SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
BY RAYMOND CAPT M.A., A.I.A.
(The Archaeological Institute of America)
DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE
"Lift up your head, 0 ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory, Selah. " (Psalms 24:9,10)
Accounts of the opening of the Temple for daily use are given in I Kings 8:1-11, and 2 Chron. 5:1-14. From these authorities we learn that in the seventh month of the same year, as that in which "the house" was completed, it was formally dedicated. The gathering for this momentous occasion was a comparatively small one. Those who were officially assembled were representative men only. First were the twelve Princes of chiefs of the Tribes. To them were added the Elders of Israel, which according to Exod. 24:1 numbered seventy.
Doubtless many spectators were also present for the dedication, as the time was that of the Feast of Tabernacles. This was held on the fifteenth and seven following days of the first month of the civil war, being the seventh month (Tishri) of the ecclesiastical year.
The first act of dedication was to bring the Ark of the Covenant which rested on Mount Ophel (having been brought from Kirjath-Jearim before Solomon's birth) "into the oracle of the house-"(I Kings 8:1-11) Solomon himself led the procession, the national representatives following. Last came the priests blowing silver trumpets, and Levites, carrying the sacred burden of the Ark and all the holy vessels that had been in the tent on Ophel.
The distance to be traversed was less than half a mile. Music and singing of all kinds accompanied this ceremony and the priests stood dressed in pure white linen at the east end of the altar playing upon musical instruments. Trumpeters and singers thanked God, saying, "For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever." 2 Chron. 5:13)
As of old, at every six paces, oxen and fatlings were sacrificed before the on-coming Ark. (2 Sam. 6:13) The whole way was thus strewn with sacrificial blood, and the records agree in stating that the sheep and oxen sacrificed could not be told nor numbered for the multitude. (I Kings 8:5 and 2 Chron. 5:6)
The Priests received the Ark at the Temple door from the hands of the Levites and conveyed it to its place in the Oracle of the House. It was finally deposited by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies, at the western side, between the out-stretched wings of the Giant Cher-ubims. As the Priests retired from the Holy Place, the golden cloud of the Shekinah filled the Temple with the Glory of the Lord.
Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the midst of the assembly and raised his hands to heaven in prayer. Solomon prayed to the Lord in deep humility and great thankfulness for the mercies shown His people. His words recalled the Lord's faithfulness in fulfilling His word, and, with prophetic insight, he envisioned the days to come when the people would pass through times of trouble and would need to experience anew the presence of their God leading them through captivity and judgment into a new age of peace and prosperity.
In his prayer, Solomon like David before him, fully recognized the extent of the power and majesty of the Lord "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? (I Kings 8:27) This question can be answered in the affirmative. God will indeed dwell on the earth, in person and in visible form in all eternity, as He now dwells in heaven. (Isa 66:22-24; Titus 2:13; Rev. 21:1-27; 22:4,5) This does not mean, however, that His presence will be limited to the earth anymore than it is now limited to heaven.
In his plea before the Lord, Solomon referred to both individual and national shortcomings and called upon the Lord to forgive when His people became willing to conform with the requirements which would bring about the answer to their prayers: "And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in the heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:...And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive." (I Kings 8:22,30)
The Kings petition covered many aspects of the lives of the people; relationships between neighbors, times of war, weather conditions, famine, pestilence, crop failures and sickness. It is interesting to note the explicit instructions regarding the prayers of the people: The prayer for God's presence with His people, in time of national defeat, when they "make supplication unto thee in this house;" ( 1 Kings 8:33,34) in times of famine or pestilence "if they pray toward this place;" (v. 35-37) in war, if they "shallpray unto the Lord toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name. " (v. 44,45)
As a point of interest, the floor plans of many great cathedrals and churches in Europe, Britain and America run east to west, with the altar in the "east." Thus many people today, in the "west," are un-knowingly praying "east" toward the Temple site. Masonic Temple's are also designed, if possible, east to west. Although the altar is not placed in the '' east,'' the fact that each Lodge is a symbol of the Temple would make any supplication therein symbolically "in this house."
