1 Kings 7: “More Building For Solomon”

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.INTRO:

1.1. In our last study, we looked at chapters 5 and 6.

1.1.1. We saw that Solomon made preparations for building the temple by asking help from his father’s friend and ally, Hiram the king of Tyre.

1.1.2. With Hiram’s help, Solomon began the building of the temple for the Lord.

1.1.3. We saw that 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. We looked at many ways that David prepared for the temple being built:

1.1.3.1. We observed the huge amounts of gold, silver, brass, and iron that David collected for the building of the temple and we saw that after David had asked the leaders in Israel to contribute also from their personal reserves that according to Warren Wiersbe, the gold and silver collected totaled 4,050 tons of gold and over 38,000 tons of silver.

1.1.3.2. 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 and these workers prefabricated much of the furnishings of the temple, “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.”

1.1.3.3. 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.

1.1.4. We saw that the building of the temple by Solomon began in 966BC.

1.2. In our study today, we are going to look at chapter 7.

1.2.1. When we study the accounts of the life of King Solomon we see that more than any other of God’s leaders that he had this continual desire to build. His projects were incredibly huge and intricate, yet this did not scare him away from completing them.

1.2.2. To be fair to Solomon, we really don’t know why it took him 13 years to build his own house and only 7 to build the temple, but several factors could have come into play :

1.2.2.1. David had much of the temple already prefabricated saving construction time.

1.2.2.2. There was not the urgency to build his own house that there had been in building the temple.

1.2.2.3. People were probably more eager to help with the building of the temple than in building things for Solomon’s own personal use.

1.2.3. While we look at the structures that Solomon built, we really do not know if each was a separate structure or whether any of the structures were part of a grouping.

1.2.4. We will also observe how that though the temple was in scale exactly twice the size of the tabernacle, that in many particulars the temple was constructed to multiply more than 10 times the worship and sacrifice that could be accomplished by the priests.

1.2.5. In our last study, as we considered the awesome construction of the temple for the Lord we discussed the incredible prosperity and grandeur of Solomon and the things that he built and accomplished, and in Luke 12:27 Jesus spoke the following referencing this glory of Solomon, “²⁷ “ Consider the lilies , how they grow : they neither toil nor spin ; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”

2.VS 7:1 - “¹ Now Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.” - Solomon built his own house, taking 13 years

2.1. Solomon was more concerned about building the temple of the Lord, so he built it first. Then, when it was completed he began building his own house.

2.2. This house was Solomon’s palace and was located in Jerusalem.

2.3. 1 Kings 9:10 tells us that it took Solomon 20 years total to build the house of the Lord and his own house (7 for the temple + 13 for his own house), “¹⁰ It came about at the end of twenty years in which Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house.”

2.4. 1 Kings 9:17-19 refers to cities that Solomon built besides the buildings mentioned in this chapter, “¹⁷ So Solomon rebuilt Gezer and the lower Beth-horon ¹⁸ and Baalath and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, ¹⁹ and all the storage cities which Solomon had, even the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and all that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.”

2.5. We will see that this palace for Solomon included a personal residence, city hall, throne room, armory, and an official reception center.

3.VS 2:2-8a - “² He built the house of the forest of Lebanon; its length was 100 cubits and its width 50 cubits and its height 30 cubits, on four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams on the pillars. ³ It was paneled with cedar above the side chambers which were on the 45 pillars, 15 in each row. ⁴ There were artistic window frames in three rows, and window was opposite window in three ranks. ⁵ All the doorways and doorposts had squared artistic frames, and window was opposite window in three ranks. ⁶ Then he made the hall of pillars; its length was 50 cubits and its width 30 cubits, and a porch was in front of them and pillars and a threshold in front of them. ⁷ He made the hall of the throne where he was to judge, the hall of judgment, and it was paneled with cedar from floor to floor. ⁸ His house where he was to live, the other court inward from the hall, was of the same workmanship.” - Solomon built a second house in the forest of Lebanon

3.1. This house appears to be a vacation house for King Solomon.

3.2. This house was twice the size of the temple. The length of the house was 100 cubits (150 feet) or about half the length of a football field. The width then of the house was about half of that, or 75 feet. The height of the house was 30 cubits or 45 feet.

