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Solomon Builds the Temple
3 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. These are Solomon’s measurements for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—and he carved cherubim on the walls.
And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold. The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold.
In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood and overlaid them with gold. The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave. And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it.
In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. He made chains like a necklace and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz.
(ESV)
2 Chronicles 3 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
The effort and detail Solomon and his people put into the newly constructed temple was simply amazing. They went all out. God is in the details. This is true. It’s also a fact that His desire is for us to commit with everything we have to the pursuit of His ways. We say this all the time, but what does it really mean?
As I read this chapter, I am reminded that our best efforts should be reserved for the Lord’s work. If He is truly our top priority, He means more than just attendance on Sunday. He means more than throwing up a prayer every time we feel sick. He is much more than just good intentions. One of the worst aspects to our sin nature is that we fall in and out of love with Jesus. We pursue Him for a time and then relent back to our old ways. It seems like 1 step forward and 2 steps back at times. This was not the plan.
As I think practically about this temple construction, I see many people coming together to give their best talent and effort to this place of worship. In our current state, do we really do this? Are we giving our best to God’s plan moving forward? I think it is worth questioning. If I’m honest, sometimes my wife gets my best. Sometimes my daughter gets my best. Sometimes sports, or entertainment, or comfort really gets my best effort. Have I spent more time and money on keeping my house furnished than keeping the temple of God nourished? I’m talking about spiritual nourishment of the soul. You know, the kind of thing that other people say is “legalistic” and “extreme.” It’s Jesus-freak stuff.
How about praying for an hour? How about diving deep into the same chapter of Scripture over several days and weeks? How about fasting for our greatest temptations and sin struggles? How about taking time to really invest and check up on those who are hurting? Maybe you are really good at all these things, but I confess, I am not. Far from it. But, I want to be. And through the Holy Spirit, I’m working on it. So the bottom line is, something has to change. There has to come a point where we look at the way people lived in Scripture and we look at how we are living now, and we make our minds up to really change.
It’s not about being perfect, or polished, or holier than thou. It’s about being able to say, at the end of the night, today was a great day. Why? Not because I bought a new TV. Not because I saved a bunch of money by switching to Geico. Not because I found a $20 in my old pants pocket. The only truly fulfilling feeling we can experience at the end of the day is to have served the Lord with everything. What greater feeling is there? I’m calling myself out on this one! I have failed. But the beauty is, we serve a God of second chances. We serve the King of grace. It is never too late to turn over a new leaf. Are you serving Him with everything? Who is really getting “your best?” How long will you deceive yourself?