1 Kings 7; 2 Chronicles 4

Click here for today’s reading http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Kings%207,%202%20Chronicles%204&version=NIV

I have a picture of the Temple outline and when I return I pray I am able to enter it on the blog so you will have a visual of the Temple layout…..up-close and personal. <<<smile>>> but for now I’m focusing on making sure this post is entered on time.

The Temple — Notice the blueprint for the Temple (David laid it out under God’s design for Solomon to build) is the same for that of the Tabernacle (God instructed Moses to build.) It is a God breathed plan of exactly what He wanted. Everything in it has a meaning just like when the tabernacle was built. In case you are interested in more details of the Temple, a great resource (for the Temple and MANY other items) is “The Rose Book of Bible Maps, Charts and Timelines” by Rose Publishing. The book contains a section that shows the detail of the temple, what it looked like, and the purpose of each item.

The Bronze Alter — People would come and make a sacrifice for their sins to be justified in the eyes of the Lord. Jesus became that sacrifice for us. JESUS became the FINAL sacrifice!!

The Sea — A huge bath that held more than 10,000 gallons of water (now THAT would be a whole LOT of bath water to have to change!!(<<smile>>>) for the priests to purify themselves before entering the temple. JESUS did that for us; purified us with the sacrifice, however, we still need to cleanse and purify ourselves before coming to the Lord in worship WITH confession and repentance. Preparing ourselves to go before The Lord today is NOT what saves us or gives us eternal life. It allows us to search our hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit so that we can truly worship before The Lord. If we have sin in our lives and do not repent and confess…then we can miss out on God’s best for us by our own actions (or lack of action to confess and repent.)

Bronze Pillars –Jakin and Boaz — Interesting that Solomon named these pillars. One was Jakin (also shown as Jackin in the KJV) means “HE will establish” and Boaz means “In Him is Strength.” Interestingly in Revelation 3:12 it says: “Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God”. Pretty deep–eh?

The Holy Place — We know this. The Priests entered here to serve the Lord. Through a relationship with Jesus we now have access individually to meet and serve the Lord. We, the believers, have become the Priesthood.

The Most Holy Place. God’s throne, where the Ark of the Lord was. ONLY a HIGH priest was to enter in there ONCE a year, the Day of Atonement, to atone (to cover) for the sins of the people. When Jesus sacrificed himself the veil was torn between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place/Holy of Holies, giving us FULL and DIRECT access to God through believing in Jesus. Jesus was the FINAL sacrifice to make atonement for our sin. Jesus did not “just” atone for our sins, HE did not “just” cover our sin….HE DID AWAY WITH it…. as far as the east it is from the west… HE WASHED US CLEAN!! HE is the FINAL HIGH PRIEST.

The Golden light and Table of bread (is all of this sounding familiar from Moses and The Tabernacle???). The 10 prong menorah and the Table with the 12 loaves of Bread. Today in our Temple (our bodies) Christ is the light of the world and the bread of life!

Incense Alter — Prayers were offered at this altar and the smoke was a sign that it went straight up to the Lord. The incense recipe was not to be duplicated for personal use….it was ONLY to be use in offering up prayers at the altar. The incense was a sweet aroma to the Lord not only as He could smell the incense but also as HE heard the prayers of HIS people. Today our prayers go directly to Him and are STILL a sweet, sweet aroma pleasing to the Lord.

The Veil — This was a THICK, long, wide, curtain that separated God from the sins of the people. When Jesus died the FIRST thing that happened was the veil TORE from top to bottom (an impossible way to tear by explanation like weight) and we no longer have to be separated from Him. HE wants each of us CLOSE to HIM in a deep personal relationship with HIM and the ONLY way this could happen was through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for us.

Cherubim — Google them to see what they look like. These babies were HUGE! These mighty angels over the ARK are symbols of the very angels guarding the Garden of Eden!! A Cherubim was placed on each side of the gate to the entrance to the Garden of Eden holding flaming swords so NO ONE can enter there again until Jesus comes again. The Cherubim on guard at the garden represent the separation between God and the sinner. In God’s grace and mercy HE sacrificed his ONE and ONLY son so that we are no longer separated from HIM. Is this not a glorious Are we getting how blessed we are to be on this side of the Cross!

The Ark of the Covenant — The dwelling place of The Lord, the meeting place to commune with the Lord. Today we are able to fellowship with HIM personally and the ARK serves as a reminder of the fellowship He desired with HIS people from (remember how Adam and Eve communed with HIM 24/7!!) He wants to dwell and relate with us daily, and we are to respond by worshipping, praying, respecting, studying his Word, and obeying Him.

Storerooms — A three story room that held the treasures in God’s temple. In the NT Jesus said that we are to lay up our Treasures in Heaven, because the Treasures we lay up in heaven are ETERNAL. The treasures we “lay up” on earth are fleeting. They can ALL be taken away in an instant. And, even if we are blessed to have many treasures here on earth…..we can NOT take them with us. Billy Graham said something to the effect that he has never seen a hearse being following by a U-Haul. Our Treasure will be laid at the feet of Jesus. We will cast our crowns at His feet.

In 2 Chronicles we are told about all the furnishings for the Temple. In 1 Kings we covers some of the Temple but also Solomon’s palace. Did you notice it took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple in all its glory….and 13 years to build his palace? He also built the same type of palace for his wife, the Pharaoh’s daughter!! It doesn’t say what happened to the palace built for David. Just interesting that he spent more time building his palace than he did on the Temple!! Also interesting that according to the measurements given the Temple for the Lord had approximately 8,100 square feet. His palace (and I am assuming the palace for the Pharaoh’s daughter, his wife) each had approximately 33,750 square feet.

God shared this with us for a reason and I am not sure if the reason is to show us that when we obey HIS ways (such as building the Temple according to HIS guidelines) then we are often greatly blessed in other areas or if there is an even deeper message here. But the Word did not say anything was wrong with what Solomon did in building these two palaces. Kind of nice to think that our obedience can bring many unexpected blessings.
Sharing HIS love,