Year 1, Week 45, Day 3 Bible Reading Observations

Year 1, Week 45, Day 3

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of 1 Kings 5-6.

Today’s reading takes us to Kings as it resumes the description of Solomon’s early years as king. While the LORD had told David that a Temple would be built, it would not be David, but David’s son, Solomon, who would actually complete the Temple. 1 Kings 5-6 record the start and completion of the Temple building project. 1 Kings 5 notes the role that Hiram, king of Tyre, plays in supply the timber in exchange for food: "So Hiram supplied Solomon with all the timber of cedar and cypress that he desired, while Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year” (1 Kings 5:10-11). 1 Kings 6 highlights some of the dimensions and architectural details of the Temple, but more importantly, the actual completion of the Temple: “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.” (1 Kings 6:38). The Temple expressed beauty and extravagance, but these realities were not to overshadow nor replace the LORD’s dwelling in the Temple, nor His demands in providing a Temple.

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is that the completion of the Temple, which reflects the faithfulness of God, also requires a faithfulness to God. The Temple projects displays that the LORD is faithful to His promises: “In the four hundred and eightieth 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” (1 Kings 6:1). This time stamp is tied to another time stamp: “The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years. At the end of 430 years, on that very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:40-41). These two passages are supplying important chronological markers, but they are much more than that. They are showing us the faithful hand of God to do what He says he will do. The LORD delivered His people from 430 years of bondage by providing them freedom. Then 480 years after that, the LORD delivered His people from their wanderings by providing them rest. The LORD had promised David that the Temple would not be built until His people were at rest (see 2 Samuel 7). It was not by chance that the work on the Temple began as the people of Israel were experiencing rest: “But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor misfortune” (1 Kings 5:4). The LORD had taken His people from bondage to freedom, from wandering to rest. The chronological facts show how the Temple reflects the LORD’s faithfulness to His people.

But the Temple would also required the people’s faithfulness to the LORD: “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” (1 Kings 6:11-13). In the middle of describing the ornate details concerning the materials used and what the materials were made into, there was an interruption. The LORD interrupted. In the midst of describing the Temple, something more important distracts us from the remaining details of the Temple. An important Word from the LORD preempted the Temple details. If Israel was to enjoy and truly benefit from all that the Temple signified, then they would need to heed what the LORD said would be required of them. Israel, from the king on down, would need to obey the LORD by keeping His Word. Without such obedience, the Temple would essentially be an empty, albeit, beautiful building. It wasn’t really the Temple that Israel needed per se; it was the LORD, who would be pleased to dwell in the Temple. It was the presence of the LORD that they needed. And the starting point for this obedience would be the king himself. The king would set the tone and his example of obedience would result in the Temple being a place where the LORD dwelt so as to bless the people. The need of Solomon’s obedience (which tragically does not pan out) serves as a preview of another King, who would render an obedience securely all the blessings of salvation for His people: “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:18-19).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe