SOLOMON BUILDS THE TEMPLE
MEMORY VERSE
1 Corinthians 3:16, ESV
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?
DAY 1
1 Chronicles 28:1-6, 11-12, NIrV
1 David asked all the officials of Israel to come together at Jerusalem. He sent for the officers who were over the tribes. He sent for the commanders of the military groups who served the king. He sent for the commanders of thousands of men and commanders of hundreds. He sent for the officials who were in charge of all the royal property and livestock. They belonged to the king and his sons. He sent for the palace officials and the warriors. He also sent for all the brave fighting men.
2 King David stood up. He said, “All of you Israelites, listen to me. With all my heart I wanted to build a house for the Lord. I wanted it to be a place of peace and rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord. The ark is the stool for our God’s feet. I made plans to build the Lord’s house. 3 But God said to me, ‘You are not the one who will build a house for my Name. That is because you are a fighting man. You have spilled people’s blood.’
4 “But the Lord chose me. He is the God of Israel. He chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah to lead the tribes. From the tribe of Judah he chose my family. From my father’s sons he chose me. He was pleased to make me king over the whole nation of Israel. 5 The Lord has given me many sons. From all of them he has chosen my son Solomon. He wants Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom. He wants him to rule over Israel. 6 The Lord said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who will build my house and my courtyards. I have chosen him to be my son. And I will be his father.
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11 Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the porch of the temple. He gave him the plans for its buildings and its storerooms. He gave him the plans for its upper parts and its inside rooms. He gave him the plans for the place where sin is paid for and forgiven. 12 He gave him the plans for everything the Spirit of the Lord had put in his mind. There were plans for the courtyards of the Lord’s temple. There were plans for all the rooms around it. There were plans for the places where the treasure of God’s temple would be kept. There were plans for the places where the things set apart for God would be kept.
BIBLE STUDY
After rescuing Israel from Egypt, God gave Moses plans for a special tent: the Tabernacle. In that tent, the sinless God of Israel met with his sinful people. King David planned to build a temple, a permanent house to replace the Tabernacle tent. But God had different plans! Because David had shed much blood in battle, God chose his son, Solomon, to be his temple builder. Though David didn’t get to build the temple, God did let him design it. As David wrote down plans for the temple, his hands were guided by God. In the end, the building David designed was one of jaw-dropping beauty.
+ Why did God not allow David to build the temple? (vs. 3)
+ Where did David get the plans for the temple from? (vs. 19)
DAY 2
1 Kings 5:1-10, NIrV
1 Hiram was the king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had been anointed as king. He heard that Solomon had become the next king after his father David. Hiram had always been David’s friend. So Hiram sent his messengers to Solomon. 2 Then Solomon sent a message back to Hiram. Solomon said,
3 “As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control. 4 But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either. 5 So I’m planning to build a temple. I want to build it for the Name of the Lord my God. That’s what he told my father David he wanted me to do. He said, ‘I will put your son on the throne in your place. He will build a temple. I will put my Name there.’
6 “So give your men orders to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. My men will work with yours. I’ll pay you for your men’s work. I’ll pay any amount you decide on. As you know, we don’t have anyone as skilled in cutting down trees as the men of Sidon are.”
7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very pleased. He said, “May the Lord be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule over that great nation.”
8 So Hiram sent a message to Solomon. Hiram said,
“I have received the message you sent me. I’ll do everything you want me to. I’ll provide the cedar and juniper logs. 9 My men will bring them from Lebanon down to the Mediterranean Sea. I’ll make them into rafts. I’ll float them to the place you want me to. When the rafts arrive, I’ll separate the logs from each other. Then you can take them away. And here’s what I want in return. Provide food for all the people in my palace.”
10 So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the cedar and juniper logs he wanted.
BIBLE STUDY
Not long after David’s death, Solomon began his assignment: constructing a temple where God would meet with his people. He followed the plans given to him by his father. Guided by God, the blueprints David left for Solomon were for a building of stunning beauty and majesty! The temple would be built with the finest materials found in God's world, beginning with wood from the cedar trees of the land of Lebanon. This wood was beautiful, strong, and even nice-smelling! But it wasn’t cheap. To pay for it all, Solomon had to send thousands of tons of food to a king named Hiram.
