Sunday
Evening Bible Study
November 10, 2002
Introduction
David has turned the kingdom over to his son Solomon.
2Chronicles 1
:1-6 Solomon seeks the Lord
:1 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom
strengthened – chazaq – to
strengthen, prevail, harden, be strong, become strong, be courageous, be firm,
grow firm, be resolute, be sore
In 1Kings 2, we are given a series of events that take place, ending with
the observation:
(1 Ki 2:46 KJV) …And the kingdom was established in the hand
of Solomon.
How was Solomon “strengthened” in his kingdom?
He dealt with his enemies, those who threatened his reign as king.
His brother Adonijah had tried to become king
before Solomon was crowned. Initially,
Solomon was gracious to Adonijah, but as Adonijah began to do things that would undermine Solomon’s
rule, Solomon had Adonijah put to death. (1Kings 2:13-25)
He took Abiathar, the priest that had helped Adonijah, and had him banished. (1Kings 2:26-27)
He had Joab, David’s chief general, but who had also helped Adonijah, put to death. (1Kings 2:28-34)
He took Shimei, the man who had cursed David, and
gave him a chance to live, but Shimei blew it and
Solomon put him to death. (1Kings 2:36-46)
Lesson
Deal with the enemy
We have three enemies that we ought to be careful of.
The world.
The world is that invisible system, directed by Satan,
which tries to turn us away from God.
Our faith overcomes the world.
(1 John 5:4 KJV)
For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the
world: and this is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith.
Keep believing and following Jesus.
The flesh
The flesh is that part of us that loves to rebel against
God.
We need to learn to be “crucified”. We need to learn to die to ourselves.
(Gal 2:20 KJV)
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of
the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
We need to learn to live under the power and influence of
the Holy Spirit.
(Gal 5:16 KJV)
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
The devil
Satan is our enemy.
(Eph 6:12 KJV)
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.
We need to resist the devil.
(James 4:7 KJV)
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.
We need to put on God’s armor.
(Eph 6:10-18 KJV)
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his
might. {11} Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. {12} For we wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. {13}
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to
withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. {14} Stand therefore,
having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of
righteousness; {15} And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; {16} Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able
to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. {17} And take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: {18} Praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto
with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
:3 went to the high place that was at Gibeon;
for there was the tabernacle
the high place – the idea in ancient times was that you could get
closer to God if you were at a higher altitude.
Many times we see the term “high place” used in a negative sense, where
people worshipped their idols. But here,
it’s not a bad thing, it’s one of the places where Yahweh was worshipped.
Gibeon – 6 miles NW
of Jerusalem. In Joshua 9, Joshua and
the Israelites were tricked into making a treaty with this people. As a result, they were not wiped out, but
instead became servants to the nation, providing cut wood for the altar of the
Lord.
(Josh 9:27 KJV) And
Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the
congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place
which he should choose.
the tabernacle – this was the portable worship center that God
instructed Moses to build. It was a
precursor to the Temple. Originally,
the Ark of the covenant was kept at the Tabernacle, but eventually they were
separated.
:4 he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem.
While the Tabernacle was still at Gibeon,
the Ark had been moved to Jerusalem,
where David had made a separate tent for it.
:5 Moreover the brazen altar, that Bezaleel the
son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made
This was the altar that had been made in Moses’ day. It was still being used for sacrifice at Gibeon. It was made of wood and covered with
bronze (Ex. 27).
:5 Solomon and the congregation sought unto it.
We read earlier that David had not been going to this altar because of the
incident with the census and the plague in Jerusalem.
(1 Chr 21:28-30 KJV) At that time when David saw that the LORD had
answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he
sacrificed there. {29} For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the
wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the
high place at Gibeon. {30} But David could not go
before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the
angel of the LORD.
Solomon, on the other hand, decides to go and sacrifice there.
:7-12 God gives Solomon wisdom
:10 that I may go out and come in before this people
go out – yatsa’ – to go out, come out, exit, go forth
come in – bow’ – to go in,
enter, come, go, come in
This is a Hebrew expression used to describe a leader of the people. It
seems to come from the picture of a shepherd who leads his flocks in and out of
the sheepfold. Moses uses it to describe what a leader ought to do when he asks
God for someone to replace him (which would be Joshua).
