This chapter describes the details of the temple and its construction.
“So Solomon built the house and finished it. He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold.” (v14-20a abr)
This elaborate, ornate, lavish building was the crown jewel of Jerusalem, and sat on the highest point (where the Dome of the Rock currently resides). It took 7 years to construct, partially because of the intricate décor, and partially because all material preparation was done offsite so no tools were heard at the temple site (it was assembled in relative silence [out of reverence for God]).
What I appreciate the most about the temple is it’s God’s illustration of Him reaching out to His people, bridging the gap between His holiness and our sinfulness. The priests were the ambassadors, being able to traverse from the outer court, to the holy place, and and then on special occasions into holy of holies.
Jesus became the ultimate High Priest, permanently making a way for us to approach God. The physical temple, which was an illustration of the spiritual gap between us and God, is no longer required. The new ‘holy of holies’ where the Holy Spirit dwells is in our hearts, negating the need of a physical building.
I encourage us to reflect on the illustration of the temple, and the gap between our sinfulness and God’s holiness. Only then can we be truly thankful for Jesus’ intercession on our behalf.
Father God, our Great and Mighty King, holy, holy, holy is Your name. We praise You for Your lovingness and steadfast love. Jesus thank you for the unmatched gift of love that cleansed our sin and made our relationship with our Father possible. Father thank you for blessing us with so much rich history to increase our understanding of You, Your ways, and the gap our sin created. Thank you for forgiving us, and making a way for us to approach You once more. We honor, love, praise and thank You, forever and ever, amen.
If you’re interested, I found this 10min video which gives some brief history and a reasonably good idea of what the temple may have looked like (and what it symbolized): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt6lQAe8ues&ab_channel=MessagesofChrist
~ Conqueror in Training