But Solomon built Him an house. Acts 7:47
According to About.com, King Solomon built the First Temple in Jerusalem as a monument to God and as a permanent home for the Ark of the Covenant. Also known as Solomon’s Temple and Beit HaMikdash, the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. According to the Tanach, the Holy Temple was approximately 60 meters long, 30 meters wide and 15 meters high. Massive amounts of cedar wood imported from the kingdom of Tyre were used in its construction. King Solomon also had enormous blocks of fine stone quarried and hauled to Jerusalem, where they served as the foundation of the Temple. Pure gold was used as an overlay in some parts of the Temple. The Temple was primarily a house of worship and a monument to God’s greatness. It was the only place where Jews were allowed to sacrifice animals to God. This elaborate and ornate structure was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and cost so much to build that Solomon had to cede 20 towns in Galilee to Hiram in order to pay the construction bills. The temple became the focal point for all of Jewry, and its importance to Israel cannot be overstated. What is it so significant in the record that it was built by Solomon?
The verse before our text speaks of David’s desire to build a house for God. But he was not permitted to do so. David was a man of war. Even though he was known as a man after God’s own heart, his involvement in wars and conflicts made him unfit for building the centre for God’s worship. Solomon was a man of peace; his reign was marked by a lack of wars and only bloodless conquests. Renowned for his wisdom and His wealth, Solomon was a much more appropriate builder of a house for the worship of God. From this, we can take that those with wisdom to understand and wealth to contribute are better candidates for worship than those who are striving for mastery.
Solomon’s peaceful reign makes him an appropriate type of Christ, the Prince of Peace. Mankind can know no peace apart from Him. And in God’s Assembly today, one of the great hallmarks of our worship is the reality of peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
As a man of wisdom, Solomon is also a type of the omniscient God in the person of Jesus Christ. The house of worship must present the reality of the wisdom of the One Who is to be worshipped. There is nothing hid to the One into Whose presence we enter; our souls are totally bare before Him. Knowing this, we worship Him in spirit and in truth.
As with His wisdom, so with His wealth. The Lord Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, and is therefore the Possessor of it all. He gives to us from His bounty every day, and it is according to how the Lord has prospered us that we return to Him our offerings.
Like Solomon, the Lord Jesus has built a house for the worship of God. We in His assembly are part of that house, appreciating His peace, His wisdom, and His wealth. -Jim MacIntosh