We looked at the return to the record of the building of the temple. This is after we took a few verses and looked at the building of Solomon’s house. Here we learned about the worker in bronze named Hiram who came down from Tyre to work on the temple. He had a Jewish mother and a gentile father. It is a great  picture that the temple was for all people and so a representative of all people was the key artisan doing the bronze work. We also looked at the first items he cast for the temple. The two pillars named Jachin and Boaz. They flanked the entrance to the temple. Their names meant to establish and strength. Because they were the entrance to God’s house they speak of how He establishes and how we need to look to Him for strength. These pillars while beautiful were made of bronze and bronze is almost always a symbol of judgement in the Bible. Here their position points to the fact that those who seek to go before God must first face judgement. This of course points to the reality that Jesus has gone before us and borne our judgement so we can enter freely into the presence of God.

time we looked at the beginning of chapter 7. In the first 12 verses we have the description of Solomon’s building of his house and how long it took him. It is interesting because the writer inserts this section right in the middle of two sections describing the building of the temple and all of its furnishings. It is also clearly inserted here as a contrast to the building of the temple. The first verse starts with a conjunction in Hebrew. It is only recorded this way in a handful of english translations. The verse in Hebrew would start with the equivalent “and” or “but”. This is important because the last verse in chapter six ends with the statement about the temple that “He was seven years in building it.” the next verse then becomes, “But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years.” This opening verse is then followed with 11 verses describing in broad brush strokes the 5 buildings which made up Solomon’s house. The comparison becomes pretty striking. Solomon spent twice as much time building his own house as he did God’s house but the writer of Kings is emphasizing the importance of God’s house over Solomon’s house by the very brief mention and description he gives. When you think about the people in exile which Kings was written to you see the lesson the writer is teaching. The worship of God and the focus on Him is far more important then the pursuit of our own things even if those things are good things. This is how the people came to be in exile. They did not value the word of God as they should have. They did not do the things which mattered to God. They did the things which mattered to them, and ultimately this is what caused them to be exiled. This really raises questions which are relevant to us today. How important is the worship of God to us. What kind of priority does it receive.

We explored what it means for us to see God, dwell with Him and worship Him in the coming kingdom of heaven. We discussed how simply seeing God Himself will be the most awe inspiring sight we have ever seen. He is the pinnacle of what exists in all of His realm. Everything else pales in comparison to Him. Yet in God’s word this immortal eternal holy and perfect being calls us to know Him and pursue Him. This is an amazing thing. If a human king or celebrity invited us to come their place and spend time with them and get to know them we would feel immediately honored by such a thing. And indeed everyone would understand the honor you have received. But we are talking here about an invitation which eclipses the honor offered to us by a human. This honor is enormous. But it is not just a vague hope. God intends to dwell with His people on earth. It will be a return to God walking with His people and engaging in relationship with them like He did with Adam and Eve. Those who have come to be children of God will dwell in constant unbroken fellowship with Him. This amazing God will be with us in a tangible way which we will be aware of always. There will be an unbreakable ongoing offering of praise and thanks to God for all the things which He has done and is doing. Our lives will be filled with joy at simply being able to stand in awe and worship of God in everything we do. Eating a berry or fruit from the tree of life will be an act of worship. Drinking water from the river of life or really any river will be an act of worship as we praise God for creating it. Life will not distract from the worship of God in eternity but will magnify it. Today I want to turn our attention to an aspect of eternity which is talked about a lot in scripture but not a lot in our churches. I think one of the reasons it is not discussed is because we have ideas and theories about future things which have either spiritualized some of these things away or have forced them into a specific period or dispensation. We are NOT going to really get into the eschatological implications of our passages this morning. Our intention is to look at scripture and really ask you to see with new eyes what it is saying. I believe we are too quick to spiritualize passages which may have a physical perspective which we find conflicting with our view of future things. Let’s be people who are shaped by the word of God and not people who shape it to fit our view.

We looked at the finishing work on the building of the temple structure. We saw a lot of attention being spent of the construction of the Holy of Holies. Especially the two massive cherubim which stood 15 feet high inside the Holy of Holies. It is really amazing to think about this chamber receiving the attention it did when only the High priest ever entered it and that only once a year. The temples of other ancient peoples usually put their carvings and castings of their gods on full display for everyone to see. The place where God dwelt was closed off to everyone. The detailed carvings on the walls of the inner sanctuary and the massive cherubim were there for God. The reflective nature of the gold covering everything emphasized how God dwelt in unapproachable light. The massive cherubim are symbolic of the powerful beings which actually stand before the throne of God. These massive powerful beings emphasize the power of God because they serve Him and He is certainly far more powerful then they are. It is on a micro scale what the universe is on a macro scale. The universe with its countless stars and galaxies exists to bear testimony to the massive size and power of God. In a similar way this detailed gold covered holy of holies which houses the ark of the covenant and these two gold cherubim show the worth and power of God. We also were given some details on the doors of the temple and the inner sanctuary, as well as the descriptions of the courtyard surrounding the temple. The chapter closed with a record that it took 7 years to construct the temple. Immediately at the beginning of chapter 7 the writer tells us Solomon spent 13 years building his own house. These two time periods back to back draw us in and force us to compare and contrast them. Keep in mind there were no chapter breaks in the original book of Kings. These statements of time followed one after the other. If one followed the other then Solomon would have spent half his 40 years as king in building. The record here does not tell us if these projects happened at the same time or if one followed the other.

We worked through the way Solomon is addressed by God concerning the temple he is building. It is interesting if for no other reason then the fact of what God addresses. He actually says nothing about the building itself other then mentioning at the beginning how what He is saying concern the house Solomon is building. What this tells us is God is confirming that building the temple is recognized by God and thus a good thing. But God addresses Solomon’s actions and charges him with obeying God’s commands. God promises Solomon if he will follow God’s statutes then the promises of establishing his throne and dwelling among the people and not forsaking the people would be fulfilled. God is basically making it clear that His engagement with the people of Israel is not going to be guaranteed simply because they are building an elaborate temple for Him. This really reinforces the ideas central to the greatest commandment. The call to love the Lord our God is the foundation of real worship. Without a relationship of love with God there is really no point in having a place of time to worship. God wants His people to not just go through the external rituals of worship, He wants His people to pursue Him from a heart filled with love for Him. After we examined God’s promises to Solomon if he will just follow God we see a return to the building of the temple. This section is really focused on the interior of the temple. The type of wood which is used, the way it is carved and the shape of the Holy of Holies all points to the rulership of Jesus, His coming kingdom and His role as our Savior.

There is an attack on Biblical sexuality in the Church today that must be fought against by those who value Truth. The Word of God is clear concerning what is right and wrong sexually and we have a responsibility to oppose the teaching and laws of Government when they run counter to the Truth of God's Word.

We examined the way in which the temple was constructed. It’s dimensions as well as the specifics of its construction. Details like the date the construction began. How long and wide and high it was. How it had windows and a vestibule in front. It records how Solomon built a storage structure 3 stories high around 3 sides of the temple. There is also details like how the stones used in the temple were cut in the quarry away from the temple mount so no hammer or any tool of iron would be heard on the temple mount while it was being built. The thing which really stands out in these opening verses is the detail of the record. God’s house was built with precision. Everything about it was very intentional. The intentionality of the construction of God’s dwelling really foreshadows the intentionality of the construction of God’s future temple which is made of the people of God and built on the great cornerstone of Jesus.

we talked about the implications of the resurrection. With the resurrection comes the rolling back of the effects of sin. This means the death which Adam experienced when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil will be undone. There will not just be a physical resurrection there will be a new spiritual life which we have never been able to experience. We will function in a whole new way. We will see with both physical and spiritual eyes. We will be equipped to hear both the physical and the spiritual realm. We will touch things which have spiritual properties and yet are very real. Remember the angel which stood in Balaam’s path with a sword. That sword was made of some material which exists in the spiritual realm. It was a sword which could be used to kill Balaam. Yet that sword could not been seen or perceived by Balaam without God opening his eyes to it. The spiritual sword was a very real threat to a physical man, yet he had no way of knowing it was there or of the angel which wielded it. That will no longer be a limitation in our resurrected bodies. We will be able to eat and no doubt there will be a new realm of sensations as we taste things which have spiritual properties. Paul describes this physical spirit we will receive as life being swallowed up by life. Not only will our bodies experience a transformation as the physical spirit and physical body are united in us but all creation will be transformed. Paul talks about it in Romans the revealing of the sons of God. All of creation longs for this. When death and the curse are put away then all of creation will rejoice. The sin of Adam subjected all of creation to corruption. This will no longer be the case and the state of perfection in creation will be restored by the rulership of Jesus as the second Adam.

The Birth of Jesus Christ is certainly not what we or the people of the day would have imagined or chosen. In it we get to see the wonder and the beauty of God's unfolding plan.

We worked our way through the establishment of a mutually beneficial relationship between Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre. Hiram would supply Israel with cedar and cypress trees to build the temple and Solomon’s house and Solomon would supply Hiram with food and wine for the duration of the lumber harvesting process. Solomon drafted laborers from among the people to help with the harvesting of wood and the quarrying of stone. This forced labor is one of the things which becomes an issue for the people as we will see later. This relationship with Hiram is also an extension of a positive relationship which David had with him. God’s hand of blessing is clearly on Solomon. His kingdom becomes a kingdom of peace which in this way really foreshadows the kingdom of Jesus which is coming. While we saw the writer of Kings chronicle the supply side for building the temple and palace.