The long-cherished plan of David to erect a temple to
the Lord, Solomon wisely carried out. For seven years
Jerusalem was filled with busy workers engaged in leveling
the chosen site, in building vast retaining walls, in laying
broad foundations,--"great stones, costly stones, and hewed
stones,"--in shaping the heavy timbers brought from the
Lebanon forests, and in erecting the magnificent sanctuary.
1 Kings 5:17.
Simultaneously with the preparation of wood and stone,
to which task many thousands were bending their energies,
the manufacture of the furnishings for the temple was
steadily progressing under the leadership of Hiram of Tyre,
"a cunning man, endued with understanding, . . . skillful
to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in
stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen,
and in crimson." 2 Chronicles 2:13, 14.
Thus as the building on Mount Moriah was noiselessly
upreared with "stone made ready before it was brought
thither: so that there was neither hammer nor ax nor any
tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building,"
the beautiful fittings were perfected according to the
patterns committed by David to his son, "all the vessels that
were for the house of God." 1 King 6:7;2 Chronicles 4:19.
These included the altar of incense, the table of shewbread,
the candlestick and lamps, with the vessels and
instruments connected with the ministrations of the priests
in the holy place, all "of gold, and that perfect gold."
2 Chronicles 4:21. The brazen furniture,--the altar of burnt
offering, the great laver supported by twelve oxen, the
lavers of smaller size, with many other vessels,--"in the
plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground
between Succoth and Zeredathah." 2 Chronicles 4:17. These
furnishings were provided in abundance, that there should
be no lack.
Of surpassing beauty and unrivaled splendor was the
palatial building which Solomon and his associates erected
for God and His worship. Garnished with precious stones,
surrounded by spacious courts with magnificent approaches,
and lined with carved cedar and burnished gold, the temple
structure, with its broidered hangings and rich furnishings,
was a fit emblem of the living church of God on earth,
which through the ages has been building in accordance
with the divine pattern, with materials that have been
likened to "gold, silver, precious stones," "polished after the
similitude of a palace." 1 Corinthians 3:12; Psalm 144:12.
Of this spiritual temple Christ is "the chief Cornerstone;
in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth
unto an holy temple in the Lord." Ephesians 2:20, 21.
At last the temple planned by King David, and built
by Solomon his son, was completed. "All that came into
Solomon's heart to make in the house of the Lord," he had
"prosperously effected." 2 Chronicles 7:11. And now, in
order that the palace crowning the heights of Mount Moriah
might indeed be, as David had so much desired, a dwelling
place "not for man, but for the Lord God" (1 Chronicles
29:1), there remained the solemn ceremony of formally
dedicating it to Jehovah and His worship.
The spot on which the temple was built had long been
regarded as a consecrated place. It was here that Abraham,
the father of the faithful, had revealed his willingness to
sacrifice his only son in obedience to the command of
Jehovah. Here God had renewed with Abraham the
covenant of blessing, which included the glorious Messianic
promise to the human race of deliverance through the
sacrifice of the Son of the Most High. See Genesis 22:9,
16:18. Here it was that when David offered burnt offerings
and peace offerings to stay the avenging sword of the
destroying angel, God had answered him by fire from
heaven. See 1 Chronicles 21. And now once more the
worshipers of Jehovah were here to meet their God and
renew their vows of allegiance to Him.
The time chosen for the dedication was a most favorable
one--the seventh month, when the people from every part
of the kingdom were accustomed to assemble at Jerusalem
to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. This feast was
preeminently an occasion of rejoicing. The labors of the harvest
being ended and the toils of the new year not yet begun,
the people were free from care and could give themselves
up to the sacred, joyous influences of the hour.
At the appointed time the hosts of Israel, with richly
clad representatives from many foreign nations, assembled
in the temple courts. The scene was one of unusual splendor.