3.3. The house was built upon four rows of cedar pillars with cedar beams upon them.

3.4. The house was built throughout using the famed cedars of Lebanon.

3.5. Hiram the king of Tyre provided the stones and the cedar trees from Lebanon.

3.6. In 1 Kings 10:17,21 we read of further furnishings that were placed in Solomon’s house, “¹⁷ He made 300 shields of beaten gold, using three minas of gold on each shield, and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. …²¹ All King Solomon’s drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold. None was of silver; it was not considered valuable in the days of Solomon.”

4.VS 7:8b - “He also made a house like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom Solomon had married.” - Solomon also built a house for his wife who was Pharaoh’s daughter

4.1. 1 Kings 3:1 tells us that this house for Pharaoh’s daughter was build after Solomon had built the temple and his own house.

4.2. This house may have housed some or many of his wives, and it has even been called by some a “harem house.”

4.3. This house Solomon built for Pharaoh’s daughter was built to be like his vacation house in the forest of Lebanon, and like all of Solomon’s buildings it must have been incredibly large, plush and exotic.

5.VS 7:9-12 - “⁹ All these were of costly stones, of stone cut according to measure, sawed with saws, inside and outside; even from the foundation to the coping, and so on the outside to the great court. ¹⁰ The foundation was of costly stones, even large stones, stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits. ¹¹ And above were costly stones, stone cut according to measure, and cedar. ¹² So the great court all around had three rows of cut stone and a row of cedar beams even as the inner court of the house of the Lord, and the porch of the house.” - The construction for the houses David built is expounded upon

5.1. We see here that the buildings had a foundation made of costly stones that were 10 cubits x 8 cubits. On the inside of the houses the construction was primarily of cedar.

5.2. The court around the houses was constructed of costly stones and cedar beams.

6.VS 7:13-22 - “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. ¹⁵ He fashioned the two pillars of bronze; eighteen cubits was the height of one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured the circumference of both. ¹⁶ He also made two capitals of molten bronze to set on the tops of the pillars; the height of the one capital was five cubits and the height of the other capital was five cubits. ¹⁷ There were nets of network and twisted threads of chainwork for the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; seven for the one capital and seven for the other capital. ¹⁸ So he made the pillars, and two rows around on the one network to cover the capitals which were on the top of the pomegranates; and so he did for the other capital. ¹⁹ The capitals which were on the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily design, four cubits. ²⁰ There were capitals on the two pillars, even above and close to the rounded projection which was beside the network; and the pomegranates numbered two hundred in rows around both capitals. ²¹ Thus he set up the pillars at the porch of the nave; and he set up the right pillar and named it Jachin, and he set up the left pillar and named it Boaz. ²² On the top of the pillars was lily design. So the work of the pillars was finished.” - A man named Hiram from Tyre was employed by Solomon to do work in bronze in constructing the two pillars in the court of the temple

6.1. This Hiram is not Hiram the king of Tyre, but rather another Hiram who was from Tyre.

6.2. This man Hiram was really skilled in ay kind of construction work, however he was an expert in working with bronze and therefore was highly valuable in the construction of these two huge highly decorative pillars located outside the front of the temple proper.

6.3. 2 Chron. 2:13-14 tell us more about the background and skills of this man Hiram, “¹³ “Now I am sending Huram-abi, a skilled man, endowed with understanding, ¹⁴ the son of a Danite woman and a Tyrian father, who knows how to work in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone and wood, and in purple, violet, linen and crimson fabrics, and who knows how to make all kinds of engravings and to execute any design which may be assigned to him, to work with your skilled men and with those of my lord David your father.”

6.4. The Bethany Parallel Old Testament Commentary says the following about this man Hiram of whom it says that he was of the tribe of Naphtali, “In 2 Chronicles 2:14 his mother is said to have been of the daughters of Dan. The apparent discrepancy may be reconciled thus: Hiram’s mother, though belonging to the tribe of Dan, had been married to a Naphtalite, so that when married afterwards to a Tyrian, she might be described as a widow of the tribe of Naphtali. Or, if she was a natie of the city of Dan (Laish), she might be said to be of the dauthers of Dan, as born in that place; and of the tribe of Naphtali, as really belonging to it.”

6.5. These two pillars were about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference. They were free-standing, about 3 ½ inches thick and hollow. There was a decorative capital on top of each pillar that was 4 feet high.

6.6. The weight of the pillars with a capital could have been as much as 16 to 30 tons each.

6.7. We saw in our last study that by these pillars being named “Jachin” (“he establishes”) and “Boaz” (“in him is strength”) the Lord was establishing a memorial to the fact that the temple and salvation itself came about from Him and by His strong arm.

