1 Kings 6 Bible Study (Solomon Builds the Temple) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Father, we look to you now with absolute joy and delight.

In our hearts. We thank you that you've

gathered us as your people to come and commune in your word,

apart from your Holy Spirit. We would not even have a desire

for Your word. The very appetite we have is a

grace given from you. And we also know, Lord, that

you've called us to exercise our faith and to be disciplined in

our understanding of Your Word. And so we just ask for the mercy

to walk in that with greater stride and strength.

Father, we ask that the power of the Holy Spirit would rest upon

this session, and that you would be evident and obvious in our

meeting. We long for your nearness, Lord,

we long to fellowship with you, especially in a challenging text

like this. We pray for the grace to

understand it in a full, in its fullness.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Amen. Well, if you have God's word in

your hand, meet me in First Kings chapter six.

We have reached the crowning achievement of Solomon's

leadership in the nation of Israel.

As a king, he is now going to build the temple.

He has made preparation. For it in Chapter 5.

But now, as we come to chapter six, we will behold the

procedure, the process, the the actual building now coming into

reality. But before we we go there, if

you just look at it briefly, you can be overwhelmed with the vast

amount of detail. It is rich with description.

There are materials, there are measurements, there are

dimensions, and it can seem kind of daunting, almost

intimidating, and it can very much tempt us to say, well, I

think I'm just going to treat this lightly when we have to

always resist that temptation and believe that the Lord will

indeed speak through every portion of His word.

And I'll be honest, coming to this text in preparation this

week, I thought to myself, with all this detail, how can this be

communicated in a way that doesn't make people make people

feel like they're drowning? And my own reading.

I was reading the book of Hebrews this week.

Do you believe God speaks through his word?

Do you believe he actually speaks?

We all say, yeah, theologically he speaks with his voice, but do

you believe that God can speak to you in His word?

I hope you do. So here I am, knowing that First

Kings 6 is coming up, but I'm also my personal reading,

reading the book of Hebrews, and I want you to see something with

me as I'm as I'm figuring out, planning and praying.

Lord, what? What are we going to do with

this treasure of a chapter with all the jewels and all the gems

and all the pieces of gold and silver?

Do we dump it all out? And what time?

How do we go about this in Hebrews?

Chapter nine came to my reading this week, and this blessed me

as though the Holy Spirit gave some guidance.

For our study tonight, go to Hebrews 9 quickly.

I told you to go to 1st Kings 6, but just to be encouraged with

how the Spirit is with us. Hebrews 9, verse 2 For a tent

Hebrews 9:2

was prepared, the first section in which were the lamp stand and

the table and the bread of the Presence.

It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a

second section called the Most Holy Place.

Having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the

Covenant covered on all sides with with golden, which was a

golden urn holding the manna and Aaron's staff that budded and

the tablets of the Covenant above it, were the cherubim of

glory overshadowing the Mercy seat.

Now look at this of these things we cannot now speak in detail.

That encouraged me, that encouraged me, even the author

of Hebrews, when explaining and trying to teach on the very same

thing that you and I are going to study, he said.

We don't have to touch on every single detail at this time, and

I thought that's true. We don't have to overwhelmingly

stuff ourselves to try to get every single inch of Chapter 6

in one session. We can take our time.

Amen. Of these things we cannot now

speak in detail, but be encouraged.

We're going to get into some deep things in First Kings

1 Kings 6 · chapter mention

Chapter 6. And though it is pretty

overwhelming, I want to make it the least overwhelming for you.

And and the way to do that, I believe is to come to this

chapter and to realize that there is a framework provided

for us. There are sections within this

chapter and in the first section what you'll realize is that

Solomon the record of his project, we are told the

construction of the temple, The construction of the temple.

That's going to be around the 1st, 9:00 or 10 verses, the

construction of the temple. If you're taking notes, this

will help organize your thoughts.

So the 1st, 9:00 or 10 verses you have the construction of the

temple, and then in the middle you have in the the verse 10,

verse 11, an interesting hinge, a pause there.