(Num 27:15-17 KJV) And Moses
spake unto the LORD, saying, {16} Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all
flesh, set a man over the congregation, {17} Which may go out before them, and
which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring
them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no
shepherd.
:12 Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee
Lesson
What do you really want/need?
I think that sometimes I don’t really have a clue as to what I need.
I often respond to surface issues and not to things that really affect
change for the good.
There’s the old saying, “You can give a man a fish, and he will be fed for
one meal. You can teach a man to fish,
and he will be fed the rest of his life.”
If I were in Solomon’s shoes, I might have thought about asking for riches
or honor.
But he asks for wisdom.
Illustration
A Soldier's Prayer
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things.
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy.
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power that I might have the praise of men.
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.
I was give life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for-
but got everything I had hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all people, most richly blessed.
~ Unknown
Confederate Soldier
I think that sometimes when I pray, I’m asking for the wrong things.
:13-17 Solomon’s prosperity
:15 And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem
as plenteous as stones
The idea is that everyone in Jerusalem
became wealthy. Huge prosperity.
:16 And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt,
and linen yarn: the king's merchants received the linen yarn at a price.
linen yarn – miqveh –; hope; collection, collected mass; Kue, a place in Cilicia
from which Solomon imported horses
(2 Chr 1:16 NLT) Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt
and from Cilicia;
the king's traders acquired them from Cilicia at the standard price.
There were three things that a king was told to be careful of:
(Deu 17:16-17 KJV) But he shall not multiply horses to himself,
nor cause the people to return to Egypt,
to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto
you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. {17} Neither shall he
multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he
greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
He was not to “multiply horses” – meaning that he wasn’t to be trusting in
his own military strength, but instead be trusting in the Lord.
He was not to “multiply wives” – he wasn’t to make sex his goal.
He was not to “multiply silver and gold” – meaning he wasn’t to be trusting
in his own riches.
Three things – power, sex, and money.
Three things that often bring a person down.
Solomon is in the middle of doing some pretty neat stuff for the Lord. He’s going to be building the Temple!
Yet he’s also got some pretty bad stuff going on in his life as well.
Of the three problem areas, we see two of them mentioned back to back right
here.
Even though we don’t read of the “wives” problem here, we know that Solomon
had this problem as well.
Lesson
God uses imperfect people.
When we see someone going through a difficult time, we can fall into the
trap of thinking that they must have some huge whopper of a sin in their life
to bring about such trouble.
Though that may be the case, it’s not necessarily the case.
Except for Jesus, every person God has ever used was a sinner.
That is not an excuse to for our sin.
:17 so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites
I guess you could say that Solomon became a used car salesman.
2Chronicles 2
:1-2 Solomon’s Temple
work force
:1 to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom
Both the Temple and a palace
for himself.
:2 And Solomon told out …
told out – caphar – to count, recount, relate
(NLT) He enlisted a force of 70,000 common laborers, 80,000
stonecutters in the hill country, and 3,600 foremen.
:3-10 Solomon asks Huram for help
:3 And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre
Huram – Chuwram – “noble born”; also called “Hiram” in
1Kings 5. He is the king of Tyre,
one of the main cities of the Phoenicians.
The parallel passage tells us that Hiram had actually first sent
ambassadors to Solomon to congratulate him on becoming king (1Ki. 5:1). Solomon then sends this message with the
ambassadors back to Hiram.
:3 even so deal with me.
Lesson
Working with unbelievers
Even though Huram will use some religious language (2:11), history seems to indicate that this man was an
unbelieving, pagan king.
Yet Solomon hires him and his laborers to help build the Temple.
:4 Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to
him,
Lesson
Purposes for life.
Solomon knew why he was building the Temple.
For each of us, our body is a Temple.
(1 Cor 6:19 KJV) What? know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not
your own?
For us as a church, as we are gathered together, we are a type of “Temple”
of the Lord.
(1 Cor 3:16 KJV) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
We too have a design, a purpose for our lives. But sometimes I wonder if we even begin to
touch some of the things that God would have for us.
Illustration
It’s a little like owning an F116 fighter plane, but keeping it in your
garage just to show off to your friends.
What a waste! Get it out and fly
it!
