Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies all around, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains.”… …4 …the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying, 5“Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? 6For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'”‘ 8Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. 9And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. 10Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, 11since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house. 12“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. 15But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”‘”
2 Samuel 7:1-17
David’s Thanksgiving to God 18Then King David went in and sat before the LORD; and he said: “Who am I, O LORD God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far? 19And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O LORD GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O LORD GOD? 20Now what more can David say to You? For You, LORD GOD, know Your servants. 21For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. 22Therefore You are great, O LORD GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name – and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land – before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? 24For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God. 25“Now, O LORD God, the word which You have spoken concerning Your servant and concerning his house, establish it forever and do as You have said. 26So let Your name be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel.’ And let the house of Yoru servant David be established before You. 27For You, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore Your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to You. 28“And now, O LORD GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. 29Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O LORD GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”
2 Samuel 7:18-29 (NKJV)
Some Facts About the Building of the Temple
Building commenced in the
- 480th year after the children of Israel came out of Egypt
- 4th year of Solomon’s reign over Israel (Approx 966 B.C.)
- Month of Ziv (2nd month)
- 2nd day of the month
- Took 7 years to complete
Resources
Wood
Cedar sourced from Lebanon. These trees are evergreen and grow more than 30 metres (100 feet) with trunk circumference of 12-15 metres (40-50 feet). The fragrant wood is rot-resistant and knot-free that makes it ideal for building purposes.
Cypress sourced from Lebanon. These trees are an evergreen, hard and durable wood and in some translations, referred to as “gopherwood” which Noah used to build the Ark.
The Cypress and cedar were floated on rafts on the sea. Olive wood was also used in building the temple and the amount of wood was in abundance and beyond measure. The woodworkers included:
- Lumberjacks to fell the trees (1 Kings 5:6)
- Hewers who trimmed and prepared the wood for transport
- Labourers who transported the wood (1 Kings 5:13-14)
- Carpenters who fashioned the wood into furniture, tools, buildings, etc. (1 Kings 22:6)
- Wood carvers who cared wood into bas-relief and artistry
Stones
The quarrymen would drive a wooden peg into the stone and then soaked the pegs until they expanded which would then cause the rock to crack. Interestingly, Jeremiah 23:28-29 compares the word of God to the hammer of a quarryman.
The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream; And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully. Wha is the chaff to the wheat? says the Lord, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?Jeremiah 23:28-29 (NKJV)
The masons used hammers and pegs in quarrying out the rock then trimmed the rock with a pick or an axe. These large and costly were finished at the quarry so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.
Stones were used for the foundation. A foundation is a stable base on which a building is constructed. In the times that we are living in we can clearly see that societies are in danger of collapse when moral foundations are destroyed (Nelsons New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, 1995, pp 464)
Psalm 11 In the Lord I put my trust; How can you say to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?" 2For look! The wicked bend their bow, They make ready their arrow on the string, That they ay shoot secretly at the upright in heart. 3If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do? 4The Lord is in His holy temple, The LORD's throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. 5The LORD tests the righteous, But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates. 6Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup 7For the Lord is righteous He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright
Iron
The amount of iron that became available was beyond measure and then from the leaders of the father’s houses, tribes and captains contributed the equivalent of about 3,401,943kg
Bronze
The amount of bronze that became available was also beyond measure and the leaders of the father’s houses, tribes and captains contributed the equivalent of about 612,350kg. There also was a man who was sought out for his skill to make magnificent articles of bronze.
The altar of sacrifice was made of bronze a bit over 9 metres in length, 9 metres in width and a bit over 4.5 metres in height.
Then the Sea was made of cast bronze that was just over 4.5 metres in diameter, just under 2.3 metres in height with e circumference of just under 14 metres that held 66,000 litres.
The two pillars, including the capitals, at the front of the temple were the equivalent of about 18.3 metres (4-5 stories)
Then he set up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand and the other on the left; he called the name of the one on the right Jachin, and the name of the one on the left Boaz.
2 Chronicles 3:17
Meaning of the names
- Jachin: May He establish,
- Boaz is In Him is strength.
There were other items where they are described in detail in 2 Chronicles chapter 3 and chapter 4.
