God made a promise to Solomon and all Israel while he (Solomon) was building the Temple."
Now we go
back to the building of the Temple. This
was going to be the Temple of the Living God, the house that would protect the
Ark of the covenant.
1 Kings 5:13
- 18
“And King
Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
V14 And he
sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in
Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
V15 And
Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore
thousand hewers in the
mountains;
V16 Beside
the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and
three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
V17 And the
king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones,
to lay the foundation of the house.
V18 And
Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so
they prepared timber and stones to build the house.”
1 kings 6:7
“ And the
house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was
brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron
heard in the house, while it was in building.”
This was a
huge project. Can you imagine a project
with 3,300 supervisors, on one project.
First of
all, Solomon wanted Lebanese cedar, the finest in all the world. The hewers of timber (30,000 men) cut the
timber down in Lebanon and sent it on floats by sea to be picked up.
The cedars
were cut down in the Lebanon mountains about 100 miles from Jerusalem. They were hauled about 20 miles through the
forest and 80 miles by the Mediterranean Sea.
The
construction of the Temple took:
80,000 men to cut trees
70,000 laborers
Bernard Thomas, a famous painter known especially for painting King Solomon's Temple told me that he had gone to Israel and spent two years, partially underground to study how they built the temple before painting the mural 'King Solomon's Temple'.
Men worked underground for years in the granite mines 10 miles away. They had sextants and levels and transits so accurate that they
could set a stone from a hill ten miles away.
These were
brilliant men and women working together to accomplish an impossible goal - To
build the Temple of God.
They were
not lacking in craftsmanship, tools, or ingenuity.
Not only
did they build the entire complex in seven years, but prior to finishing
the project, they lined the entire inside and a great portion of the exterior
with pure gold.
All this
done in silence. Every stone, every
timber, every fastener, every piece of the Temple was built on a site ten miles
away. Piece by piece they erected the
Temple and took it apart and brought it down the hill, about ten miles and set
each piece in place, without using an instrument of iron or making any noise.
2
Chronicles 6:40
The Temple
is built and Solomon is dedicating the Temple to God. Solomon is praying that
God will honor His Temple and hearken to the prayers made within its walls.
He prays in V22 that if a man sin against his neighbor that if he
make an oath before the alter that God will recompense to each his due.
He prays in V24 that if God’s people are at war or taken captive
that if they make supplication before God in the Temple that God will save them
and bring them back to Israel.
He prays in V28 that if there come a pestilence, mildew, locusts
or whatsoever the sickness, if the sick would reach their hands toward the
Temple that God would hear and forgive them and heal them.
He prays in V32 that if a stranger comes from afar and reaches out
his hand to the LORD, that the LORD will hear and answer his prayer.
He prays in V36 that if anyone sin against God, and they are
carried away in their sins that if they pray toward the Temple and give their
hearts back to the LORD that the LORD will forgive them.
Now in V40
2 Chronicles
6:40
“Now, My
God, let I beseech Thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto
the prayer that is made in this place.”
Principle to
remember:
The Temple is
not really completed until it is dedicated to God."
Excerpt from The Temple Of God by Keith C. Powell Copyright 20216
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