1 Kings 5-6: “Solomon Begins To Build The Temple”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.INTRO:

1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapters 3 and 4 of 1 Kings.

1.1.1. Now that King David had passed away, we saw the things that Solomon began to do as he assumed sole rule over Israel at this time. Prior to this he had been reigning as a co-regent with David, and David on his deathbed had been really calling the shots.

1.1.2. We saw how that though Solomon started off well in walking with and loving and obeying the Lord that he began to deviate away from following the commandments of the Lord. He began to multiply to himself all of the things that the kings of Israel were commanded not take for themselves: political alliances, wives, horses, chariots.

1.1.3. We will saw that Solomon’s reign was one of great abundance, peace, and prosperity for all Israel.

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 5 and 6.

1.2.1. We will see that Solomon makes preparations for building the temple by asking help from his father’s friend and ally, Hiram the king of Tyre.

1.2.2. With Hiram’s help, Solomon begins the building of the temple for the Lord.

1.2.3. It has been said that because of all of the difficult and tedious preparatory work that David performed for the building of the temple that he really should get the credit, or most of the credit, for the work. Lets look at the ways that David prepared for the temple being built:

1.2.3.1. David always felt a huge burden to build a temple for the Lord to dwell in:

1.2.3.1.1. Psalm 27:4 reveals how much David always loved being in the house of the Lord, “⁴ One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord And to meditate in His temple.”

1.2.3.1.2. Psalm 132:3-5 reveals the great burden of David to build a temple for the Lord to dwell in, “³ “Surely I will not enter my house, Nor lie on my bed; ⁴ I will not give sleep to my eyes Or slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ Until I find a place for the Lord, A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.””

1.2.3.2. Though David had been rejected by the Lord for the building of the temple because he was a man of war, none the less he constantly was preparing things for that day when the temple would be built:

1.2.3.2.1. In 1 Chronicles 22:14 David spoke about the gold, silver, bronze, iron, timber, and stone that he had been collecting in anticipation of building a temple for the Lord, “¹⁴ “Now behold, with great pains I have prepared for the house of the Lord 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron beyond weight, for they are in great quantity; also timber and stone I have prepared, and you may add to them.” According to Warren Wiersbe, these units for silver and gold translated into 3,750 tons of gold and 37,500 tons of silver

1.2.3.2.2. In 1 Chronicles 29:1-10, we read that David presented to Solomon these commodities that he had collected for the temple and then he asked the leaders in Isreal to contribute to the collection from their own personal wealth, “¹ Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the Lord God. ² “Now with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. ³ “Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple, ⁴ namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; ⁵ of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the Lord?” ⁶ Then the rulers of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers over the king’s work, offered willingly; ⁷ and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. ⁸ Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the Lord, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. ⁹ Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly. ¹⁰ So David blessed the Lord in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O Lord God of Israel our father, forever and ever.” According to Warren Wiersbe, the result amounts of gold and silver collected totaled 4,050 tons of gold and over 38,000 tons of silver.

1.2.3.2.2.1. God’s people of all eras in time must sacrifice of their time and resources if the work of God is to be sustained and souls won to Christ.

1.2.3.3. In 1 Chron. 28 we read that David gave to Solomon the plans for the building of the temple that the Lord had communicated to him.

1.2.3.4. In 1 Chron. 22:1-4 we read that David also brought together artisans and laborers to work on some of the items in the construction plans, “¹ Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” ² So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God. ³ David prepared large quantities of iron to make the nails for the doors of the gates and for the clamps, and more bronze than could be weighed; ⁴ and timbers of cedar logs beyond number, for the Sidonians and Tyrians brought large quantities of cedar timber to David.”

1.2.4. David had such great zeal for the Lord that he longed to spend time with the Lord and worship Him in His temple and longed that the Lord have a permanent house. We ought to ask ourselves however how our zeal for the Lord and desire to spend time with Him in worship with God’s people measures up with that of David?

1.2.5. Warren Wiersbe brings out how that David’s two greatest sins, that of adultery with Bathsheba and the numbering of his men, the Lord turned into good as the Lord used them for the building of the temple for the Lord. As a result of numbering the people, to make a sacrifice because of his sin David purchased the property on Mount Moriah where the temple was built. Because of his sin of adultery, Solomon (who would build the temple) was born to Bathsheba after David took her to be his wife. God even uses all of our failures to work together for good in our lives.

