Tuesday - I Kings 10 - The Queen of Sheba

This chapter is about Solomon's wisdom and majesty. Or is it? The queen of Sheba heard about how much God had blessed him, and the news was so spectacular that she had to see for herself. She brought hard questions. She toured his architectural exhibitions. She ate at his table and watched his court assemble. When she had evaluated everything she could... and that with a critical eye, she was amazed! She was convinced that not only had Solomon's God blessed him (as had been reported to her) the blessings exceeded what she had heard. Above all, she praised God (I Kings 10:9).

After all of this, the hometown king and the foreign queen exchanged gifts, and she went her way. Solomon clearly did not NEED gifts from her, nor did the gifts that he gave cut significantly into his stash. Solomon was a constant recipient of a flow of imported gold, spices, silver, ivory, apes, peacocks, garments, armor, horses, mules, cedar lumber and linen yarn... at least, those are the things that are mentioned in this chapter. His wealth was unsurpassed. Read carefully the description of his uniquely extravagant gold plaited ivory throne and the ascent to it with all the lions and such (I Kings 10:18-20). It was an appropriate scene for a man of his stature and influence. After all, the whole known world at that time was pursuing him and his wisdom. It must have been surreal.

Monday - I Kings 9 - God's Promise & Solomon's Prosperity

The first time that God came to Solomon He offered him a blank check, upon which Solomon wrote the word "wisdom" - and cashed it humbly. God came to Solomon again and officially informed him that He had accepted the temple which he had built. It must have been very gratifying for Solomon. But, God didn't stop with just a commendation; He added that if Solomon and the people would follow Him continually, then blessings would abound. But, if they were ever to forsake Him then He would in turn forsake them too. It was a strict arrangement... one that was destined to bring ill upon Israel, a division of the monarchy, the destruction of the temple and a temporary (albeit lengthy) rejection of the Jews.

The remainder of this chapter is a general description of some of the other projects that Solomon undertook. There were certain cities which he built or rebuilt and there were multiple people groups from whom Solomon collected taxes and services. Practically, he was reaping the benefits of David's military dominance over the surrounding nations. We know that his success in these endeavors was a product of God's blessings upon him. In truth, we aren't even scratching the surface of what Solomon accomplished. It is recorded here that he built the wall of Jerusalem, built a navy, collected much gold, gave cities to Hiram king of Tyre, and more... but he was only half way through his 40 year reign at that point.  Much more was to come. Although, not much of it would be good.

Saturday – I Kings 8 – Dedicating the Temple

When everything else was in order, Solomon had the Ark of the Covenant brought into the holiest section of all.  There it was set in what was intended to be its final earthly resting place. Once the Ark was there, the presence of God came too. In the form of a cloud, God was there with a special manifestation of His glory. In a proper response to God's clear presence, Solomon prayed an amazingly wonderful prayer to Him before the people on that day. He reflected on the past, realized the significance of the present and wisely anticipated the future. As such, he primarily prayed that God would use the temple as an object to draw people's attention to Him. With his knees bowed and his hands raised to heaven, Solomon prayed that when people turned to Him (in years to follow) by turning to the temple, that God would hear and answer their prayers.

When the prayer meeting was over, Solomon praised God loudly. He worshipped God by pointing to the certainty of His words (I Kings 8:56), to the fantastic power that God uses to influence the hearts of men (I Kings 8:58) and to the exclusivity of God's existence (I Kings 8:60). Clearly Solomon had a strong handle on true theology, especially on the importance of our hearts in this matter of worship (I Kings 8:18 & 61). On this occasion, Solomon and the people offered 142,000 animals to God in sacrifice. The celebration couldn't have possibly any bigger or more intense than it was. They literally feasted and rejoiced for 2 full weeks.  This should remind us that no sacrifice is too great, no offering too large, no devotion too intense & no praise too extravagant… when it is directed sincerely to our God!

Friday – I Kings 7 – More Construction

Solomon not only built the temple, he also built a palace for himself, a house of Cedar (perhaps to function as his courthouse), and a house for his favorite wife and queen; Pharaoh's daughter. Now, to indicate just how extravagant and majestic all these structures were, this chapter records for us that the stones which were used for the foundation were massive, being 12 and 15 feet squares.

The bulk of this chapter is devoted to the description of the fine workmanship of one Hiram (not the king of Tyre, though he was from Tyre). He was brought in by Solomon for his metallurgical and artistic expertise. Hiram made 2 gigantic columns to stand in front of the temple.  He made a huge round basin (7 feet tall and 15 feet wide) and set it on the backs of 12 sculpted cows. He constructed carts, smaller basins, stands, shovels and pots... all of brass; implements that would be used in the function of worship in the temple. He made an altar, a table, candlesticks, tongs, bowls, snuffers, basins, spoons and censers of gold; again, all furniture and implements for worship in the temple.  All these things were patterned after the furniture, tools and dishes that had been used for generations in the tabernacles from Moses to David; from Aaron to Abiathar. All these items were ornately sculpted and richly decorated with shapes of pomegranates, angels, lions, palm trees, flowers and such.

Thursday – I Kings 6 – The Temple is Built

For almost 500 years the Jews had been worshipping God in tents (Tabernacles). But, Solomon replaced the Tabernacle with a Temple. It was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide and 45 feet tall.  It had a porch at the front entrance and chambers on the outside. It was made of stone with the inside entirely lined with wood. The figures of Cherubim, palm trees and open flowers were carved into the face of that entire wooden surface. It must have been exquisitely ornate. However, if you had walked into that Temple on the day that it was completed, you would have seen neither wood nor stone. The inside was plated entirely with gold.  No wonder it took 7 ½ years to finish building it.

The Holy of Holies took up the back 1/3 of the structure and was obviously the most important part of it. Inside the Holy of Holies, Solomon had two Cherubim statues placed. Each one was 15 feet tall and they were also plated with gold.

Now, everything that I have said comprises what is really an oversimplified approach to describing what the Temple was like. But, if you pay attention carefully when you read the chapter, you will find that the most important thing in this passage is not the architectural description, it is the admonition from God found in verses 12 & 13.  Essentially God was saying, "Solomon, this is nice, but don't lose sight of what's MOST important. The condition of your heart and the faithfulness of the God who will inhabit this Temple... these things are FAR more significant than the stone, wood and gold of which this house is comprised."

Tuesday - I Kings 5 - Preparations for the Temple

David had gathered many treasures which were intended for the construction of the temple and which were dedicated for the purpose of worship (II Samuel 8:10 & 11, I Kings 7:51 & I Chronicles 22:14, 15 & 16). But, David did not machine the construction materials for the building nor did he COMPLETE the task of gathering the supplies. Solomon still had much to do when he undertook to accomplish his greatest project; his architectural legacy... the Temple. This chapter details some of major preparations which were required.

Now, the blueprint was precise and the construction materials were perfectly prepared prior to the commencement of construction.... so that there was no hammering, sawing or chopping going on during the raising of that great and holy edifice (I Kings 6:7). And, Solomon was the divinely gifted human genius behind that unique wonder.

This chapter describes a great partnership that was forged between Solomon and one of his father's friends, Hiram... king of Tyre. In exchange for food, Hiram supplied Solomon with a great abundance of cedar and fir lumber for the project. It was a supremely peaceful, albeit very labor intensive, period of Solomon's reign. Tens of thousands of skilled workers were commissioned to accomplish the great task of gathering and preparing the needed materials. It is wonderful to consider the amazing depth of devotion which was demonstrated during that era. It was a time when men were willing to spare no expense and to expend tremendous amounts of energy to accomplish a single goal: building a house for the exaltation of the name of Jehovah.