Illustration
The story of Eric Liddell was told in the movie Chariots of Fire. He had felt the call of God to go to China
as a missionary with his sister. There is a gripping scene in the movie, when
he told his sister that he was going to delay going to the mission field so
that he could continue training for the Olympics. She was crestfallen. He
sought to help her to understand by saying, “Jenny, Jenny. I know God created
me for his service, but he also made me fast! When I run, I feel God’s
pleasure!”
Eric went on to compete in the Olympics.
He refused to run on a Sunday, but ended up winning a gold medal turned
out to be a witness for Christ to the whole world. After winning the gold
medal, he went on to be a missionary in China.
He knew God had a purpose for his life.
He saw God use all that he had.
God has a purpose for your life as well.
(Eph 2:10
KJV) For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.
(Jer 29:11 NASB) 'For I know the plans that I have for you,'
declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future
and a hope.
Sometimes things don’t seem to operate like they’re supposed to.
I bought a new cell phone a few months ago, and it’s kind of driving me
crazy. It is supposed to be able to take
all my appointments off of my computer and keep a calendar, but the problem is
that my phone now rings for every appointment, including ringing at midnight before a holiday starts. The company tells me that there’s nothing
wrong with the phone.
Bad design.
Do you have a purpose in your life?
Is it just to find pleasure? To escape another day of pain?
Do you know what you’re doing and why?
:4 and to burn before him sweet incense,
First purpose: The Temple was to be
a place where incense was burned.
Incense is supposed to be a picture of prayer.
We see this in heaven:
(Rev 8:3-4 KJV) And another angel came and stood at the
altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that
he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which
was before the throne. {4} And the smoke of the incense, which came with the
prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
In practice, the burning of incense in the Temple
was always connected with prayer.
The incense was burned on a small altar of gold in front of the veil before
the Holy of Holies.
The smoke of the incense would go through the veil into the Holy of Holies
just as prayer rises before the throne of God in heaven.
(Exo 30:7-8 KJV) And Aaron shall burn
thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth
the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. {8} And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it,
a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
Prayer should be a regular part of our day.
(Exo 30:34-38 KJV) And the LORD said unto
Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure
frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
Make it according to the recipe
Balance in your prayer life – balance between adoration, confession,
thanksgiving, and requests
{35} And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art
of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
Prayer is a pleasing thing to God. A sweet perfume
{36} And thou shalt beat some of it very small,
Prayer comes from things that are crushed.
and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the
congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
Prayer is where we meet with God.
{37} And as for the perfume
which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the
composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. {38} Whosoever
shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his
people.
Don’t pray just to make your self smell good (or look good).
(Mat 6:5-6 KJV) And when thou prayest,
thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.
Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. {6} But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Lesson
A place of prayer
A Temple is a place where you
talk with God.
God designed you to talk with Him.
All the time.
God’s given you a phone. It’s
already installed. Unlimited minutes. We
just need to pick up the phone and call.
:4 and for the continual showbread,
continual – tamiyd – continuity, perpetuity, to stretch
showbread – ma‘areketh – row, line
In the Tabernacle and the Temple,
there was to be a special table with bread on it. The Jews who are preparing to
rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem
have pictures of the table, and it has a system of racks attached to it, two
columns of racks each holding six trays where the bread is kept.
(Exo 25:30 KJV) And thou shalt set upon
the table showbread before me alway.
(Exo 25:30 NASB) "And you shall set
the bread of the Presence on the table before Me at all times.
or, “the bread of My Face”
(Exo 25:30 ICB) On this table put the
bread that shows you are in my presence. It must always be there in front of
me.
There are different ways of looking at this table of bread.
I see it as a picture of our fellowship with God.
The Jews had the idea that if you ate bread with someone, you were kind of
becoming “one” with them.
Sitting down and breaking bread with another person was all about
relationship, all about enjoying another person’s presence.
(Lev 24:5-9 KJV) And
thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two tenth deals
shall be in one cake. {6} And thou shalt set them in two rows, six on a row,
upon the pure table before the LORD. {7} And thou shalt put pure frankincense
upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering
made by fire unto the LORD. {8} Every sabbath he shall set it in order before
the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel
by an everlasting covenant. {9} And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they
shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings
of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual statute.
:5 bake twelve cakes
There would be twelve loaves of bread placed fresh on the table each week.
As the old ones got stale, they were replaced with fresh bread. The priests
then ate the week old bread.
There's one loaf for each tribe, the picture is that there's food for
everyone.
:5 two-tenths of an ephah
About six pounds of flour per loaf, about 72 pounds of bread altogether! A
whole lot of eaten’! It was “fine flour”, meaning, wheat, not barley.
:6 in two rows
Probably more correctly, in two stacks.
:7 pure frankincense...memorial
This incense was to represent God's portion of this bread, and each week,
when the loaves were changed, the old frankincense was burned on the altar of
incense, allowing the perfume to rise before the throne of God.
In our communion with God, it’s our prayers, our “incense” that blesses
God.
:8 Every Sabbath day...
The point is that the bread was always fresh.
There should never be any “staleness” in our relationship with Jesus, but
it should be always “fresh”.
:9 it shall be Aaron's
The priests would eat the old showbread.
Even though this is God’s Table, we as priests are the ones that are truly
being “fed” with His presence.
Lesson
Enjoying the Lord
God designed you to enjoy Him.
God invites you to His table.
We’ll share in communion today, where we will enjoy the Lord.
God wants to “do lunch” with you. He
wants you to “have coffee” with Him.
Jesus said,
(Rev 3:20 KJV) Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:
if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me.
:4 and for the burnt offerings
The burnt offering was one of several types of sacrifices in the Old
Testament.
(Lev 1:3-9 KJV) If his offering be a burnt sacrifice of the
herd, let him offer a male without blemish: he shall offer it of his own
voluntary will at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the
LORD.
I like that the King James version say “he shall offer it of his own
voluntary will”. The burnt offering was
something done “willingly”.
{4} And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering;
and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
The act of putting your hand on the animal’s head meant that the animal was
taking your place on the altar. We call
this “substitutionary sacrifice”. The animal is taking your place. Jesus took your place.
{5} And he shall kill the bullock before the LORD: and the priests,
Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood, and sprinkle the blood round about upon
the altar that is by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
The blood represented the animal’s life.
The sprinkling of the blood on the altar was a picture of the life being
poured out to pay for sin.
{6} And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his
pieces. {7} And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and
lay the wood in order upon the fire: {8} And the priests, Aaron's sons, shall
lay the parts, the head, and the fat, in order upon the wood that is on the
fire which is upon the altar: {9} But his inwards and his legs shall he wash in
water: and the priest shall burn all on the altar, to be a burnt sacrifice, an
offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the
LORD.
With some of the other offerings, only part of the animal was burned up on
the altar. With some of the other
offerings, some of the meat might be boiled or given to either the priest or
the worshipper to be eaten.
But with the burnt offering, the entire animal was to be burnt in the
fire. The entire animal was being given
to God.
It was a picture of you being completely given to the Lord.
Lesson
Complete commitment
A Temple is a place for
complete commitment.
A New Testament version of the “burnt offering” is found in:
(Rom 12:1-2 KJV) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto
God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
How much of you do you give to the Lord?
Illustration
When you look at a plate of ham and eggs, you could say that the chicken
was “involved” with the breakfast, but the pig was “committed”.
This is what the Temple is for.
This is what you were designed for – total commitment to God.
:4 morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on
the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an
ordinance for ever to Israel.
Lesson
Daily commitment
Just as we are to daily learn to present ourselves to God in dedication,
the burnt offerings were done twice a day, as well as once a week, as well as
once a month, as well as for special holidays.
For some folks, it’s a little backwards.
Their commitment to the Lord might be just for a couple of
holidays. Others will come once a
month. Others will come once a week.
God wants us every day.
:5 And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all
gods.
Lesson
God is great
The work is great because God is great
Isaiah 40
We must build the Temple
because of Who God is.
:6 But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of
heavens cannot contain him?
Lesson
Dangerous Boxes
You can’t keep God locked up in a little box.
Sometimes we like to think that we can keep God in a place where we can
keep an eye on Him.
I can do my “God Stuff” on Sunday.
Then, after I leave church, I can go off and do whatever else I want to
do.
That’s like keeping God in a box.
Illustration
Teacher's Day
On a special Teachers’ Day, a kindergarten teacher was receiving gifts from
her pupils. The florist’s son handed her a gift. She shook it, held it
overhead, and said, “I bet I know what it is, some flowers.” “That’s right”,
the boy said, “but how did you know?” “Oh, just a wild guess,” she said. The
next pupil was the candy store owner’s daughter. The teacher held her gift over
head, shook it and said, “I bet I can guess what it is, a box of candy.”
“That’s right, but how did you know?” asked the girl. “Oh, just a wild guess,”
the teacher said. The next gift was from the son of the liquor store owner. The
teacher held it overhead, but it was leaking. She touched a drop of the leakage
with her finger and touched it to her tongue. Is it wine?” she asked. “No” the
boy replied, obviously delighted that he was the first student to at least
temporarily defy the teacher’s apparent insight. The teacher repeated the
process, touching another drop of the leakage to her tongue. “Is it champagne?”
she asked. “No,” the clearly delighted boy answered. Once again the teacher
tasted the leakage and finally said, “I give up, what is it?” The boy
enthusiastically replied, “It’s a puppy!”
Boxes don’t always contain what you think they do.
God is much bigger than any box we’d think about putting Him into.
Sometimes I get this notion that I’ve got life figured
out, and if I just do this one particular thing in my life, then God is going
to bless me and my troubles will disappear.
God is a bit bigger than that. He’s a bit more complicated than that.
I think that the more I learn about God, the more I find I
don’t know very much.
:6 who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn
sacrifice before him?
Solomon realizes that he is nothing special to be the one to build the Temple. All Solomon can do is offer worship to God in
sacrifice.
:7 Send me now therefore a man cunning … that can skill to grave
skill – yada‘– to know
to grave – pathach – to open; to carve, engrave
the cunning men – chakam – wise,
wise (man); skilful (in technical work); wise (in administration); shrewd,
crafty, cunning, wily, subtle
Lesson
We need help
You can’t do everything.
Recognize your limits.
Look for people who can be strong in the areas you aren’t.
:8 Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum
trees
(NLT) send me cedar, cypress, and almug
logs from Lebanon
cedar trees – the forests of Lebanon
were famous. Trees as large as 40 feet
in girth would be perfect for beams, pillars, and carved work.
algum – perhaps a red sandalwood
:10 And, behold, I will give to thy servants …
(NLT) I will pay your men 100,000 bushels of crushed wheat, 100,000
bushels of barley, 110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000 gallons of olive oil.
This was how much Solomon paid the Phoenicians each year.
Lesson
Pay the tab
The workman is worthy of his wage.
Don’t hire someone and not pay them what they’re worth.
Some people will try to take advantage of other Christians because they’re
“brothers”.
:11-16 Huram agrees with the deal
:12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel
…
This sounds like Huram is a believer, but we think he’s just using
religious language.
:12 endued with prudence and understanding,
endued – yada‘– to know
prudence – sekel – prudence, insight, understanding
understanding – biynah – understanding,
discernment
:13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram
my father's,
cunning – chakam – wise, wise (man); skilful (in
technical work); wise (in administration); shrewd, crafty, cunning, wily,
subtle
understanding – biynah –
understanding, discernment
These are the same two qualities that Huram saw in Solomon as well.
of Huram my father’s –
(NLT) I am sending you a master craftsman named Huram-abi.
This guy has the same name as the king of Tyre.
:14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of
Tyre
The parallel passage states:
(1 Ki 7:14 KJV) He was a widow's son of the tribe of
Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre,
a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and
cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought
all his work.
Probably, the mom was born in Dan, but her deceased husband was a man from
the tribe of Naphtali who lived in Tyre.
:15 let him send unto his servants
Huram agrees with the payment suggested by Solomon.
:16 And we will cut wood out of Lebanon…bring
it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa
The wood was cut in the forests of Lebanon, then lashed together as rafts
at the beach and floated down the coast to Joppa in Israel, where the wood was
then taken up to Jerusalem.
:17-18 The slave labor
:17 And Solomon numbered all the strangers
strangers – non-Israelites, Gentiles living in the land. This would
be a slave-labor force. There were
153,600 laborers.
The Jews were allowed in the Law to own slaves, but only if the slaves were
“strangers”, Gentiles.
(Lev 25:45-46 KJV) Moreover
of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye
buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land:
and they shall be your possession. {46} And ye shall take them as an
inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they
shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel,
ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.
:18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them …
70,000 were “bearers of burdens”, 80,000 were workers in the mountains
cutting trees and stone, 3,600 were in management.