+ What was the wood from the cedar trees of Lebanon like?
+ How did King Hiram get the wood from his land all the way to Israel? (vs. 9)
DAY 3
1 Kings 6:11-14, 20-28, NIrV
11 A message came to Solomon from the Lord. The Lord said, 12 “You are now building this temple. Follow my orders. Keep my rules. Obey all my commands. Then I will make the promise I gave your father David come true. I will do it through you. 13 I will live among my people Israel. I will not desert them.”
14 So Solomon built the temple and finished it.
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20 The Most Holy Room was 30 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 30 feet high. Solomon covered the inside of it with pure gold. He prepared the cedar altar for burning incense. He covered it with gold. 21 Solomon covered the inside of the main hall with pure gold. He placed gold chains across the front of the Most Holy Room. That room was covered with gold. 22 So Solomon covered the inside of the whole temple with gold. He also covered the altar for burning incense with gold. It was right in front of the Most Holy Room.
23 For the Most Holy Room Solomon made a pair of cherubim. He made them out of olive wood. Each cherub was 15 feet high. 24 One wing of the first cherub was seven and a half feet long. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. So the wings measured 15 feet from tip to tip. 25 The second cherub’s wings also measured 15 feet from tip to tip. The two cherubim had the same size and shape. 26 Each cherub was 15 feet high. 27 Solomon placed the cherubim inside the Most Holy Room in the temple. Their wings were spread out. The wing tip of one cherub touched one wall. The wing tip of the other touched the other wall. The tips of their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. 28 Solomon covered the cherubim with gold.
BIBLE STUDY
Not only was the temple constructed using the best wood (cedars from Lebanon), Solomon also had much of it covered with precious gold. It was built by the hands of skilled craftsmen, people who were able to create things like the beautiful 15-foot-tall wooden cherubim (angels). Even these were covered in gold! There wasn’t a single inch of the entire temple that wasn’t made to be beautiful. But all of it would be for nothing if God didn’t come to dwell in this temple. That’s why it was such good news that God himself spoke to Solomon and said that was exactly what he planned to do!
+ What did God tell Solomon he would do? (vs. 13)
+ How tall and wide were the cherubim*? (vs. 23-25)
* A “cubit” is equal to about 1.5 feet.
DAY 4
1 Kings 6:37-38, NIRV
37 The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year. It was in the month of Ziv. 38 The temple was finished in his 11th year. It was in the month of Bul. That was the eighth month. Everything was finished just as the plans required. Solomon had spent seven years building the temple.
BIBLE STUDY
It took seven years for Solomon’s workers to finish building the temple. That’s a long time! Nowadays, builders can finish a house in a few months. So why did it take seven years to complete the temple? For starters, the workers didn’t have modern tools like chainsaws to chop down the cedars from Lebanon or powerful trucks to haul the heavy stones for the foundation. Also, the temple was no ordinary house; it was built to worship the God of the universe! Every part of the building, from big to small, was shaped and put together slowly and carefully. It took seven years, but it was worth it!
+ How long did it take the workers to build the temple? (vs. 38)
+ Verse 38 says Solomon followed the plans exactly. Whose plans did he follow?
DAY 5
1 Kings 8:1-11, NIRV
1 Then King Solomon sent for the elders of Israel. He told them to come to him in Jerusalem. They included all the leaders of the tribes. They also included the chiefs of the families of Israel. Solomon wanted them to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion. Zion was the City of David. 2 All the Israelites came together to where King Solomon was. It was at the time of the Feast of Booths. The feast was held in the month of Ethanim. That’s the seventh month.
3 All the elders of Israel arrived. Then the priests picked up the ark and carried it. 4 They brought up the ark of the Lord. They also brought up the tent of meeting and all the sacred things in the tent. The priests and Levites carried everything up. 5 The entire community of Israel had gathered around King Solomon. All of them were in front of the ark. They sacrificed huge numbers of sheep and cattle. There were so many animals that they couldn’t be recorded. In fact, they couldn’t even be counted.
