The Temple of God

He began to build on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.

2 Chronicles 3:1

David longed to build a temple to honor God.  He drew up the blueprints, he assigned the roles of the priests and Levites, and even determined the weight of the gold and silver for the lamp stands and utensils. It was his most cherished dream, but it would be left to his son to fulfill.

Solomon had to have been thinking about it since the day he took the throne.  Maybe it had been the backdrop of his whole life.  Did he pour over the plans with David as a young boy?  Did he listen to his father's dreams and expand them in his own mind?  Did he examine beautiful buildings and sculptures and take note of the artists to recruit for the temple work?

Even after taking the throne, he didn't just rush into throwing it together.  All those years of planning and pondering and it's been three years now that he's had the authority to do something about it.  I'm not sure I'd be that patient.  I'm way too good at getting an idea and plunging into it with the plan of figuring it all out as I go along.  There have been many emergency calls to plumbers that way. 

Solomon began with a foundation.  He organized crews of thousands to cut and carry stone, then wrote to the king of Tyre requesting lumber and woodsmen and artists.  He negotiated payments and sent workmen of his own to join them.  He gathered the supplies and assigned the crews.

Finally it was time to build.

They built walls lined with gold.  They created woven tapestries and engravings of palm trees and chains. They crafted columns and porches and enormous sculptures.  They brought in the gold and silver holy items for the worship rituals.  

For seven years, the crews of Solomon worked to create a place of magnificence and beauty.  For a lifetime, David planned and sketched and dreamed.  All that time, all that manpower and devotion went into preparing a place to meet God.  

The buildings are long gone now, just as Jesus prophesied.  Today, God meets us where we are.  Our bodies have become His temple. So what have I done to prepare?