Solomon, with the elders of Israel and the most
influential men among the people, had returned from another
part of the city, whence they had brought the ark of the
testament. From the sanctuary on the heights of Gibeon
had been transferred the ancient "tabernacle of the congregation,
and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle"
(2 Chronicles 5:5); and these cherished reminders of the
earlier experiences of the children of Israel during their
wanderings in the wilderness and their conquest of Canaan,
now found a permanent home in the splendid building
that had been erected to take the place of the portable
structure.
In bringing to the temple the sacred ark containing the
two tables of stone on which were written by the finger
of God the precepts of the Decalogue, Solomon had followed
the example of his father David. Every six paces he sacrificed.
With singing and with music and with great ceremony,
"the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the
Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most
holy place." Verse 7. As they came out of the inner
sanctuary, they took the positions assigned them. The singers
--Levites arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and
psalteries and harps--stood at the east end of the altar, and with
them a hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets.
See verse 12.
"It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were
as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and
thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice
with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music,
and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy
endureth forever: that then the house was filled with a cloud,
even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not
stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of
the Lord had filled the house of God." Verses 13,14.
Realizing the significance of this cloud, Solomon declared:
"The Lord hath said that He would dwell in the thick
darkness. But I have built an house of habitation for Thee,
and a place for Thy dwelling forever." 2 Chronicles 6:1,2.
"The Lord reigneth;
Let the people tremble:
He sitteth between the cherubims;
Let the earth be moved.
"The Lord is great in Zion;
And He is high above all the people.
Let them praise Thy great and terrible name;
For it is holy. . . .
"Exalt ye the Lord our God,
And worship at His footstool;
For He is holy."
Psalm 99:1-5.
"In the midst of the court" of the temple had been erected
"a brazen scaffold," or platform, "five cubits long, and five
cubits broad, and three cubits high." Upon this Solomon
stood and with uplifted hands blessed the vast multitude
before him. "And all the congregation of Israel stood."
2 Chronicles 6:13,3.
"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel," Solomon exclaimed,
"who hath with His hands fulfilled that which He spake
with His mouth to my father David, saying, . . . I have
chosen Jerusalem, that My name might be there." Verses 4-6.
Solomon then knelt upon the platform, and in the hearing
of all the people offered the dedicatory prayer. Lifting
his hands toward heaven, while the congregation were bowed
with their faces to the ground, the king pleaded: "Lord God
of Israel, there is no God like Thee in the heaven, nor in
the earth; which keepest covenant, and showest mercy unto
Thy servants, that walk before Thee with all their heart."
"Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?
Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain
Thee; how much less this house which I have built? Have
respect therefore to the prayer of Thy servant, and to his
supplication, O Lord my God, to hearken unto the cry and
the prayer which Thy servant prayeth before Thee: that
Thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night,
upon the place whereof Thou hast said that Thou wouldest
put Thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which
Thy servant prayeth toward this place. Hearken therefore
unto the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people
Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear Thou
from Thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when
Thou hearest, forgive. . . .
"If Thy people Israel be put to the worse before the
enemy, because they have sinned against Thee; and shall
return and confess Thy name, and pray and make supplication
before Thee in this house; then hear Thou from
the heavens, and forgive the sin of Thy people Israel, and
bring them again unto the land which Thou gavest to them
and to their fathers.
"When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain,
because they have sinned against Thee; yet if they pray
toward this place, and confess Thy name, and turn from
their sin, when Thou dost afflict them; then hear Thou
from heaven, and forgive the sin of Thy servants, and of
Thy people Israel, when Thou hast taught them the good
way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon Thy
land, which Thou hast given unto Thy people for an
inheritance.
"If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if
there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their
enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever
sore or whatsoever sickness there be: then what prayer or
what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all
Thy people Israel, when everyone shall know his own sore
and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in his
house: then hear Thou from heaven Thy dwelling place, and
forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his
ways, whose heart Thou knowest; . . . that they may fear
Thee, to walk in Thy ways, so long as they live in the land
which Thou gavest unto our fathers.
"Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of Thy
people Israel, but is come from a far country for Thy great
name's sake, and Thy mighty hand, and Thy stretched-out
arm; if they come and pray in this house; then hear
Thou from the heavens, even from Thy dwelling place, and
do according to all that the stranger calleth to Thee for;
that all people of the earth may know Thy name, and fear
Thee, as doth Thy people Israel, and may know that this
house which I have built is called by Thy name.
