Good morning,
King David desired to build a house for the Lord. God did not allow him to build it because he was a man of war. God appointed his son to build the house for the Lord. Solomon’s rule was marked by peace. No distractions. Solomon was a man of Godly wisdom and character.
SOLOMON LOVED THE LORD (1 Kings 3:3)
And Solomon loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.
SOLOMON PURPOSED TO BUILD THE HOUSE TO THE LORD (1 Kings 5:4-5)
But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.5 And, behold, I purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build a house unto my name.
SOLOMON BEGINS TO BUILD THE HOUSE OF THE LORD (1 Kings 6:1)
And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.
The Temple was completed in seven years. The nation of Israel worshipped there till sin destroyed Israel and her Temple. It was destroyed during the Babylon destruction of Jerusalem. (2 Kings 25:9) The Temple was rebuilt in the days of Ezra, Nehemiah, and some of the minor prophets. (Haggai 1:2-14) Later, Herod built the magnificent Temple that stood in the days of Christ.
In the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, the Temple was utterly destroyed. Since then, the only acceptable Temple of God on earth has been in the bodies of Christians.
CHRISTIANS ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)
Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
CHRISTIANS BODIES ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
God now resides in us. Are we providing a clean vessel for the Lord to reside? Is God welcome to reside within us?
We need to provide clean, unspotted, and pure place for the Spirit to reside.
Tom Stearns, WASI Chaplain, 907 715-4001