CHAPTER 6

(1012 B.C.)

SOLOMON BUILDS THE TEMPLE

¹And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomons reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the House of the LORD. (The 480 year number given in the Text has been debated for many centuries. It is virtually impossible to tally up the years of the Judges, considering that the possibility exists that some of these times overlapped. I personally feel that the number 480 years is correct as stated, but with the following variations:

This Verse illustrates the Promise that God not only forgives sin, but also forgets sin. Thus, the years of Israels bondage to the nations are omitted. The lesson, at the same time, is taught that years or days spent in bondage to the world are forever lost. Thus, what appears to be a chronological error in the Sacred Text is found to be a designed Message of comfort and warning.

It is doubtful that the 480 years stated in the Text include the whole period of time between the Exodus and the fourth year of Solomons reign. It really refers to the 480th year of the security of Israel as a Nation. It does not include the 40 years of Sinai and the wandering in the wilderness, the period of the conquest of Canaan and division of the land [about 10 years], or the three years of confusion under Abimelech and the 111 years of servitude during the Judges.

It is believed that the entire period from the Exodus to the fourth year of Solomon was approximately 645 years. However, as stated, there is a possibility that some of the periods of the Judges overlapped with other periods, which could shorten the entirety of the time by a number of years.

But this we do know:

The beginning of the construction of the House of the Lord, as designated here by the Holy Spirit, was extremely significant in the great Plan of God.)

²And the House which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits (counting 18 inches to the cubit, this would mean it was 90 feet long), and the breadth thereof twenty cubits (30 feet wide), and the height thereof thirty cubits (45 feet high).

³And the porch before the Temple of the House, twenty cubits (30 feet) was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the House; and ten cubits (15 feet) was the breadth thereof before the House (according to the chronology of Ussher, Solomon began building the Temple in 3,000 B.C., in our month of May).

⁴And for the House he made windows of narrow lights.

⁵And against the wall of the House he built chambers round about, against the walls of the House round about, both of the Temple and of the Oracle (Holy of Holies): and he made chambers round about (the floors were divided by partitions into distinct compartments):

⁶The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad (7 feet), and the middle was six cubits broad (9 feet), and the third was seven cubits broad (10 feet): for without in the wall of the House he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the House (these measurements are those of the interior; the remarkable way in which this thing was built should be of note; the stories were shaped and prepared beforehand in the quarry, so that there was nothing to do on their arrival in the Temple area but to fit the stones to their place in the building).

⁷And the House, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the House, while it was in building. (The plans for this Building were totally of the Lord, and none of man. In fact, they were given to David, but he was not allowed to construct the edifice, that being the task of his son who succeeded him. As the Tabernacle, the Temple, in all of its Grace, symbolized Christ in His Atoning, Mediatorial, and Intercessory Work. Inasmuch as the Holy Spirit would be the One Who would occupy the Holy of Holies in this Building, it was to be constructed in absolute silence. For a structure of this nature, especially considering the huge stones, etc., this presents an astounding feat. This is one of the many reasons that the structure cost so much to build.)

⁸The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the House: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third (the third story).

⁹So he built the House, and finished it; and covered the House with beams and boards of cedar.

¹⁰And then he built chambers against all the House, five cubits (7 feet) high: and they rested on the House with timber of cedar.

¹¹And the Word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying (probably through the Prophet Nathan),

¹²Concerning this House which you are in building, if you will walk in My Statutes, and execute My Judgments, and keep all My Commandments to walk in them; then will I perform My Word with you, which I spoke unto David your father (while no man was able to keep the Law perfectly, and for any number of reasons, still, the idea was that every effort be made to do so. If the heart was after God, a desire to carry out His Will, and to do so at all cost, even though at times the Law was broken, a repentant heart would always automatically see an instant Restoration, with all the great Promises of God guaranteed to such an individual. David was that kind of man, and was ever held up as the example. He sinned at times, and did so grievously; however, he was always quick to repent. Sadly, we will find that Solomon drifted, and did so in a terrible way):

¹³And I will dwell among the Children of Israel, and will not forsake My People Israel. (God had previously pledged His Presence to the Tabernacle [Ex. 25:8; 29:45; Lev. 26:11]. The Temple, as well, was reared to be His Dwelling-place [II Chron. 6:2]. He now assures the royal builder that He will occupy it.)