2Chronicles 3
:1-2 Construction begins
:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem
in mount Moriah …
David had commanded that a census of Israel
be taken (1Chr. 21). David was out of
line in what he had done and as a result, a plague came on the nation.
When David asked God for mercy, he was instructed to go to the top of the
hill in Jerusalem and offer a
sacrifice.
It happened at the threshing floor of Ornan. David bought the property and offered
sacrifices there.
When God responded to the sacrifice by sending fire from heaven, David knew
that this was a special place.
(1 Chr 22:1 KJV) Then David said, This is the house of the
LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.
This became the location of the Temple
in Jerusalem.
It is also called “mount Moriah”, which was also
famous for another sacrifice - Abraham offering his only son Isaac.
Genesis 22:2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only [son] Isaac,
whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one
of the mountains which I will tell thee of.
:2 And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the
fourth year of his reign.
April or May of 966 BC.
:3-17 Building the Temple
:3 Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building
of the house of God.
Solomon was instructed by his father as to the building of the Temple.
(1 Chr 28:11-12 KJV) Then David gave to Solomon his son the
pattern of the porch, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof,
and of the upper chambers thereof, and of the inner parlours
thereof, and of the place of the mercy seat, {12} And the pattern of all that
he had by the spirit, of the courts of the house of the LORD, and of all the
chambers round about, of the treasuries of the house of God, and of the
treasuries of the dedicated things:
:3 The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and
the breadth twenty cubits.
A cubit is roughly 1 ½ feet. The
length of the Temple was 90 feet,
the width was 30 feet.
:4 And the porch that was in the front of the house
The porch was the same width as the Temple
(30 feet) and was another 30 feet long.
It was 180 feet high.
:5 And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree …
the greater house – referring to the “Holy
Place” as opposed to the “Holy of Holies”.
ceiled – chaphah – to cover, overlay, wainscoted, covered
with boards or paneling
The building itself was made of huge stones, then the stones were covered
with cedar (“fir”), and the wood was then overlaid with gold.
There was a design of palm trees and chains.
:6 the gold was gold of Parvaim.
Parvaim – Parvayim – “oriental regions”; a region known for its gold output, perhaps
in Arabia, some have linked it to Yemen.
According to Rabbinic sources, the gold had a reddish hue to it.
:7 graved cherubims on the walls.
Angelic beings were engraved on the walls.
What did the cherubim look like?
I have also seen pictures of winged lions, others with men with long
beards. Don’t think of little cupids.
They may have looked like the cherubim described by John:
(Rev 4:6-8 KJV) And before
the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and
behind. {7} And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a
calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a
flying eagle. {8} And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and
they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy,
holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.
:8 And he made the most holy house
This is the “holy of holies”, the “inner sanctuary”.
It was a room that was 30 feet square.
All overlaid with gold.
:8 he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents.
About 720,000 oz (22.5 tons).
:9 And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold.
Gold nails? Wow. Each nail was about
1 ¼ pounds.
:10-13 The wings of these cherubims …
Solomon had two huge cherubim made for the Holy of Holies.
Each cherub had it’s wings spread out, and together, side-by-side, they
filled the entire room. Each cherub was
fifteen feet wide, from wing tip to wing tip.
These are in addition to the two cherubim that were already mounted as part
of the Mercy Seat on the Ark.
:14 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson …
This would be a curtain that separated the Holy of Holies from the outer
room, the Holy Place.
:16 as in the oracle
the oracle – the Holy of Holies
:15-17 And he reared up the pillars before the temple…Jachin…Boaz.
Lesson
Becoming a pillar
A pillar is what holds things up. It’s what keeps the roof from falling in.
In the Old Testament, the king would “lean on the pillar” or “stand by the
pillar” when he’d address the people – just as Jesus will work through you to
address others. As a pillar, others will look to you.
In Solomon’s temple, the pillars had names, “Jachin”
and “Boaz”. The names meant “He shall establish” and “In it is strength”. God
wants to work through you to establish others in the faith and to make others
strong (even when you’re weak).
God promises to make us pillars.
(Rev 3:12
KJV) Him that overcometh
will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and
I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,
which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will
write upon him my new name.
He wants to make you someone that holds others up. Someone who establishes others in the faith.
We become a “pillar” when we “overcome”.
Endure. To the end.