1.2.6. The building of the temple by Solomon began in 966BC.

2.VS 5:1-6 - “¹ Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David. ² Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, ³ “You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. ⁴ “But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune. ⁵ “Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ ⁶ “Now therefore, command that they cut for me cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”” - Upon hearing that Solomon had come to reign as king after the death of King David, Hiram king of Tyre sent to Solomon some of his ambassadors, and Solomon asked them to send a message to Hiram to request his help with the building of the temple of the Lord

2.1. Hiram and King David had developed a very good friendship and alliance over many years, and thus we see in these chapters we are studying today how that Hiram honors his friendship with David by helping Solomon with the building of the temple for the Lord

2.2. Hiram was not caught off guard by this request from Solomon for help with the building of the temple. When David was alive he had told Hiram about how that Solomon would eventually build a temple for the Lord, and in 1 Chron. 22:4 Hiram had even sent workers to David to help in the preparing of wood for the temple that would be built.

2.3. From our study today, it would appear that Hiram was a worshipper of the true God and that he had forsaken the pagan idolatry practiced by his people.

2.4. Solomon explains to Hiram how that David had been prevented from building a temple for the Lord because he had always been fighting wars and expanding his territory. However, now Solomon had peace and security and so this was the appropriate time to finally build that temple for the Lord.

2.5. Solomon asks Hiram to have them cut cedars from the forests of Lebanon for the temple, and if he will do this then Solomon will give some of his servants to help as laborers and he will also pay a wage to Hiram’s workers. Solomon further asks that the people of Sidon would fell the trees since they were so much more skilled in this task.

3.VS 5:7-9 - “⁷ When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” ⁸ So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. ⁹ “My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place where you direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then you shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.”” - Hiram hears Solomon’s request, considers it, and then agrees to the contract setting some explicit terms which he required

3.1. Hiram seems to be a genuine believer in Jehovah because of how he rejoices greatly at Solomon’s desire and request to build a temple for the Lord. Hiram even calls Solomon wise for the plans he has laid out for this project.

3.2. Hiram tells Solomon that his servants will cut down the cedar and cypress timber from Lebanon, and then he will have the logs floated down from Lebanon on the coast by boats or rafts to Joppa, a city on the coast directly opposite of Jerusalem. Solomon’s people will be responsible for transporting the logs over land to Jerusalem.

3.3. Hiram further makes it explicit that in return Solomon must supply his household with food as a term of this contract.

4.VS 5:10-12 - “¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. ¹¹ Solomon then gave Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. ¹² The Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.” - Hiram gave Solomon as much timber as he desired and Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 kors of wheat and 20 kors of beaten oil each year of the temple project

4.1. Everything worked well between Hiram and Solomon as they fulfilled the terms of their agreement for the building of the temple. They had peace between each other and kept the covenant which they made with each other.

4.2. The units given to Hiram per year translated into: 125,000 bushels of wheat and 115,000 gallons of pure olive oil.

4.3. 2 Chronicles 2:10 tell us that the workers of Hiram would receive one payment of 125,000 bushels of wheat, 125,000 bushels of barley, and 115,000 gallons of wine and of olive oil, and this would be divided among the laborers, “¹⁰ “Now behold, I will give to your servants, the woodsmen who cut the timber, 20,000 kors of crushed wheat and 20,000 kors of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of oil.””

4.4. In 2 Chron. 2:7 and 1 kings 7:13-14 we read that at this time Solomon also requested an artisan from Hiram who could make intricate and ornate furnishings for the temple and King Hiram sent him a man named Hiram :

4.4.1. 2 Chronicles 2:7, “⁷ “Now send me a skilled man to work in gold, silver, brass and iron, and in purple, crimson and violet fabrics, and who knows how to make engravings, to work with the skilled men whom I have in Judah and Jerusalem, whom David my father provided.”

4.4.2. 1 Kings 7:13-14, “¹³ Now King Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. ¹⁴ He was a widow’s son from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in bronze; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill for doing any work in bronze. So he came to King Solomon and performed all his work.”

5.VS 5:13-14 - “¹³ Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. ¹⁴ He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And Adoniram was over the forced laborers.” - We are told the number of Israeli conscripts that Solomon drafted

5.1. King David’s census had revealed that there were 1,300,000 men in Israel, so now with Solomon making 30,000 of them conscripts this meant that 2.3 % of Israelite men were forced laborers for Solomon. We will see later when Solomon’s son Rehoboam takes the throne that there was great resentment in Israel against Solomon for all of the men whom he conscripted for his building projects (see 1 Kings 12).

5.2. The men were continually forced to work hard for 1 month and then have 2 months vacation.

5.3. Adoniram was the foreman over the forced Israeli laborers.

6.VS 5:15-18 - “¹⁵ Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, ¹⁶ besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. ¹⁷ Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. ¹⁸ So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.” - Besides the Israeli conscripts, Solomon made forced laborers of additional non-proselyte foreigners in Israel

6.1. 150,000 foreigners were responsible for digging out and cutting stones in the mountains.

