Story Summary

David's son Solomon became the next King of Israel. The Lord promised David that he would give him rest from his enemies, and that came true. By the time Solomon became King, Israel was not at war. David passed along to Solomon his dream of building a permanent house for the Lord - a place all Israel could come to worship God - a temple.

Solomon was eager to build the temple, so he began planning to build the temple. First, he needed a place to get all the materials he needed. He found a place to get the large stones needed and ordered his men to cut the stones down to size where they found them and then transport them to Jerusalem already cut. He didn't want the noise of hammers, chisels and other iron tools around where they were building the temple. He wanted it to be a reverent experience for those working.

But he also needed a great amount of wood, and he specifically wanted cedar trees. He knew that a city called Tyre had great cedar trees and that the King of Tyre, Hiram, had always been a friend to his father, David. So Solomon asked Hiram to provide all the cedar trees he would need for the temple. Hiram agreed, but asked that Solomon provide food for Tyre in return. So they agreed. Hiram had his men cut down trees, make them into rafts and send them down the Mediterranean Sea where men from Israel could receive them and take them into Jerusalem. Here is a map of ancient Israel where you can see Tyre on the Mediterranean Sea north of Israel.

Solomon also asked that a man from Tyre named Huram (different guy than Hiram, the king) come and help him. He was skilled in using bronze. You can read about all that Huram did for Solomon in 1 Kings 7:13-51

Here are some of the features of the temple:

• 90 feet long

• 30 feet wide with a porch that ran along side the temple

• 45 feet tall

• It had 3 separate floors

• It had an inner room called the Most Holy Room

• On all the walls inside the temple were ornate carvings of cherubim (angels), palm trees and flowers

• The temple contained lots of bronze and gold items

The Most Holy Room was a room inside the temple where Solomon brought the Ark of the Covenant to its permanent home. He had them create 2 huge angels with wings that spanned 30 feet from tip to tip and he placed the Ark behind those angels so they hid it from plain sight.

The temple took 7 years to complete. Then Solomon dedicated the temple the Lord in a ceremony where they brought the Ark of the Covenant in to the Most Holy Room. When the priests did this, the whole temple filled with a cloud. God was telling the Israelites that he was present with them. Then Solomon prayed and dedicated the temple to the Lord.

Solomon was also known for being one of the wisest individuals in history. In 2 Chronicles 1, we see that Solomon asked God for wisdom above all other things, and God granted his request. As a result, a large portion of the book of Proverbs was written by Solomon and is still a source of wisdom for us today.

• Who was Solomon? (David's son)

• Who was fighting Israel when Solomon was king? (No one)

• Where did the cedar logs come from that Solomon used for the temple? (from Hiram, king of Tyre)

• How did they get the logs to Jerusalem? (The made them into rafts and sent them down the cost of the Mediterranean Sea)

• What did Hiram, the king of Tyre ask for in exchange for the cedar logs? (for Solomon to send food to Tyre)

• Who did the bronze work for the temple? (Huram, also from Tyre)

• What was the Most Holy Room? (the room that contained the Ark of the Covenant)

• What was hiding the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Room? (angels, whose wings spanned 30 feet)

• How long did it take to build the temple? (7 years)

• What happened when the priests brought the Ark of the Covenant into the Most Holy Room for the first time? (God's presence filled the room with smoke)

• What else was Solomon known for? (for being one of the wisest people in history)

• In the Old Testament, the tabernacle and the temple were where the Israelites worshiped God.

• Did you know that you can worship God wherever you are? Do you know how to worship God?

Activities

Activity 5 "Dance it out"

Time: 10-20 minutes

Materials needed from the cart (varies based on the game you choose):

• christian just dance videos below

• If they don't want to play the Christian Just Dance game they can play follow the leader.

Wrap It Up!

**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**

-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only) or color the pictures (littles).

-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.

-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).

Worship

Energy Release!

Last Minute Filler Ideas

-Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.

-Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)