Charles (Chuck) Kensinger

Hiram who was the King of Tyre sends word to Solomon after he becomes king of Israel in David’s place. In 1 Kings 5 he is willing to provide all the cedar and other wood needed for the Temple when the new king of Israel asks him. The quantity needed is very large and the craftsmen of Israel work with his men to float the logs to Solomon and prepare them for the work. The cost of everything needed is covered by taxes from the Israelites just like in our time. The stones had to be cut and made ready to be put in place at the building site.

We will now begin to look at two different versions of the construction of Solomon’s Temple in 1 Kings 6. Four hundred and eighty years after the Exodus the work begins. We are given a detailed description of this structure.

Once again, however, there is a message from Jehovah that contains an “If” clause. They must obey everything He has commanded if they wanted Him to continue to abide there. No matter how beautiful the building, for God to stay, we must follow his instructions for our lives. Even if we take seven years or more for the construction.

Preparations for building the temple that was planned by David is given in 2 Chronicles chapter 2. Building materials included wood, stone, gold, and silver. The materials are not the only things needed to build such a magnificent structure.

Craftsmen were required. Carpenters, stone masons, gold and silver smiths are just the start. A trade is made. The work would need unskilled laborers. For this he chose those who were not Israelites but lived in the country. There were 153,600 foreigners who were drafted to cut stone and carry it to the site. This may have been a violation of the law to treat outsiders as the Jewish people themselves.  

Our second account of the Temple being built is in the book of Second Chronicles in the third chapter. Here we are informed that the location Is on Mount Moriah at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. This is the location of the sacrifice that David made to stop the destruction of the people because he had violated God’s word and conducted a census.

The description of the structure is the same, but we are told the names of the pillars that were on the north and the south. Jakin means “He establishes” and Boaz is interpreted as “In Him is the strength.” Interesting names for posts, don’t you think?

©Copyright 2020 by Charles Kensinger