In today’s episode, we journey through chapters 5 and 6 of 1 Kings, where Solomon initiates the task of building a house for the Lord. Engaging with both divine purpose and earthly collaboration, Solomon’s wisdom shines through as he forms crucial alliances to gather resources for this monumental task. As the narrative unfolds, we’re given a glimpse of the grandeur and faith that fuelled the construction of the temple, a seven-year endeavor that transformed Solomon’s aspirations into a sacred reality.
Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today in our journey through 1 Kings, we will listen to two more chapters, chapters 5 and 6, The Building of the Temple. We’ll listen to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of chapter 5 and our guest reader, Senator Kevin Grantham, on chapter 6. So let’s begin.
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1 Kings 5 Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.
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And Solomon sent word to Hiram, You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the warfare with which his enemies surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune. And so I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. As the Lord said to David my father, Your son whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house for my name. Now therefore, command that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me, and my servants will join your servants, and I will pay you for your servants such wages as you set. For you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.
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As soon as Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said,
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Blessed be the Lord this day who has given to David a wise son to be over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the message that you have sent to me. I am ready to do all you desire in the matter of cedar and cypress timber. My servants shall bring it down to the sea from Lebanon, and I will make it into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct. and I will have them broken up there, and you shall receive it, and you shall meet my wishes by providing food for my household.
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So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, while Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cores of wheat as food for his household, and twenty thousand cores of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year, and the Lord gave Solomon wisdom as He promised him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty. King Solomon drafted forced labor out of all Israel, and the draft numbered 30,000 men. And he sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts. They would be a month in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the draft. Solomon also had 70,000 burden bearers and 80,000 stonecutters in the hill country, besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief officers who were over the work, who had charge of the people who carried on the work. At the king’s command, they quarried out great costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones. So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of Gebel did the cutting and prepared the timber and the stone to build the house.
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1 Kings 6 In the 480th year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, In the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build the house of the Lord. The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was 20 cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and 10 cubits deep in front of the house. and he made for the house windows with recessed frames. He also built a structure against the wall of the house, running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the inner sanctuary. And he made side chambers all around. The lowest story was five cubits broad, the middle one was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad. For around the outside of the house, he made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams should not be inserted into the walls of the house. When the house was built, it was with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer, nor axe, nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built. The entrance for the lowest story was on the south side of the house, and one went up by stairs to the middle story, and from the middle story to the third. So he built the house and finished it, and he made the ceiling of the house of beams and planks of cedar. He built the structure against the whole house, five cubits high, and it was joined to the house with timbers of cedar. Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, and obey my rules, and keep all my commandments, and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. So Solomon built the house and finished it. He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls. and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the most holy place. The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was 40 cubits long. The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar. No stone was seen. The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house to set there the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. The inner sanctuary was 20 cubits long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high. And he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of cedar. And Solomon overlaid the inside of the house with pure gold. And he drew chains of gold across in front of the inner sanctuary and overlaid it with gold. And he overlaid the whole house with gold until all the house was finished. Also, the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold. In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub. It was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. The other cherub also measured ten cubits. Both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, so was that of the other cherub. He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall. Their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house, and he overlaid the cherubim with gold. Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers in the inner and outer rooms. The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms. For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood. The lintel and the doorposts were five-sided. He covered the two doors of olive wood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees. So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olive wood in the form of a square, and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and opened flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams. In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
SPEAKER 02 :
In 1997, I was just reading the Old Testament, and I read on this day 1 Kings chapters 3 through 5, and the next day chapters 6 through 7. So this bridge is what we’ve read today. Concerning these chapters, I wrote, Solomon builds the temple. What a structure. Took seven years to build. In 2011, I was reading the whole Bible, so I was reading portions of 1 Kings and portions of Luke at the same time. And concerning these two chapters, I wrote, Solomon decides to build the temple, as God declared earlier to David. Solomon fulfills David’s dream to build a temple for God. Then I quoted chapter 6, verse 12. If you walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you. God’s promises are conditional. Then I finished with, it took seven years to build the temple. In chapter 5, verse 4, it is clear that God is blessing the reign of Solomon. The verse says, I believe that’s what happens when we follow the Lord. Blessings follow obedience. Let’s look at chapter 6, verse 11. Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father, and I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel. So often God’s promises are, if, then. If we do this, he’ll do that. Solomon’s temple replaces the tent of the tabernacle that was carried by the nation of Israel through the wilderness on their way to the promised land. Let’s go back to chapter 6, verse 1. In the 480th year after the people of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, so it’s 480 years after the parting of the Red Sea, that the temple is finally going to be built. The last verse of chapter 6 tells us it took seven years to build this magnificent temple for the Lord. Father, we see in this chapter that it took a lot of manpower, it took a lot of material, and it took a lot of effort to build a sanctuary for you. We also know that you instructed it to be built. You wanted a permanent house of worship. Through these chapters, may we be reminded of our own houses of worship. the buildings or places we call church, places we can go and worship you, sing praises to you, and meet with you. Thank you for Solomon’s Temple. Thank you for our churches today. In Jesus’ name, amen. Thanks for listening to AdBible. Our host stations are hearing from you listeners. People are calling in to say thanks for adding AdBible to their program selection. Thank you for tuning in to this program. AdBible is sponsored by the Ezra Project, a ministry started in 2002 to connect God’s people to God’s Word. We speak in churches, provide audio and written resources at EzraProject.net, and find radio as a way to reach deeply committed Christians. You can learn more about the Ezra Project by searching us from your phone, tablet, or computer. You may really enjoy the short video describing how the Lord led us to start this ministry and how he has blessed it for decades. I encourage you to also find the video tab and check out our newest message, AI. It’s not what you think it is, but it is a very relevant message in a world engulfed in artificial intelligence. Get a biblical view of it at EzraProject.net. And hey, while you’re on the Ezra Project website, consider a financial gift by selecting the Donate button for a one-time gift or monthly support. Your support keeps this program on the air and provides AdBible to thousands of listeners around the world. I know you’re going to enjoy it.