6 The priests brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant law to its place in the Most Holy Room of the temple. They put it under the wings of the cherubim. 7 Their wings were spread out over the place where the ark was. They covered the ark. They also covered the poles used to carry it. 8 The poles were very long. Their ends could be seen from the Holy Room in front of the Most Holy Room. But they couldn’t be seen from outside the Holy Room. They are still there to this day. 9 There wasn’t anything in the ark except the two stone tablets. Moses had placed them in it at Mount Horeb. That’s where the Lord had made a covenant with the Israelites. He made it after they came out of Egypt.
10 The priests left the Holy Room. Then the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11 The priests couldn’t do their work because of it. That’s because the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
BIBLE STUDY
Now that the temple was finished, it was time to take all the special items from the Tabernacle tent and move them into the temple: the golden lampstand, the table of bread, and the altar of incense. But the most special thing inside the tent was a golden chest called the Ark of the Covenant. What made it so precious? Right above its angel-covered lid was the place where God himself met with his people. After the ark was placed inside the temple, God’s glorious presence filled the entire building in a thick, dark cloud. There was no doubt: God had come to dwell in his brand-new house!
+ How many animals were sacrificed as the ark was brought to the temple? (vs. 5)
+ Why could the priests not stand to stay inside the temple? (vs. 11)
DAY 6 - part 1
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30, NIRV
22 Then Solomon stood in front of the Lord’s altar. He stood in front of the whole community of Israel. He spread out his hands toward heaven. 23 He said,
“Lord, you are the God of Israel. There is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below. You keep the covenant you made with us. You show us your love. You do that when we follow you with all our hearts.
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27 “But will you really live on earth? After all, the heavens can’t hold you. In fact, even the highest heavens can’t hold you. So this temple I’ve built certainly can’t hold you! 28 But please pay attention to my prayer. Lord my God, be ready to help me as I make my appeal to you. Listen to my cry for help. Hear the prayer I’m praying to you today. 29 Let your eyes look toward this temple night and day. You said, ‘I will put my Name there.’ So please listen to the prayer I’m praying toward this place. 30 Hear me when I ask you to help us. Listen to your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Listen to us from heaven. It’s the place where you live. When you hear us, forgive us.
BIBLE STUDY
The temple was a building made so that the sinful people of Israel could meet with their sinless God. It was never going to be a home large enough to contain God. When Solomon prayed on the day the ark was placed inside the temple, he said that the entire universe, which has room for billions upon billions of humongous stars, wasn’t a big enough house for God! Here’s what really blew Solomon’s mind: out of all the places in the universe, out of all the nations on the earth, God chose to make his home with the people of Israel and put his special presence inside the temple he had built!
+ What did Solomon say wasn’t big enough to contain God? (vs. 27)
DAY 6 - part 2
1 Corinthians 3:16, NIRV
16 Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple? Don’t you know that God’s Spirit lives among you?
BIBLE STUDY
Solomon’s temple was constructed to be a permanent place where the sinful people of Israel could meet with their sinless God. But about 400 years after it was completed, the people of Babylon destroyed the beautiful temple Solomon had built and carried away all of the Israelite people to their faraway kingdom.
Around 70 years later, the Israelites were allowed to return to their land. There, they built a second temple. However, it was nowhere near as beautiful as the one Solomon built. But about 40 years after Jesus died and rose from the dead, the second temple was also destroyed, this time by the Roman empire.
Why would God let both of his temples be destroyed? Did he no longer want to meet with his sinful people? Nope! In fact, it’s exactly the opposite! God let these temples be destroyed because we don’t need them anymore to meet with him! What happened to cause such a great big change? Well, Jesus happened!
Jesus came to earth to save us. He did that by dying on a cross and rising from the dead. If we believe this good news about Jesus, God forgives us and takes away all of our sins! Even more, God sends his Holy Spirit to live inside each and every believer.
In Solomon’s day, God’s Spirit came to dwell (or live) in the temple. But Paul, the man who wrote the verse we read from the book of 1 Corinthians, tells us that our bodies are now God’s temple. God’s Spirit dwells inside of us.
People who believe the good news about Jesus are living temples of God! And the beauty of Solomon’s temple is nothing compared to the beautiful variety of walking and breathing temples of God all over the world. Instead of a single building in Israel, God’s new human temples come in all sorts of ages and colors and sizes and shapes!
+ What does Paul mean when he says that we are God’s temple? (vs. 16)
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