¹⁴So Solomon built the House and finished it.

¹⁵And he built the walls of the House within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the House, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the House with planks of fir.

¹⁶And he built twenty cubits (30 feet) on the sides of the House, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the Oracle, even for the Most Holy Place (this was the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, and which was actually the dwelling-place of the Lord, Who dwelt between the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim).

¹⁷And the House, that is, the Temple before it, was forty cubits long (60 feet).

¹⁸And the cedar of the House within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen (actually, the cedar wasnt seen either, because all of it was covered with gold).

¹⁹And the Oracle he prepared in the House within, to set there the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD.

²⁰And the Oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length (30 feet), and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the Altar which was of cedar. (This tells us that the Holy of Holies was 30 feet square and 30 feet high. This was the same width as the House. In II Chron., Chpt. 4, we also see that the great Brazen Altar was also 20 cubits square [30 feet]. The reason was that Atonement and Glory are one. Atonement is the theology of Heaven, and the entrance to Gods Home is as wide as the Home itself. What a thrilling Revelation! In other words, Calvary is just as large as the House of God.)

²¹So Solomon overlaid the House within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the Oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. (Gold typified Deity, meaning that the One Who occupied this House was God. As well, the One Whom the House symbolized, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, is also God!)

²²And the whole House he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the House: also the whole Altar that was by the Oracle he overlaid with gold.

²³And within the Oracle he made two Cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high (15 feet high).

²⁴And five cubits (7 feet) was the one wing of the Cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the Cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits (15 feet).

²⁵And the other Cherub was ten cubits (15 feet): both the Cherubims were of one measure and one size (these were in the Holy of Holies).

²⁶The height of the one Cherub was ten cubits (15 feet), and so was it of the other Cherub.

²⁷And he set the Cherubims within the Inner House (the Holy of Holies): and they stretched forth the wings of the Cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other Cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the House. (Each Cherub had four wings, two stretching out behind which touched the back wall, and two stretching out in front which touched the wings of the other Cherub. So the wings of both Cherubs spanned the entirety of the Holy of Holies. Actually, this particular room, it is said, sat immediately above the rock where Abraham was to offer Isaac, and where presently the Dome of the Rock of the Muslims is built.)

²⁸And he overlaid the Cherubims with gold.

²⁹And he carved all the walls of the House roundabout with carved figures of Cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. (The Cherubims speak of the Holiness of God and, thereby, that all about Him must be Holy. The palm trees speak of a perfect climate, meaning that the elements will no longer be in revolt after the Second Coming of Christ. The open flowers speak of beauty, which will characterize the Kingdom Age, of which the Temple is a Type.

Due to the fact that the Cherubims symbolize the Holiness of God, they likewise must symbolize Judgment. Their wings met over the blood-sprinkled Mercy Seat and reached, as stated, to either extremity of the Most Holy Place. Gods Judgments have Calvary for their center, and are as wide as His Home.)

³⁰And the floor of the House he overlaid with gold, within and without.

³¹And for the entering of the Oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. (Beneath the huge Cherubims, whose wings stretched from wall to wall, was placed the Ark of the Covenant with the Mercy Seat. The smaller Cherubim that Moses had made were attached to the Mercy Seat and made of the same mass of gold. The smaller Cherubims looked downward upon the sprinkled blood; the huge Cherubims, made of olive wood and covered with gold, looked outward. Whereas Moses Tabernacle in the wilderness, before the erection of the Temple, was a Type of Calvary and Redemption, Solomons Temple was a type of the Kingdom Age and of Righteousness.

Gods Perfect Judgments will, in the Millennium, be enabled to look out from Calvary upon a Kingdom wherein shall dwell Righteousness. This is not now possible, for Righteousness retreated to Heaven when Christ went to the Father [Jn. 16:10].)

³²The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of Cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the Cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

³³So also made he for the door of the Temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.

³⁴And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.

³⁵And he carved thereon Cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.

³⁶And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.

³⁷In the fourth year was the foundation of the House of the LORD laid, in the month Zif (our May):

³⁸And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the House finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. (As stated, Solomons Temple was a type of the coming Kingdom Age, when and where Righteousness will fill the Earth, because Christ is then present, with Satan and all of his minions of darkness locked away [Rev. 20:1-3].)