1Kings 5 & 6 - Your Temple

Please read 1Kings Chapter 6 and imagine what the temple looked like as if you were the first person to ever walk thought the doors right after it was finished.

The temple was the very center of all worship. It was the place that God actually lived, moved and spoke to the High Priest which made it the most important place in Jerusalem. King Solomon displayed the level of importance by building the most impressive, most expensive and most beautiful building imaginable. Notice the amazing detail King Solomon spent on the inside of the temple compared to the outside. The outside was large and beautiful, but the inside was breath-taking! Can you imagine how much a building like this would cost us today?!

Think about this comparison, our new building will cost us approximately 1.3 million dollars and will take about six months to build. 1 Kings 6:38, says that it took King Solomon seven years to build the temple. How many millions of dollars do you think he spend on the interior alone?! Can you imagine the labor cost (5:13-16)?! How about the cost of materials being shipped in from all over the world! Completely mind blowing!!

Take a look at the links I have provided below. They can give us some idea of what Solomon’s Temple looked like.

Illustrated Map of Solomon’s Temple with Captions

http://deohsan.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/solomon-temple.jpg

3-D walk-through of Solomon’s Temple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFnWTz-7I0E

Today the temple no longer exists. Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by Babylonians in B.C. 586 (2Chronoicles 36:17-20). A second temple was constructed B.C. 516 in its place, but was destroyed again by Roman troops under the rule of Titus in 70 A.D.

We no longer need a fabulous temple to worship God. Jesus changed things when He died and resurrected. In John 2:19-20, Jesus referred to a change in the way worship would be done after His resurrection. The temple would now be in the body. Paul taught this new concept to the Corinthians in chapter 3:16-17, “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? ¹⁷ God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.”

With this thought in mind please answer the following questions:

1. How serious are you about worshiping God? Are you as dedicated to honoring Jesus with your body as Solomon was about his temple?

2. How much time and energy do you spend on your interior compared to your exterior? If you spend 30 minutes brushing your hair and teeth, shaving and putting on make-up to begin your day, how much time do you spend preparing your heart for your day?

3. Please share with others some successful ways you best prepare yourself to meet with Jesus on a daily basis.