Lessons from Solomon’s Temple
Last week as Glen was talking about Solomon’s Temple, I was intrigued by how everything was so prescribed to the tiniest detail. And of course there is a reason for this. Was also amazed me was the amount of gold used –over 3000 tons! And even more silver! So why was this? And what happened to this temple and what does it mean to us today. So I thought I would dig a little bit deeper.
Well I guess the story all starts with the Tabernacle (Exodus 25) which was laid out in a very specific way which I think we are very familiar with. It was laid out in a specific manner with the opening to the tribe of Judah (whose flag had a Lion on a field of scarlet), the coverings were of skin (some say badgers skin), but underneath it ram’s skin that had been dyed red, then we have the altar, the brazen laver, in the Holy place we have the Golden Candlestick, with 7 branches with the central one feeding oil to the other six, there was no other light., we had the 12 loaves of bread and the wine, we had the altar of incense, used morning and evening, and then the Holy of Holies with the Ark of the Covenant. There were three objects in there. Aarons budding rod, small pot of manna and the stone tablets with the Ten Commandments,
Solomon’s Temple copied this format as you can see from the slide exactly. The rituals of Freemasonry all start here with Solomon’s Temple
It stood for about 410years before it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587BC. Ten years before that Zedikiah was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar as King of Judah at age 21. Zedikiah revolted against Nebuchadnezzar and turned to Egypt’s Pharaoh Hoprah for help. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah and laid siege in Dec of 589BC. It was about a 2 year siege. Zedikiah tried to escape out of a tunnel but was captured and had his eyes put out after watching his sons being killed.
A second temple was built in about 516BC by Nehemiah 70years later and stood for about 70 years after Jesus birth.
Second Temple lacked the following holy articles:
The Ark of the Covenant[2][5] containing the Tablets of Stone, before which were placed[13] the pot of manna and Aaron's rod[5]
The Urim and Thummim[2][5] (divination objects contained in the Hoshen)
In the Second Temple (Holy of Holies) was separated by curtains rather than a wall as in the First Temple. Still, as in the Tabernacle, the Second Temple included:
The golden altar of incense, with golden censers.[5]
In about 66AD the Jews rebelled against the Romans, The Romans fought back and captured Jerusalem about 4yreas later, ransacked the Temple and destroyed it and took all the remaining gold and apparently used it to fund and build the Colosseum.
A temple to the Roman gods of Jupitar and two others then stood for nearly 200years after this! And then went into neglect!
A rampant Muslim army controlling the Middle East at that time laid siege to Jerusalem in the 7th century and after a siege of 4 months Jerusalem fell. Tow mosques were built. The Al Aqsa Mosque rests on the far southern side of the Mount, facing Mecca. The Dome of the Rock currently sits in the middle, occupying the area where the Holy Temple previously stood.
1 Corr 3:16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? 17If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.
1Corr6:19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own
Just quickly then there are 5 aspects I want to pick up
Our appearances, our guidance, our relationships with each other, the spiritual authority and the importance of prayer
Appearance: The outer coverings of the Tabernacle and the Temple were very plain, but the insides were very different. In the case of Solomon’s Temple coated in and adorned with tons of gold. A very precious place. I don’t know if we realise it sometimes that you are that special temple. Sometimes we worry about appearances. We may be frail, have no hair, maybe don’t look so good, but inside that outer body is the most beautiful temple. Sometimes we can see it in others, but sometimes we need to remember that we are blessed by God, and we have been chosen to be adorned with “gold”
Guidance. You may know that the stones weren’t chiselled away on site, but they were made perfectly off site. That had three major instruments, a “square”, a level and a plumbline. Off course we need these three things to build our temple , we need to be square with the word of God, our relations ships with others need to be evenly, with care and love and be fair, and of course our plumbline is the relationship with God. The stones fitted perfectly and no light entered. The only light was from the candle. The oil from the centre shaft kept the flames alight and they were tendered to twice a day. So it is in our lives where we need the Holy Spirit to be our light, not the light from outside. We to need to care for the lamps as did the priest in those day. Without caring for the candle the light will go out.
Relationships The two groups of six loaves represent all the tribes. We now are part of that family of God. We the body of Christ the church share a covenant relationship with each other. And so your friends are my friends and your enemies are my enemies. A unique relationship exists.
Our spiritual authority; The Ark of the Covenant contained three things, Aaron’s rod, the manna and the Ten Commandments. Clearly showing Gods authority, His continued provision for us and a “blueprint” of what is expected of us. In every case there was rebellion, but God is a God of second chances
The incense altar is the way into the Holy of Holies. Prayer. Again stressing its importance. When Solomon’s Temple was completed Solomon built a bronze platform about 2.5mx2.5m and 1.5m high. He then in front of the whole people of Israel prayed to God, and when he had finished praying fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offerings and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And God said “.. if my people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” 2 Chron7:13 (413)
So there we have it, the Temple points to our physical being (we discussed 2 appearances and relationships), it points to our spiritual being (guidance and prayer) and it points to the authority and provision of God (Ark of the Covenant)