1 KINGS 6
Read 1 Kings 6:1-38
This is another chapter full of seemingly endless detail; very interesting if you are an architect or a building contractor but not really for the general public. Why is there all this detail? One thought is that your average Israelite would never get to see the interior of the temple; that is the preserve of the priesthood. So maybe this is the equivalent of one of those audio tours that the National Trust and similar organisations provide. The Book of Exodus has a similarly detailed account of the tabernacle, the fore-runner of the temple, which was carried by the Israelites in their desert wanderings. All this detail also shows that Solomon, in building a ‘house’ for the Lord paid great attention to detail. The building of the temple was an act of devotion by Solomon; it was worship and thanksgiving to a great and glorious God. We can easily think of the church building simply as a space for the faithful to meet and worship God. But we could also think of the building and its contents as themselves being part of that worship. That is what Solomon did.
It is noticeable that the chapter opens (and closes) with a very precise date. Why is that so important? I think the main reason is that the building of the temple marks a new era in the life of God’s people, a new start. Up to now God’s ‘house’ had been the tabernacle. This had accompanied the Israelites throughout the exodus and into the Promised Land. Now, with the temple, there was a sense that the wanderings were over and the Israelites had settled into their new homeland and now God had a permanent ‘home’ as well. One of the promises that God made to his people from Abraham onwards was the promise of rest. Now their travels were over, warfare with the surrounding nations was over and rest and security have been achieved – every man could sit under his own fig tree.
But among all the joy and excitement of the temple being built Chapter 6 notes a word of warning in Verses 11-13. The Lord spoke to Solomon and re-iterated the charge that Solomon’s father David gave to him; telling him to follow the laws and decrees that God had given his people through Moses. If Solomon would be faithful to God, then God would be faithful; he would live among the Israelites and would not abandon them. This is really a re-statement of the Covenant that God had made, initially with Abraham, but again and again throughout the history if Israel. The Covenant was a kind of legal agreement in which God bound himself to the nation of Israel and is often expressed in the Old Testament by God saying, “I will be your God and you will be my people”. The required response of the people (and particularly the king) to this promise of God’s is obedience. This puts the temple building into perspective. However grand the temple is, however it honours and glorifies God, when all said and done, it is only a building. What is more important is the relationship that the people have with God and how their faithfulness is shown in their day to day lives. We will see that this will be a challenge for Israel and its king, Solomon.