Silver
Contributions from all over the world came to the equivalent of about 34 million, 19 thousand, 943kg (34,019,943kg). From David’s treasury of refined silver, there was the equivalent of about 238,136kg and added to this were the contributions from the leaders of the father’s houses, tribes and captains to the equivalent of about 340,194kg of silver.
Gold
Contributions from all over the world came to the equivalent of about 3 million, 401 thousand, 943 kg (3,401,943 kg). David had gold from Ophir, a place in the middle east, to the equivalent of about 102,058kg and then the leaders of the father’s houses, tribes and captains contributed to the equivalent of about 84kg of gold.
Each nail made of gold in the construction of the Most Holy Place weighed 560g. The walls, floors and ceiling and every furnishing was either made of gold or overlaid with gold.
Jeremy Park has created a website, “Bible Scenes”, of Bible Scenes in animation that will give a pretty good representation of the appearance of Solomon’s Temple inside and out.
What Would the Value of Solomon’s Temple be Today?
The amount of stone, iron, bronze is unknown, but 1 Chronicles describes the amount of silver and gold that David had dedicated to building the temple. The value of the labour that went into building the temple is not able to be calculated either. A “talent” is equivalent to about 34kg.
- Value of silver on 3rd January 2023: $784.02 per kg (US$)
- Weight of silver: 30,510,000 kg (1,017,000 talents)
- Total value of silver: $23,920,450,200.00 (23 Billion, 920 million, 450 thousand, 200 dollars)
- Value of gold on 3rd January 2023: $59,141.30 per kg (US$)
- weight of gold: 3,240,000 kg (108,000 talents)
- Total value of gold: $191,617,812,000 (191 Billion, 617 million, 812 thousand dollars)
- Total worth of just the silver and gold: $215,538,262,200 (215 billion, 538 million, 262 thousand, 200 dollars)
What Does All This Mean?
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16 NASB 1995
Another translation;
Do you realise that together you have become God’s inner sanctuary and that the Spirit of God makes His permanent Home in you?
1 Corinthians 3:16 The Passion Translation
Then, later in 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul writes;
Have you forgotten that your body is now the sacred temple of the Spirit of Holiness, who lives in you? You don’t belong to yourself any longer, for the gift of God, the Holy Spirit, lives inside your sanctuary. You were God’s expensive purchase, paid for with tears of blood, so by all means, then, use your body to bring glory to God!
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
All the wealth that the world could offer was used to create a temple made cypress, cedar, olive wood, stone, iron, bronze, silver and gold, created by skilled and talented men, stonecutters, masons, woodcutters, engravers, woodcarvers, workers of iron, workers of bronze and silver, workers of gold, supervisors and architects. The very most that the world could offer to God.
So keep coming to him who is the Living Stone – though he was rejected and discarded by men but chosen by God and is priceless in God’s sight. 5Come and be his “living stones” who are continually being assembled into a sanctuary for God. For now you serve as holy priests, offering up spiritual sacrifices that he readily accepts through Jesus Christ. 6For it says in Scripture:
Look! I lay a cornerstone in Zion, a chosen and priceless stone! And whoever believes in him will certainly not be disappointed.
7As believers you know his great worth – indeed, his preciousness is imparted to you.
1 Peter 2:4-7 The Passion Translation
“We are the Temple of the Holy Spirit, more precious than all the wealth in the world. All the finest wealth that the world could put together cannot compare to the value of one person in God’s eyes. You are priceless”
Angela Taylor, November 2022
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. (NASB)
Jesus replied, “Loving Me empowers you to obey My word. And My Father will love you so deeply that We will come to you and make you Our dwelling place. (TPT)
John 14:23
Just as the human body is one, though ti has many parts that together from one body, so too is Christ. For by one Spirit we all were immersed and mingled into one single body. And no matter our status – whether we are Jews or non-Jews, oppressed or free – we are all privileged to drink deeply of the same Holy Spirit…
God has carefully designed each member and placed it in the body to function as He desires. A diversity is required, for if the body consisted of one single part, there wouldn’t be a body at all! So now we see that there are many different parts and functions, but one body.
…You are the body of the Anointed One, and each of you is a unique and vital part of it.
1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 18-20, 27
Quote by Angela Taylor:
"You are worth more than all the world's wealth. Your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. You are Priceless. Praise God"