May 22 - 1 Kings 7:1-51 | 2 Chronicles 3:15-4:22

Good morning everyone,

Today we get to take a look at some of the detail that went into the making of Solomon’s palace and the temple furnishings. We’re told it took thirteen years to complete the construction of Solomon’s palace which included, his personal residence, the queen’s house and then the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. Though, little else is mentioned we do know all were built with high-grade stones and the finest timber. 

As I read about the palace and pondered over it, I found myself chuckling a bit. This estate was huge, right? Sometimes when Matt is working out in one of the the pastures or down in the barn or the garage and I need him for one reason or another or just want to say “hey”, I will first try his cell phone. However, often it doesn’t work out here, so I resort to actually walking (I know, weird … who does that today?) from one place to the other until I can finally locate him. Usually it doesn’t take too long, but we don’t live on a very large place. Well, the palace was a very large place and clearly they did not have cell phones then, so how long do you think it would it take to hunt a wandering king down on grounds as massive as King Solomon’s? I can just see some young servant, the ever so impatient queen sent out, frantically scurrying from room to room asking everyone he sees, “Have you seen the king? Have you seen the king?” I know, not very devotional but it made me chuckle :-)

The Temple. I am more than a little impressed at the work and the craftsmanship that went into the furnishings for the temple. Everything was made with the finest materials available, by the best in the business and on such a grand scale, but of course they had to be, to accommodate the incredibly huge sacrifices that were to be made there. Now, there a few things that had me shaking my head wondering, “how did they do that”, but one in particular just totally stopped me in my tracks. The two bronze pillars. Seriously! Each of these were about 27 feet high and 18 feet in circumference and they were cast bronze, not hollowed out, but cast, which about weighs 44.8 lbs. for 1 sq. ft. Now, I am no math major but I can tell you that those pillars were down right heavy; actually we’re told that they were too great to weigh. cRaZy! Not to mention the fact that they would have had to have been transported about 20 miles, up hill, from where they were made, to where they would then have to be stood up and positioned. Massively huge job!

I am pretty sure Jesus thinks we are a massively huge job, at times, too. You know, brass serves as a symbol of the judgement Jesus bore on our behalf. Revelation 1:15 says, “And His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters.” The furnace is a symbol of wrath, purification, and refinement. Sometimes we have a tendency to remember Jesus as a meek, silent, long suffering, Lamb, and he was, but here we see Him as the Mighty Roaring Lion who will one day, as promised, return and rapture His church. There will come a time when, as Romans 14:11 tell us, "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’" As for me, I say, “Come Lord Jesus, come!” Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …