SOLOMON BUILDS THE TEMPLE.



Now the Lord gave Solomon peace with all nations, that he might build the house of the Lord.

Far to the north of Jerusalem is a range of mountains called Lebanon, and upon these mountains are large forests of fir and cedar trees. Now Hiram, king of Tyre, ruled in that country. He had always been a lover of David, and was very friendly to Solomon. Moreover, he was anxious to have the temple built; so he let Solomon have all the timber he wanted, and furnished men to work with Solomon's men in cutting and hewing it; for none of the men of Israel could hew so well as the Sidonians. In return for this, Solomon gave Hiram, every year, twenty thousand measures of wheat, and twenty measures of pure oil.  Besides the men that Hiram furnished, Solomon sent one hundred and eighty thousand, to work in the mountains of Lebanon. They not only hewed timber, but they dug great stones from the mountains, and shaped them for their place in the foundation of the house. Every piece of timber and every stone was so fitted for its place that, when the temple was built, no sound of ax or hammer was heard. The stones and timber had to be brought a great distance, and some of the stones were very large. They were brought down from the mountains to the great sea, and floated on rafts to that part of the coast, which was nearest to Jerusalem.

In seven years and a half from the time of beginning, the temple was finished. It was sixty cubits long, and thirty cubits high, or about thirty-six feet in width, by one hundred and eighty in length, and fifty-four in height. It had two rooms,—one, called the most holy place, was twenty cubits every way; the other, called the holy place, was twenty cubits wide and forty cubits long. The whole inside of the building was lined with cedar, carved into forms of cherubim, palm-trees, and flowers, and overlaid with gold. 

The most holy place was made to contain the ark of God. In the holy place were ten golden candlesticks, ten tables of shew bread, and the golden altar of incense. In the court, or yard, in front of the temple, were ten lavers, made of brass, and set upon wheels. Each contained water for the priests to use. Besides these, there was a large one, called the brazen sea. This was about eighteen feet broad, and nine feet deep, and contained water for the priests to bathe in. 

It was very beautiful, and stood upon twelve brass oxen.

There have been many larger buildings than this temple, but probably none so beautiful. It was called the glory of the whole earth.

 

 

  



SOLOMON’S TEMPLE.


THE building commonly called Solomon's Temple was one of the most beautiful ever constructed. It was Solomon's only in the sense that he ordered the work of  building, the plans and specifications were nearly all revealed from Heaven.

A most interesting and significant fact in the construction of this building is that the material was all prepared and fitted before it was brought on the ground, so that everything went to its place without the sound of chisel or hammer.

The temple was erected on the summit of Mount Moriah, one of the two mountains upon which Jerusalem stood. The walls were built of beautiful white stone, ornamented with plates of gold. These walls arose perpendicularly from the bottom of the valley over four hundred and fifty feet. From a distance, the temple is said to have resembled the snow cap of a mountain; and when the sun shone upon it, the golden ornaments reflected the rays with wonderful beauty.

The site of this temple had been made sacred by at least two extraordinary events. 

Nearly nine hundred years before, on the same spot, Isaac was bound upon the altar of sacrifice, Abraham thus manifesting that faith in God's word and promises, which has given him the title "The Father of the Faithful." In David's time the place was occupied by Oman the Jebusite, as a threshing-floor. On account of the wickedness of the people, God sent a terrible plague upon them. About seventy thousand of the people had already died, when the angel of the Lord commanded David to buy the threshing-floor and there make an offering, which he did, and the work of destruction was stayed.

Jesus promises, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God." It is of such material as we are that God proposes to build his temple. 

The preparation must be made now. Our carnal natures must be subdued, and our characters molded after Christ's character. If at last we are found meet for the Master's use, there will be a place for us in our Father's "house." The work must be done now, because there will be no fitting and finishing there. The building will go together without sound of hammer or ax.



 

 



 SOLOMONS WISDOM AND GREATNESS.


THERE came two women to Solomon, bringing a child with them. Each of the women claimed the child as her own, but one of them said that the other had stolen the child from her when she was asleep. She said, "This woman's child having died in the night, she came and put it in my bed, and took my child to bed with her." 

But the woman who was accused, said that she had done no such thing. Then Solomon ordered that the child should be cut in two, and half of it given to each woman. The woman who had told the falsehood was willing to have the child divided, but the other said, "O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it."  Then Solomon knew that the one who loved the child was its real mother. And all the people feared the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him.

And "Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude. . . . And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt." He kept a great many people about him. The provision required to furnish his table for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, threescore measures of meal, ten fat oxen, twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, roebucks, fallow deer, and fatted fowl.

"And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. . . . And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. . . . He was wiser than all men, . . . and his fame was in all nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.










  SOLOMON'S GREATNESS.



THE fame of Solomon spread to all the nations round about; and when the queen of Sheba heard of his wisdom, she came to prove him with hard questions. "And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 

And Solomon told her all her questions; there was not anything hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it; and, behold, the half was not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame, which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel; because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice."

"And she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones; there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. . . . 

And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. 

So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants."

And king Solomon made two hundred targets of gold, each target weighing six pounds, and three hundred shields of gold, each weighing three pounds. He also made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold: leading up to the throne were six steps, and beside the steps were twelve lions, six on the right hand, and six on the left. All of Solomon's drinking vessels, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold, nothing was made of silver, for gold was so plenty that silver was counted of little value.

"And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom."






 


 SOLOMON FORSAKES GOD.


THE Lord had said that none of his people should marry any of the people of the nations around them; for if they did, they would be led to worship the false gods that those nations worshiped. But Solomon loved many strange women, and married wives who had been brought up to worship idols. Now when Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart away from the Lord, and got him to worship the gods, which they served.

It was very wicked for Solomon to worship other gods; for the Lord had appeared to him twice, and charged him again and again not to do so. The Lord then told Solomon that his kingdom would be taken away from him, and given to another; yet not till after Solomon was dead, because of the faithfulness of David, his father.

The Lord also raised up enemies to trouble Solomon. Among these was Jeroboam, a mighty man of valor, whom Solomon had made ruler over the house of Joseph.

One day Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, wearing a new garment, and the prophet Ahi- jah' met him in a field by the way. Then the prophet caught hold of the new garment, which Jeroboam had on, and tore it into twelve pieces."  And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee :..... Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David My servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there."

The Lord also said to Jeroboam, "If thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, . . ... I will be with thee."

"Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. ...... And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David, his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead."