Temple Mania Series

Temple Mania

(I Kings 5-8)

1. I have a one minute mystery. Two of them.

2.The first is this: A woman goes into a convenience store to buy a can of Coke. She pays for it with a $20 bill and receives $20.05 back in change. No mistake was made.

Think about that.

3. Here is the second one: Two children are born in the same hospital, in the same hour, day, month, and year, and have the same mother and father, but they are not twins. Think about that.

4. The answer to the first one with paying $20 and receiving $20.05 in change without a mistake is this: It takes place in Canada; she pays with American money, which is worth more, and receives change in Canadian money.

5. The answer to the second mystery with the two children who have the same parents being born at the same hospital on the same day but not twins is this: we are talking about two out of three triplets (or 2 out of 5 Loisch quintuplets).

6. These puzzles stagger the mind.

7. But in the ancient world, there were 7 wonders that staggered minds, including the pyramids. But one of those ancient wonders was the beautiful temple built to honor the LORD by Solomon.

Launching thought: As we look at this Temple, we will draw an important lesson, but let’s get there by examining the situation.

I. BUILDING the Temple (Chapters 5-7)

• Read vs. 1-6

• Note verse 5…the temple was for the NAME of the LORD, not the LORD

• History of the Temple: One place, Tabernacle, then Temple, now, in NT, we are God’s Temple

• Do not confuse the Temple with synagogues sometimes called temples

A. The WORKERS

1. Solomon strikes a deal with Hiram (Phonenicians)

2. Mutually beneficial….Phonecia…wheat/access to kings’ highways

3. Israel: timber and skilled workmen

4. Hebrews were not noted for architecture or building skills

5. Probably influenced by Phoenician Temples

"After studying records about Solomon’s Temple and Melqart’s Temple, one finds a lot in common between the two. It would not be a far-fetched suggestion to say that Solomon’s Temple of Jerusalem was a copy of Melqart’s Temple of Tyre. Because of the splendor it occupied in their mind, it is understandable that the Phoenician builders must have used Melqart’s Temple as a prototype for designing and building Solomon’s Temple." phoenicia.org/temple.html

6. Conscription: 30 K in 10 K increments (2 months off, one on)

7. 150,000 slave laborers

B. The STRUCTURE

1. 90 feet long, 30 feet wide, 45 feet high

2. Not meant for the people who never entered building

3. Not the quality of the Temple (6:7, 18-22, 23-28)

4. Completion in 7 years (6:37)

5. Then Solomon built his palace (13 years…no prep)

The site of the building of the temple is not given here, but 2 Chronicles 3:1 states that it was "on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David." This was also the site of the (aborted) sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham (Gen 22:2). It lay on the rocky platform just to the north of the city of David on the eastern ridge of Jerusalem, "on an eminence appropriate to its character" (H.G. Stigers, "Temple," ZPEB, 5:622-66).? Expositor’s

II. DEDICATING the Temple (8)

A. PREPARATION

1. Assembly fo all (1-6)

2. Dedication (3-13)…massive sacrifices, ark brought in

3. Solomon blesses the people

B. PRAYER

1. God’s watchcare (22-30)

note especially verses 23, 27, 30

2. Solomon prays about all kinds of situations: oaths, when defeated, drought, a famine, strangers (note vs. 41-43), in battle, in captivity

C. God’s RESPONSE (2 Chronicles 7:1-3)

Wiersbe:

"Solomon’s temple was a place of glory (vv. 1–12 ). However, despite its extraordinary beauty, it was just another building until God moved in and consecrated it ( Exod. 40:34–38 ). So it is with our lives ( 1 Cor. 6:19–20 ; Eph. 5:18 ) and our assemblies ( 1 Cor. 14:23–25 ). The presence of God is the important thing. A. ?W. Tozer aptly stated, “If God were to take the Holy Spirit out of this world, much of what the church is doing would go right on, and nobody would know the difference .”

Main Idea: Only persons can be spiritual, not buildings

III. Prioritizing Our HEARTS Over Infrastructure

A. God NEEDS No Building

• Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had no "worship center" at all

• Moses had just a tent

• When the second temple was built under Ezra, the Jews had returned from captivity and were at their godliest, yet the temple was plain and simple

• Buildings may facilitate spiritual purposes, and infrastructure can be a great help when combined with godly people who are seeking to reach and train others