The "east" is also traditionally associated with the Lord's return. Just as the wise men saw His star in the "east," so many Christians look for the sign of His second coming, in the "eastern sky.'' ''For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be;" (Matt. 24:27) "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. " (Matt. 24:30)
(DO NOT COUNT ON IT...FROM THE EAST....AT THE COMING OF CHRIST, THE SAINT ALIVE WITH BE MADE IMMORTAL, THE DEAD SAINTS RESURRECTED; IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE IF CHRIST IS IN THE EAST OR WEST - Keith Hunt)
So effective was Solomon's supplication for God's mercy to rest at all times upon the people that fire came down from heaven to consume their sacrifices and the Glory of the Lord filled the Temple. (II Chron. 7:1) It is also written: "And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer.. .If I shut heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and heal their land. " (2 Chron. 7:12-14)
In the prayer Solomon offered at the dedication of the Temple an indication can be found that he recognized the concept implied by the replacement of the Wilderness Tabernacle with a permanent building. The Israelites called their Temple the "House of the Lord, " but thought of it only as a place where God's name dwelt. (I Kings 8:16,20; 9:3) Solomon seemed to sense the prophetic symbolism of the Temple when he asked, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth?'' (I Kings 8:27)
In the age of the New Jerusalem, God no longer needs a Temple or Tabernacle through which to reveal His power and glory: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God...And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. " (Rev. 21:2,3,22)
The very enactment of placing the Ark in the Holies of Holies, prophetically portrayed the glorious "Living Temple" in the coming ' 'Kingdom of God on earth,'' as the "Lord of Hosts" takes His rightful place as "King of Glory.''
THE DAVIDIC COVENANTS
"Howbeit the Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant that he had made with David... " (2 Chron. 21:7)
Perhaps one of the most important truths to be revealed by a study of Solomon's Temple is the fulfillment of the symbolism found in the two pillars, "Jachin" and "Boaz."
In 2 Sam. Chapter 7, we read where, in honor of David's noble thought, God would add to his (David's) regal house of cedar, yet another house, to bear his name, which would be both everlasting and of his own loins.
Nathan the Prophet tells David, in w. 11-13, "Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shall sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. "
Thus we see David's pious desire was reciprocated by God, and what David would build to Him, He also, in an allegorical sense, would build unto David, a house — a kingdom and a throne — forever in safety, but not in the Holy Land. This land had once been occupied by others, who now surrounded them as enemies.
God says in v. 10: "Moreover, 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, neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime. "
Two Covenants are implied here. One was symbolized by the pillar Jachin and related to the establishment of "David's House" or "Throne.'' The other was symbolized by the pillar Boaz and concerned the moving, of the people of the kingdom, to an "appointed" place.
Since they were then in Palestine, it follows that the "appointed" place had to be somewhere else, a new place, future to David's time.
However, the Throne and the inhabitants of the Kingdom remained in Palestine, for several centuries. During this time the two pillars stood, in front of Solomon's Temple, as a constant reminder of the two Covenants.
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TO BE CONTINUED
VERSE 10 IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR IT PROVES BEYOND QUESTION THAT ISRAEL WOULD ONE DAY TO IN A NEW LAND, WHERE THEY WOULD STAY UNTIL THE KINGDOM OF GOD AGE WOULD COME TO EARTH.
THAT VERSE WITH AMOS 9:9 ARE TWO KEY VERSES TO PROVE ISRAEL (THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL - THE TEN TRIBES) - WOULD SLOWLY BE SIFTED THROUGH THE NATIONS TO A NEW LAND. IN THE NEW LAND OF EUROPE AS IT WAS FULFILLED, THE GREAT PROMISE TO JACOB/JOSEPH, OF A NATION AND COMPANY OF NATIONS, WOULD BE FULFILLED.
ON THIS WEBSITE UNDER THIS SECTION OF HISTORY ARE MANY STUDIES SHOWING WHO THE CELTIC/ANGLO-SAXON PEOPLES ARE, AND WHO MANY NORTH-WESTERN NATIONS OF EUROPE ARE....WHERE THEY CAME FROM.
IN EVEN MORE DETAIL THE TRUTH OF ALL THIS IS EXPOUNDED ON THE WEBSITE BITAM.ORG
Keith Hunt