6.2. Over this group 3,300 foreigners were overseers and supervisors.

6.3. Now, it is important to realize that in the construction of the temple that every timber and stone was precisely cut to size and dimension before being transported to the temple building site. In this way, there would be no sound of hammers and saws but peace, as was fitting for a temple to the Lord. Each peace was already cut to fit and then was merely slid into place.

6.3.1. When I was in Japan I was shown how that they often build houses there without using a single nail. Support timbers are laced together with cords and various mechanisms are used to avoid the use of nails.

7.VS 6:1 - “¹ Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.” - The date for the building of the temple is given

7.1. This verse tells us that the building of the temple by Solomon began in 966BC.

8.VS 6:2-3 - “² As for the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, its length was sixty cubits and its width twenty cubits and its height thirty cubits. ³ The porch in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits in length, corresponding to the width of the house, and its depth along the front of the house was ten cubits.” - The measurements for the temple are given

8.1. The common cubit measurement, or 18,” is used here in these measurement specifications. Therefore, the temple proper was 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 45 feet high. The measurements then indicate that the temple in scale was exactly twice in size of the tabernacle. The room called the Holy of Holies inside the temple was 30 feet by 30 feet by 30 feet.

8.2. Solomon’s porch, which was at the front of the temple, was 30 feet wide and 15 feet deep.

8.3. Likewise, there was a courtyard for the priests that surrounded the temple.

8.4. When Harod’s Temple was built he added a court for the Gentiles to the temple. However, the Jews began to desecrate this court by selling all of their animals for sacrifice there as well as changing money. This is what Jesus condemned the Jews for and which caused Him to run the money changers out of the temple. Herod also added a court for women to his temple

8.5. The following is a diagram of the Tabernacle:

8.6. The following is a diagram of Solomon’s temple:

The Ark of the Covenant is located in the Most Holy Place. A veil separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. The Altar of Incense is located in the Holy Place right in front of the veil to the Most Holy Place. The Table of Showbread is located in the Holy Place as the Menora (7 lamp lamppost). The rectangle just to the right of the Holy Place is Solomon’s Porch and to the right of it are two circles which correspond to two brass pillars. The “Altar” in our picture is the Brazen Altar and it is found in the Outer Court. The “Sea” in the Outer Court corresponds to the Laver of the tabernacle and was used for washing. Around the temple proper are Store Rooms for the priests to use.

9.VS 6:4-6 - “⁴ Also for the house he made windows with artistic frames. ⁵ Against the wall of the house he built stories encompassing the walls of the house around both the nave and the inner sanctuary; thus he made side chambers all around. ⁶ The lowest story was five cubits wide, and the middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide; for on the outside he made offsets in the wall of the house all around in order that the beams would not be inserted in the walls of the house.” - The outer perimeter of the temple proper is described

9.1. Unlike the tabernacle, Solomon’s temple had small windows around the outside of the temple proper.

9.2. Also there was a storage area with storage chambers around the temple proper that was three stories high.

10.VS 6:7 - “⁷ The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built.” - The wood and stones were pre-cut before delivery to the temple so that neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool was heard at the temple site itself

10.1. Wanting to preserve the serenity of the house of the Lord, every piece of stone and wood was precut and merely slid into place at the temple site.

10.2. There is always peace in the presence of the Lord, whether it is in heaven or upon the earth. One of the greatest blessings to God’s people is the peace that He gives us that passes comprehension (Phil. 4:6-7). The scripture tells us conversely that there is no peace for the wicked, those who are not God’s people on this earth (Isaiah 48:22; 57:21).

10.3. Since nails weren’t used, perhaps glues or cords were used for binding together support beams.

11.VS 6:8-10 - “⁸ The doorway for the lowest side chamber was on the right side of the house; and they would go up by winding stairs to the middle story, and from the middle to the third.⁹ So he built the house and finished it; and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. ¹⁰ He also built the stories against the whole house, each five cubits high; and they were fastened to the house with timbers of cedar.” - The outer chambers were built around the temple proper

11.1. Again, there were three levels of rooms in this outer structure around the temple proper, and each chamber was 7 ½ feet high.

11.2. The rooms on the upper level were 10 ½ feet wide, on the second level 9 feet wide, and on the lowest level 7 ½ feet wide.

