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Reading: 1Kings 6:1-7:8; Psalm 48:1-3;
Proverbs 12:22
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after
the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the
fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv,
which is the second month, that he began to build the house of
the LORD. Now the house which King Solomon built for the LORD,
its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height
thirty cubits. The vestibule in front of the sanctuary of the
house was twenty cubits long across the width of the house, and
the width of the vestible extended ten cubits from the front of
the house. And he made for the house windows with beveled
frames. Against the wall of the temple he built chambers all
around, against the walls of the temple, all around the
sanctuary and the inner sanctuary. Thus he made side chambers
all around it. The lowest chamber was five cubits wide, the
middle was six cubits wide, and the third was seven cubits wide;
for he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so
that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of
the temple. And the temple, when it was being built, was built
with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel
or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being
built. The doorway for the middle story was on the right side of
the temple. They went up by stairs to the middle story, and from
the middle to the third.
So he built the temple and finished it, and he paneled the
temple with beams and boards of cedar. And he built side
chambers against the entire temple, each five cubits high; they
were attached to the temple with cedar beams.
Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:
"Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk
in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments,
and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I
spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children
of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel." So
Solomon built the temple and finished it. And he built the
inside walls of the temple with cedar boards; from the floor of
the temple to the ceiling he paneled the inside with wood; and
he covered the floor of the temple with planks of cypress. Then
he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from
floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the
inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. And in front of it the
temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. The inside of the temple
was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was
cedar; there was no stone to be seen.
And he prepared the inner sanctuary inside the temple, to set
the ark of the covenant of the LORD there. The inner sanctuary
was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits
high. He overlaid it with pure gold, and overlaid the altar of
cedar. So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure
gold. He stretched gold chains across the front of the inner
sanctuary, and overlaid it with gold. The whole temple he
overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple; also
he overlaid with gold the entire altar that was by the inner
sanctuary.
Inside the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood,
each ten cubits high. One wing of the cherub was five cubits,
and the other wing of the cherub five cubits: ten cubits from
the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. And the other
cherub was ten cubits; both cherubim were of the same size and
shape. The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the
other cherub. Then he set the cherubim inside the inner room;
and they stretched out the wings of the cherubim so that the
wing of the one touched one wall, and the wing of the other
cherub touched the other wall. And their wings touched each
other in the middle of the room. Also he overlaid the cherubim
with gold.
Then he carved all the walls of the temple all around, both the
inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved figures of cherubim,
palm trees, and open flowers. And the floor of the temple he
overlaid with gold, both the inner and outer sanctuaries.
For the entrance of the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive
wood; the lintel and doorposts were one-fifth of the wall. The
two doors were of olive wood; and he carved on them figures of
cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and overlaid them with
gold; and he spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
So for the door of the sanctuary he also made doorposts of olive
wood, one-fourth of the wall. And the two doors were of cypress
wood; two panels comprised one folding door, and two panels
comprised the other folding door. Then he carved cherubim, palm
trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold
applied evenly on the carved work.
And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone and a
row of cedar beams.
In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was
laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the
month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished
in all its details and according to all its plans. So he was
seven years in building it.
But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house; so he
finished all his house.
He also built the House of the Forest of Lebanon; its length was
one hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height
thirty cubits, with four rows of cedar pillars, and cedar beams
on the pillars. And it was paneled with cedar above the beams
that were on forty-five pillars, fifteen to a row. There were
windows with beveled frames in three rows, and window was
opposite window in three tiers. And all the doorways and
doorposts had rectangular frames; and window was opposite window
in three tiers. He also made the Hall of Pillars: its length was
fifty cubits, and its width thirty cubits; and in front of them
was a portico with pillars, and a canopy was in front of them.
Then he made a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where
he might judge; and it was paneled with cedar from floor to
ceiling. And the house where he dwelt had another court inside
the hall, of like workmanship. Solomon also made a house like
this hall for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken as wife.
WORSHIP:
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be
praised in the city of our God, in His holy mountain.
Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount
Zion on the sides of the north, the city of the great King.
God is in her palaces; He is known as her refuge. (Ps.48:1-3)
WISDOM:
Lying
lips are an abomination to the LORD,
But those who deal truthfully are His delight.
(Prov.12:22)
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