7.VS 7:23-36 - “²³ Now he made the sea of cast metal ten cubits from brim to brim, circular in form, and its height was five cubits, and thirty cubits in circumference. ²⁴ Under its brim gourds went around encircling it ten to a cubit, completely surrounding the sea; the gourds were in two rows, cast with the rest. ²⁵ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east; and the sea was set on top of them, and all their rear parts turned inward. ²⁶ It was a handbreadth thick, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, as a lily blossom; it could hold two thousand baths. ²⁷ Then he made the ten stands of bronze; the length of each stand was four cubits and its width four cubits and its height three cubits. ²⁸ This was the design of the stands: they had borders, even borders between the frames, ²⁹ and on the borders which were between the frames were lions, oxen and cherubim; and on the frames there was a pedestal above, and beneath the lions and oxen were wreaths of hanging work. ³⁰ Now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles, and its four feet had supports; beneath the basin were cast supports with wreaths at each side. ³¹ Its opening inside the crown at the top was a cubit, and its opening was round like the design of a pedestal, a cubit and a half; and also on its opening there were engravings, and their borders were square, not round. ³² The four wheels were underneath the borders, and the axles of the wheels were on the stand. And the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half. ³³ The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel. Their axles, their rims, their spokes, and their hubs were all cast. ³⁴ Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. ³⁵ On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. ³⁶ He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around.” - The description of the building of the cast metal sea at the temple site is discussed

7.1. In 2 Chron. 4:1, the brazen altar that was in the inner court is described, “¹ Then he made a bronze altar, twenty cubits in length and twenty cubits in width and ten cubits in height.” The brazen altar is where the people brought their animals to be sacrificed to the Lord. The altar was made of brass and was 30 feet square and 15 feet high. The height of the altar suggests that some sort of staircase had been constructed for the priests to ascend up to the altar to make the sacrifices. The priests kept the fire going in the brazen altar.

7.2. The brazen altar was much bigger than the corresponding altar in the tabernacle for it would need to handle the sacrifices for an ever growing number of Israelites from then on.

7.3. The molten sea replaced the laver that had been in the tabernacle as it was used for washing. The molten sea was much bigger than the laver and was 15 feet across and 7 ½ feet high. It could hold over 17,000 gallons of water. The sea was built upon the backs of 12 cast statutes of oxen, in groups of 3, with each of the four groups pointing in a different direction. There may have been a spigot on the bottom of the molten sea for taking out small amounts of water and washing hands and feet as was required by priests before making sacrifices.

7.4. When the molten sea was completely full of water it would weight almost 71 tons, since water weights 8.345404 lbs per gallon.

7.5. The molten sea stood on the backs of 12 oxen, three facing in each of the four directions, north, south, east, and west. Someone once commented that perhaps that since Aaron had cast a golden calf for the people to worship at one point that now the golden sea was situated on top of 12 oxen to demonstrate the fact that the oxen were no more that menial beasts of burden and their load was nothing but the very water used to wash away impurities.

7.6. 2 Chron. 4:6 tells us that the priests washed in the water of the molten sea.

8.VS 7:37-39 - “³⁷ He made the ten stands like this: all of them had one casting, one measure and one form. ³⁸ He made ten basins of bronze, one basin held forty baths; each basin was four cubits, and on each of the ten stands was one basin. ³⁹ Then he set the stands, five on the right side of the house and five on the left side of the house; and he set the sea of cast metal on the right side of the house eastward toward the south.” - The construction of 10 basins with stands is described

8.1. There is multiplication in the temple over what the tabernacle provided. We have already seen that the size of the temple proper was twice the size of the tabernacle, however here we see that there was a huge molten sea and 10 basins for washing in the temple verses just a laver in the tabernacle. We will see in a minute that inside of the temple that the one Menora (7 candlestick candle) use to light the tabernacle was replaced with 10 lamps. We see multiplication again…

8.2. There were also 10 stands for the 10 lavers in the inner court that were used for washing. The basins of the lavers were 6 feet square and 4 ½ feet high, holding about 230 gallons of water each. The stands were on wheels and were moved all over the inner court as needed in order to provide proper washing. Remember, the animals were required to be washed before being sacrificed. The wheels on the basins allowed them to be wheeled all around as needed, and the dirty water to be cleaned out.

8.3. The real issue of what stands in between God and men is the uncleanness of men due to their being stained by sin. We as God’s people have been brought near to the Lord because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, and His blood having washed us clean. However, when we allow sin to enter into our lives we again are found to be unclean and need the blood of Christ to freshly be applied to our hearts. This is why we must always be in the habit of applying 1 John 1:9 to our lives, “⁹ If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Remember, the confession mentioned here is a Greek word that implies repentance from our sins, and this repentance on our part is necessary to appropriate Christ’s work on our behalf and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

8.4. Eph. 5:26 also mentions the washing that occurs through the word of God in our lives. God’s word is used by the Lord to bring conviction of sin and thus we are made aware of our need to apply 1 John 1:9 to our lives by confessing and repenting of our sins. It is so important for us to be in the word on a daily basis so that we can continually be experiencing this washing from our sins and thus experience all of the great blessings of being “right” with the Lord.

9.VS 7:40-46 - “ ⁴⁰ Now Hiram made the basins and the shovels and the bowls. So Hiram finished doing all the work which he performed for King Solomon in the house of the Lord: ⁴¹ the two pillars and the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the top of the pillars; ⁴² and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, two rows of pomegranates for each network to cover the two bowls of the capitals which were on the tops of the pillars; ⁴³ and the ten stands with the ten basins on the stands; ⁴⁴ and the one sea and the twelve oxen under the sea; ⁴⁵ and the pails and the shovels and the bowls; even all these utensils which Hiram made for King Solomon in the house of the Lord were of polished bronze. ⁴⁶ In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan.” - The craftsmanship and handiwork of Hiram performed in the temple is expounded upon

9.1. The casting used for making of the various temple artifacts was done ‘in the plain of the Jordan’ (‘Succoth and Zarethan’) because of the ideal nature of the soil in that area.

9.2. Hiram built several types of utensils for the temple in addition to the 2 large pillars.

10.VS 7:47-51 - “⁴⁷ Solomon left all the utensils unweighed, because they were too many; the weight of the bronze could not be ascertained. ⁴⁸ Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the Lord: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; ⁴⁹ and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; ⁵⁰ and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold. ⁵¹ Thus all the work that King Solomon performed in the house of the Lord was finished. And Solomon brought in the things dedicated by his father David, the silver and the gold and the utensils, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of the Lord.” - Utensils, furniture, and lampstands are described

10.1. Whereas the Holy Place in the tabernacle contained only one 7 candle candlestick called the Menora, the Holy Place in the temple contained 10 such lamps, 5 on each side. Again, there was a multiplication that was employed here because the temple would be used to serve just so many more Israelites.

10.1.1. We as God’s people need to walk as children of the light doing good deeds of the same kind as our heavenly Father does, He who dwells in unapproachable light.

10.2. With all that was plated of gold in the temple, it is hard to believe but there was actually more silver and gold and utensils that were made by King David than could fit in the tabernacle, therefore Solomon put the excess of everything in the ‘treasuries of the house of the Lord.’

11.CONCLUSIONS:

11.1. As we consider the great splendor of the structures that Solomon built for the Lord and his personal use, it is so important for us to realize that today none of those structures is standing, including the temple. Within a few hundred years of building the temple the people of Israel had rebelled against the Lord to such an extent that they lost His favor and inherited all of the curses of the Covenant of Law. They were taken captive to Babylon, the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, the temple destroyed, and much of Jerusalem was left in rubble. Regardless of the great ways God has blessed us, He will be our God only as we honor and serve Him in obedience to His word and the commandments contained therein. We as God’s people must never take that fact for granted. As we walk in faith and obedience to Christ following His word we shall be blessed in all that we do, however if we take our eyes off of the Lord and rebel in our hearts against Him our lives too will experience tragic destruction. Jeremiah 52 tells us the tragic story of how the city wall was overthrown and the temple and all of the house were destroyed, “¹ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. ² He did evil in the sight of the Lord like all that Jehoiakim had done. ³ For through the anger of the Lord this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. ⁴ Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. ⁵ So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. ⁶ On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. ⁷ Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. ⁸ But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. ⁹ Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. ¹⁰ The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death. ¹² Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. ¹³ He burned the house of the Lord, the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. ¹⁴ So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. ¹⁵ Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. ¹⁶ But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. ¹⁷ Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the Lord and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the Lord, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. ¹⁸ They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. ¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took away the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. ²⁰ The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. ²¹ As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. ²² Now a capital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. ²³ There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around. ²⁴ Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple. ²⁵ He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. ²⁶ Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. ²⁷ Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was led away into exile from its land. ²⁸ These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; ²⁹ in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; ³⁰ in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all. ³¹ Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. ³² Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. ³³ So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king’s presence regularly all the days of his life. ³⁴ For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.”

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