”Then King Solomon raised up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force.“ ‭‭

I Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The labor force was thirty thousand men: This huge labor force shows the temple could only be built when Israel could afford the manpower and the materials. It could only be built under the peace and prosperity won by David and enjoyed by Solomon.

b. Adoniram was in charge of the labor force: Solomon’s wisdom was evident in the way he employed this great workforce. First, he wisely delegated responsibility to men like Adoniram. Second, instead of making the Israelites work constantly away from Israel and home, he worked them in shifts. (Guzik)

Delegated Responsibility 

Like Solomon delegating responsibility, you could say Jesus has delegated a responsibility to Christians!

”And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.“ Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

May I ask you this important question, what are you doing for His kingdom?

Blessings 

1 Kings 5:7-12 Blessed be the Lord!

 ”So it was, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people! Then Hiram sent to Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household. Then Hiram gave Solomon cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year. So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.“ I Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Blessed be the LORD: We can’t say if Hiram was a saved man, but he certainly respected the God of Israel. This was no doubt due to David’s godly influence on Hiram.

b. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household: Solomon offered Hiram whatever he wanted as payment for the timber to build the temple (1 Kings 5:6). Hiram did not take unfair advantage, asking only for food for his household.

i. At the same time, Hiram did expect to be paid. His service and the service of His people were not a gift or a sacrifice. “There are a good many people who get mixed up with religious work, and talk as if it were very near their hearts, who have as sharp an eye to their own advantage as he had. The man who serves God because he gets paid for it, does not serve Him” (Maclaren).

c. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon: Solomon, in his God-given wisdom, continued the friendly relationship between Israel and Lebanon. (Guzik)

Blessed be the LORD!

"Blessed be the Lord" is a phrase used to express praise and reverence for God, acknowledging His goodness and mercy. It is often found in biblical texts, emphasizing gratitude and worship towards the divine. (Bible Hub)

We thank the Lord for His daily provisions, the house that shelters us and all the blessings He bestows on us. Blessed be the Lord!

Do you express praise and reverence for God?

Blessings 

Blessed be the Lord!

1 Kings 5:1-6 ‘an house for the name of the LORD.’

 ”Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David. Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put his foes under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he shall build the house for My name.” Now therefore, command that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber like the Sidonians.“ I Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. For Hiram had always loved David: David was a mighty warrior against the enemies of Israel. but he did not regard every neighbor nation as an enemy. David wisely built alliances and friendships with neighbor nations, and the benefit of this also came to Solomon.

i. “Hiram is an abbreviation of Ahiram which means ‘Brother of Ram,’ or ‘My brother is exalted,’ or ‘Brother of the lofty one’… Archaeologists have discovered a royal sarcophagus in Byblos of Tyre dated about 1200 b.c. inscribed with the king’s name, ‘Ahiram.’ Apparently it belonged to the man in this passage.” (Dilday)

ii. Then Solomon sent to Hiram: “According to Josephus, copies of such a letter along with Hiram’s reply were preserved in both Hebrew and Tyrian archives and were extant in his day (Antiquities, 8.2.8)” (Dilday).

b. You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the LORD his God: This means that David told Hiram spiritual things, things that one might think Hiram could not understand or had interest in. In some ways, David spoke to Hiram as if Hiram were already an Israelite.

i. This chapter deals with Solomon’s work in obtaining the materials to build the temple. Yet David was so interested in this work that he had already gathered many of the supplies needed to build the temple (1 Chronicles 22:4).

c. Until the LORD put his foes under the soles of his feet: “To put enemies under the feet was the symbolic act marking conquest. In contemporary art enemies were often depicted as a footstool (as Psalm 110:1).” (Wiseman)

d. There is neither adversary nor evil occurrence: The word adversary here is literally Satan. The Latin Vulgate translates this, “nor a Satan.”

e. I propose to build a house for the name of the LORD my God: Of course, Solomon did not build a temple for a name but for a living God. This is a good example of avoiding direct mention of the name of God in Hebrew writing and speaking. They did this out of reverence to God.

i. Solomon also used this phrase because he wanted to explain that he didn’t think the temple would be the house of God in the way pagans thought. “It is to be ‘an house for the name of the LORD.’ That is not the same as ‘for the LORD.’ Pagan temples might be intended by their builders for the actual residence of the god, but Solomon knew that the heaven of heavens could not contain Him, much less this house which he was about to build” (Maclaren).

f. Cut down cedars for me from Lebanon: The cedar trees of Lebanon were legendary for their excellent timber. This means Solomon wanted to build the temple out of the best materials possible.

i. “The Sidonians were noted as timber craftsmen in the ancient world, a fact substantiated on the famous Palermo Stone. Its inscription from 2200 b.c. tells us about timber-carrying ships that sailed from Byblos to Egypt about four hundred years previously. The skill of the Sidonians was expressed in their ability to pick the most suitable trees, know the right time to cut them, fell them with care, and then properly treat the logs.” (Dilday)

ii. It also means that Solomon was willing to build this great temple to God with Gentile wood and using Gentile labor. This was a temple to the God of Israel, but it was not only for Israel. Only Jews built the tabernacle, “But the temple is not built without the aid of the Gentile Tyrians. They, together with us, make up the Church of God” (Trapp).

(Guzik)

‘an house for the name of the LORD.’

This is an important distinction! “the heaven of heavens could not contain Him, much less this house which he was about to build”

Are our churches built for an house for the name of Jesus or for man?

Blessings 

House for My name!