"If Thy people go out to war against their enemies by
the way that Thou shalt send them, and they pray unto
Thee toward this city which Thou hast chosen, and the
house which I have built for Thy name; then hear Thou
from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and
maintain their cause.
"If they sin against Thee, (for there is no man which
sinneth not,) and Thou be angry with them, and deliver
them over before their enemies, and they carry them away
captives unto a land far off or near; yet if they bethink
themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn
and pray unto Thee in the land of their captivity, saying,
We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly;
if they return to Thee with all their heart and with
all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have
carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which
Thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which
Thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built
for Thy name: then hear Thou from the heavens, even from
Thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and
maintain their cause, and forgive Thy people which have
sinned against Thee.
"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. Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into Thy
resting place, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength: let Thy
priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let
Thy saints rejoice in goodness. O Lord God, turn not away
the face of Thine anointed: remember the mercies of David
Thy servant." Verses 14:42.
As Solomon ended his prayer, "fire came down from
heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices."
The priests could not enter the temple because "the glory
of the Lord had filled the Lord's house." "When all the
children of Israel saw . . . the glory of the Lord upon
the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the
ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised
the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth
forever."
Then king and people offered sacrifices before the Lord.
"So the king and all the people dedicated the house of
God." 2 Chronicles 7:1-5. For seven days the multitudes
from every part of the kingdom, from the borders "of
Hamath unto the river of Egypt," "a very great congregation,"
kept a joyous feast. The week following was spent
by the happy throng in observing the Feast of Tabernacles.
At the close of the season of reconsecration and rejoicing
the people returned to their homes, "glad and merry in
heart for the goodness that the Lord had showed unto David,
and to Solomon, and to Israel His people." Verses 8,10.
The king had done everything within his power to
encourage the people to give themselves wholly to God and
His service, and to magnify His holy name. And now once
more, as at Gibeon early in his reign, Israel's ruler was given
evidence of divine acceptance and blessing. In a night
vision the Lord appeared to him with the message: "I have
heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to Myself for
an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no
rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I
send pestilence among My people; if My people, which are
called by My name, shall 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. Now Mine eyes shall be open, and Mine ears
attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. For now
have I chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may
be there forever: and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be
there perpetually." Verses 12-16.
Had Israel remained true to God, this glorious building
would have stood forever, a perpetual sign of God's especial
favor to His chosen people. "The sons of the stranger," God
declared, "that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him,
and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone
that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh
hold of My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy
mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer:
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted
upon Mine altar; for Mine house shall be called an house
of prayer for all people." Isaiah 56:6, 7.
In connection with these assurances of acceptance, the
Lord made very plain the path of duty before the king.
"As for thee," He declared, "if thou wilt walk before Me, as
David thy father walked, and do according to all that I
have commanded thee, and shalt observe My statutes and
My judgments; then will I establish the throne of thy kingdom,
according as I have covenanted with David thy father,
saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel."
2 Chronicles 7:17, 18.
Had Solomon continued to serve the Lord in humility,
his entire reign would have exerted a powerful influence
for good over the surrounding nations, nations that had been
so favorably impressed by the reign of David his father and
by the wise words and the magnificent works of the earlier
years of his own reign. Foreseeing the terrible temptations
that attend prosperity and worldly honor, God warned
Solomon against the evil of apostasy and foretold the awful
results of sin. Even the beautiful temple that had just been
dedicated, He declared, would become "a proverb and a
byword among all nations" should the Israelites forsake
"the Lord God of their fathers" and persist in idolatry.
Verses 20, 22.
Strengthened in heart and greatly cheered by the message
from heaven that his prayer in behalf of Israel had been
heard, Solomon now entered upon the most glorious period
of his reign, when "all the kings of the earth" began to seek
his presence, "to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his
heart." 2 Chronicles 9:23. Many came to see the manner
of his government and to receive instruction regarding the
conduct of difficult affairs.
As these people visited Solomon, he taught them of God
as the Creator of all things, and they returned to their
homes with clearer conceptions of the God of Israel and of
His love for the human race. In the works of nature they
now beheld an expression of His love and a revelation of His
character; and many were led to worship Him as their God.
The humility of Solomon at the time he began to bear
the burdens of state, when he acknowledged before God,
"I am but a little child" (1 Kings 3"7), his marked love
of God, his profound reverence for things divine, his distrust
of self, and his exaltation of the infinite Creator of all--all
these traits of character, so worthy of emulation, were
revealed during the services connected with the completion
of the temple, when during his dedicatory prayer he knelt
in the humble position of a petitioner. Christ's followers
today should guard against the tendency to lose the spirit
of reverence and godly fear. The Scriptures teach men how
they should approach their Maker--with humility and awe,
through faith in a divine Mediator. The psalmist has
declared:
"The Lord is a great God,
And a great King above all gods. . . .
O come, let us worship and bow down:
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker."
Psalm 95:3-6.
Both in public and in private worship it is our privilege
to bow on our knees before God when we offer our petitions
to Him. Jesus, our example, "kneeled down, and prayed."
Luke 22:41. Of his disciples it is recorded that they, too,
"kneeled down, and prayed." Acts 9:40. Paul declared, "I
bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 3:14. In confessing before God the sins of Israel,
Ezra knelt. See Ezra 9:5. Daniel "kneeled upon his knees
three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his
God." Daniel 6:10.
True reverence for God is inspired by a sense of His infinite
greatness and a realization of His presence. With this
sense of the Unseen, every heart should be deeply impressed.
The hour and place of prayer are sacred, because God is
there. And as reverence is manifested in attitude and
demeanor, the feeling that inspires it will be deepened. "Holy
and reverend is His name," the psalmist declares. Psalm
111:9. Angels, when they speak that name, veil their faces.
With what reverence, then, should we, who are fallen and
sinful, take it upon our lips!
Well would it be for old and young to ponder those words
of Scripture that show how the place marked by God's
special presence should be regarded. "Put off thy shoes
from off thy feet," He commanded Moses at the burning
bush, "for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
Exodus 3:5. Jacob, after beholding the vision of the angel,
exclaimed, "The Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.
. . . This is none other but the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven." Genesis 28:16, 17.
In that which was said during the dedicatory services,
Solomon had sought to remove from the minds of those
present the superstitions in regard to the Creator, that had
beclouded the minds of the heathen. The God of heaven
is not, like the gods of the heathen, confined to temples
made with hands; yet He would meet with His people by
His Spirit when they should assemble at the house dedicated
to His worship.
Centuries later Paul taught the same truth in the words:
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing
that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples
made with hands; neither is worshiped with men's
hands, as though He needed anything, seeing He giveth to
all life, and breath, and all things; . . . that they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find
Him, though He be not far from every one of us: for in
Him we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:24-28.
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord;
And the people whom He hath chosen for His own
inheritance.
The Lord looketh from heaven;
He beholdeth all the sons of men.
From the place of His habitation
He looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth."
"The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens;
And His kingdom ruleth over all."
"Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary:
Who is so great a God as our God?
Thou art the God that doest wonders:
Thou hast declared Thy strength among the people."
Psalms 33:12-14; 103:19;77:13,14.
Although God dwells not in temples made with hands,
yet He honors with His presence the assemblies of His
people. He has promised that when they come together to
seek Him, to acknowledge their sins, and to pray for one
another, He will meet with them by His Spirit. But those
who assemble to worship Him should put away every evil
thing. Unless they worship Him in spirit and truth and in
the beauty of holiness, their coming together will be of no
avail. Of such the Lord declares, "This people draweth
nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoreth Me with
their lips; but their heart is far from Me." Matthew 15:8,9.
Those who worship God must worship Him "in spirit and
in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him."
John 4:23.
"The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep
silence before Him." Habakkuk 2:20.