11.3. These outer chambers were used for storage by the priests.

11.4. The chambers were fastened to the temple proper with cedar timbers.

12.VS 6:11-13 - “¹¹ Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon saying, ¹² “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in My statutes and execute My ordinances and keep all My commandments by walking in them, then I will carry out My word with you which I spoke to David your father. ¹³ “I will dwell among the sons of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel.”” - The word of the Lord came to Solomon warning him to walk in the statutes, ordinances, and commandments of the Lord

12.1. The word of God was delivered to Solomon most likely through some unnamed prophet, and it was given to be an encouragement as well as a warning.

12.2. The Lord promised Solomon that He would dwell among Israel and not forsake them if they would simply keep His statutes, ordinances, and commandments.

12.3. It is possible that Solomon was becoming puffed up with pride as the temple began to be built and people began to realize the awesome magnanimity of it. This rebuke would realign Solomon from being puffed up in pride.

13.VS 6:14-30 - “¹⁴ So Solomon built the house and finished it. ¹⁵ Then he built the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house to the ceiling he overlaid the walls on the inside with wood, and he overlaid the floor of the house with boards of cypress. ¹⁶ He built twenty cubits on the rear part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the ceiling; he built them for it on the inside as an inner sanctuary, even as the most holy place. ¹⁷ The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. ¹⁸ There was cedar on the house within, carved in the shape of gourds and open flowers; all was cedar, there was no stone seen. ¹⁹ Then he prepared an inner sanctuary within the house in order to place there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. ²⁰ The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits in length, twenty cubits in width, and twenty cubits in height, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid the altar with cedar. ²¹ So Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he drew chains of gold across the front of the inner sanctuary, and he overlaid it with gold. ²² He overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar which was by the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold. ²³ Also in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴ Five cubits was the one wing of the cherub and five cubits the other wing of the cherub; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits. ²⁵ The other cherub was ten cubits; both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form. ²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub. ²⁷ He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. So their wings were touching each other in the center of the house. ²⁸ He also overlaid the cherubim with gold. ²⁹ Then he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, inner and outer sanctuaries. ³⁰ He overlaid the floor of the house with gold, inner and outer sanctuaries.” - The building of the inside of the temple proper is described

13.1. The walls ceiling and floor were all made of cedar or cypress wood which was then covered with gold. Everything on the inside of the temple proper was covered with gold which was to be a reflection of the holiness of the Lord.

13.2. The wood on the walls had designs of guards, open flowers, palm trees, and cherubim. Then, they would place the gold overtop of the wood with its designs.

13.3. Stretched across the front of the inner sanctuary (Holy Place) Solomon had gold chains.

13.4. Solomon also had made two cherubim of olive wood covered with gold that were 10 cubits (15 feet) across and these fit on the top of the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant. The cherubim’s wings spread from one wall to the other since the Holy of Holies was a 30 foot cube.

13.5. Between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place hung a beautiful veil (2 Chron. 3:10).

14.VS 6:31-32 - “³¹ For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood, the lintel and five-sided doorposts. ³² So he made two doors of olive wood, and he carved on them carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold; and he spread the gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.” - The entrance and doors to the inner sanctuary are described

14.1. Beautifully carved doors of wood covered with gold led from the outside into the Holy Place.

14.2. The carvings on these doors were of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers.

15.VS 6:33-35 - “³³ So also he made for the entrance of the nave four-sided doorposts of olive wood ³⁴ and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of the one door turned on pivots, and the two leaves of the other door turned on pivots. ³⁵ He carved on it cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the engraved work.” - The entrance and doors to the nave are described

15.1. Outside of Solomon’s porch there were also two free standing bronze pillars which stood 27 feet high and were 18 feet in circumference (Jer. 52:21). These pillars were named “Jachin” (“he establishes”) and “Boaz” (“in him is strength”). The Lord was establishing these pillars as a memorial to the fact that the temple and salvation itself came about from Him and by His strong arm.

15.2. A decorative capital rested on top of each pillar (2 Kings 25:17).

16.VS 6:36 - “³⁶ He built the inner court with three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams.” - The inner court’s construction is described

16.1. This is the court surrounding the temple proper. Evidently, there was an inner court as well as an outer court.

17.VS 6:37-38 - “³⁷ In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸ In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts and according to all its plans. So he was seven years in building it.” - The time to completion of the temple is given

17.1. The construction of Solomon’s temple took seven years and six months.

18.CONCLUSIONS:

18.1. May we desire the zeal for the Lord and to be with the Lord as David did.

18.2. May we as God’s people realize the importance of sacrificing of our time and our resources in order that God’s work be sustained and souls won to Christ.

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