Dawn on a bare limestone hilltop: rows of pale, squared stone blocks and a stack of long red-brown cedar beams wait beside the first course of a long foundation laid on the rock, the Kidron valley in shadow behind.

The Book of

1 Kings 6

Four hundred and eighty years after Egypt, the stones arrive already cut. On the hill, no hammer is heard.

38 verses≈ 7 min1 personBSB

Images are artistic interpretations.

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–2Solomon's throneThe kingdom made secure
3–4WisdomA discerning heart
5–8The templeA house for the LORD's NameChapter 6
9–11Glory and fallSolomon's heart turns
12–16Two kingdomsThe kingdom torn
17–19ElijahThe LORD, He is God
20–22AhabNaboth and Micaiah

Temple Construction Begins

In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, he began to build the house of the LORD.

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The Chambers

Against the walls of the temple and the inner sanctuary, Solomon built a chambered structure around the temple, in which he constructed the side rooms. The bottom floor was five cubits wide, the middle floor six cubits, and the third floor seven cubits. He also placed offset ledges around the outside of the temple, so that nothing would be inserted into its walls.

A limestone quarry at midday: stonecutters in short tunics and head cloths square a great block with picks and chisels, dust in the air, finished blocks lying in rows ready for the oxen sledges.

The temple was constructed using finished stones cut at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

so that no hammer or chisel or any other iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built

1 Kings 6:7

The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the middle level, and from there to the third floor.

So Solomon built the temple and finished it, roofing it with beams and planks of cedar. He built chambers all along the temple, each five cubits high and attached to the temple with beams of cedar.

God’s Promise to Solomon

Then the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying:

1 Kings 6:12–13

Reflect

Building and walking

In the middle of the stonework God spoke to Solomon about his walk, not his walls. If Solomon would walk in His ways, God said, “I will dwell among the Israelites.” What are you building right now: a home, a career, a family, a ministry? What would it mean to walk with God in it this week, and not only to get it finished? Write down one thing you are building and one step of walking with Him in it.

The Temple’s Interior

Inside the main hall in soft light from high, narrow windows: walls of red-brown cedar paneling carved in rows of gourds and open flowers, a floor of pale cypress boards, and at the far end a cedar partition with closed double doors.

So Solomon built the temple and finished it. He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.

He partitioned off the twenty cubits at the rear of the temple with cedar boards from floor to ceiling to form within the temple an inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. And the main hall in front of this room was forty cubits long.

The cedar paneling inside the temple was carved with gourds and open flowers. Everything was cedar; not a stone could be seen.

0:32

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Solomon also prepared the inner sanctuary within 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 the inside with pure gold, and he also overlaid the altar of cedar.

So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold. So he overlaid with gold the whole interior of the temple, until everything was completely finished. He also overlaid with gold the entire altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary.

Plan to scale in cubits · north at the top

The temple

The house and its rooms

The house was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high (about 90 by 30 by 45 feet), with a porch ten cubits deep across its front, facing east. Side rooms in three stories wrapped the other three sides. Inside, the main hall was forty cubits long; behind it, the inner sanctuary was a perfect cube, twenty cubits (about 30 feet) each way.

The Cherubim

In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim, each ten cubits high, out of olive wood. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long, and the other wing was five cubits long as well. So the full wingspan was ten cubits. The second cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same size and shape, and the height of each cherub was ten cubits.

The dim, gold-walled inner sanctuary seen from its doorway: two great gold-covered winged figures stand side by side, seen from behind, their outer wings touching the side walls and their inner wingtips meeting in the middle, their heads lost in shadow.

And he placed the cherubim inside the innermost room of the temple. Since their wings were spread out, the wing of the first cherub touched one wall, while the wing of the second cherub touched the other wall, and in the middle of the room their wingtips touched. He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

Then he carved the walls all around the temple, in both the inner and outer sanctuaries, with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. And he overlaid the temple floor with gold in both the inner and outer sanctuaries.

Question

Quick question

Two great winged figures stood in the inner sanctuary, filling it from wall to wall.

How high was each cherub in the inner sanctuary?

The Doors

The closed double doors of olive wood into the inner sanctuary, in a five-sided doorframe, carved with palm trees, open flowers and winged cherubim whose faces are hidden by their wings, all covered in hammered gold.

For the entrance to the inner sanctuary, Solomon constructed doors of olive wood with five-sided doorposts. The double doors were made of olive wood, and he carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers and overlaid the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold.

In the same way he made four-sided doorposts of olive wood for the sanctuary entrance. The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels. He carved into them cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold hammered evenly over the carvings.

The Courtyard

Solomon built the inner courtyard with three rows of dressed stone and one row of trimmed cedar beams.

The foundation of the house of the LORD was laid in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, in the month of Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, the eighth month, the temple was finished in every detail and according to every specification.

So he built the temple in seven years.

1 Kings 6:38

Pray

Walk, not only build

Thank God that He chose to dwell among His people and that He keeps His promise to David. Ask Him for a heart that walks in His ways and does not only build things for Him. Ask for patience to finish faithfully, in every detail, the work He has given you to do.

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1 Kings 6

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A verse to carry with you

As for this temple you are building, if you walk in My statutes, carry out My ordinances, and keep all My commandments by walking in them, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to your father David. And I will dwell among the Israelites and will not abandon My people Israel.

1 Kings 6:12–13

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