It's the Lord who's going to speak to Solomon and what you're

going to see. There is instruction about the

temple. So you have the construction of

the temple. Then you have instruction about

the temple. And then for the last portion,

the largest portion of this chapter, you're going to read

about the beautifying of the temple.

So there are three sections really, three main components to

this text, the construction of the temple, instruction about

the temple, and then lastly the beautifying, the garnishing, the

decor of the temple. So now with that, let's come to

the first section and read the first few verses and see what

the Lord has to say to us. Are you there?

First, King 6. Let's begin together in verse

one. In the 480th year after the

people of Israel came 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, he began to build the House of the

Lord. The house that King Solomon

built for the Lord was 60 cubits. 60 cubits long, 20

cubits wide and 30 cubits high. Before we move on, let's deal

with this first verse. If you were at the Maranatha

conference, we've touched on this verse before, but here's

the question that I present to you and for you were at the

conference. This will be helpful.

By way of reminder, don't you think it's interesting that in

the commencement of this project, the Holy Spirit wants

to inform us, or at least connect the Exodus with the

temple being built? Out of all the things, out of

all the references that God could have given us at this

point at this juncture, why is it that this temple being

erected is supposed to be associated with the deliverance

of the people out of slavery from Egypt?

It seems random. It seems like it's it's just a

random historical point, maybe a reference in terms of how things

are. And a flow maybe, maybe this is

the anniversary of the Exodus. I don't think it's any of that.

I don't think it's random at all.

I think there is a spiritual underlying message here.

When God delivered the people out of out of Egypt, he did it

for a purpose. Let me ask you this question.

When Moses approached Pharaoh and told him let my people go,

God says let my people go. What was the reason for the

people leaving Egypt? You guys are good.

If you don't know, on more than one occasion, this is what Moses

told Pharaoh. It wasn't to go into the

Promised land. It was here in Exodus 7, verse

Exodus 7:16

16. Look at this with me.

Actually turn there with me because we're going to go to

different verses in Exodus to get the point of why it is that

Israel was to be freed from Egypt in Exodus 716.

Here's what. We're told Moses is receiving

instruction, and you shall say to him the Lord.

The God of the Hebrews sent me to you saying, let my people go,

that they may serve me in the wilderness, serve me in the

wilderness, but so far you have not obeyed.

Go to chapter 8, verse one and you'll see the same thing.

Moses telling Pharaoh, let my people go, that they may serve

me. You see it in chapter 8, verse

20. Same thing.

Let my people go. That they may serve me.

You see it in Chapter 9, verse one, Let my people go.

That they may serve me. You'll see it in Chapter 9,

verse 13. Let my people go, that they may

serve me. You'll see it again in chapter

10, verse three, let my people go, that they may serve me.

It's clear, isn't it? The intention, the aim for the

people being set free, is that God would be worshipped by the

ones that he has redeemed. No mention of the promised land,

even. Yes, that was part of the plan,

but that wasn't the primary purpose.

It wasn't to come to a place of flowing milk and glorious honey,

even God himself. Finally, when the people came

into the wilderness and met him out Mount Sinai, he again.

Tells the people the real reason for their deliverance.

One of my favorite verses concerning the theme of

redemption in the Bible. You're still in Exodus.

Go to Exodus 19 verse four. Look what the Lord says about

the reason why he rescued his own in Exodus 19 verse 4.

Exodus 19:4

You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I

bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to where?

The Promised Land. What does it say to myself?

I brought you to myself. He wants fellowship.

He wants the people to come to him so he can enjoy them, and

that they would enjoy him and the word served there.

I mean, you guys have the right idea serving not to be slaves in

a sense, just like they were slaves to Pharaoh, but in

serving they would really be worshipping.

You and I were created to worship.

That's where we know our fulfillment.

That's where we know sustenance. Substance is in the place of

worship because you were wired to worship.

And so the Lord brings the people out that they may serve

Him. And he says no, It's not even

just about serving me. It's not that I need you to do

something. I have a myriad of angels who

can do things for me. But in my love for you and the

way it designed you and your purpose for existing, I want you

to be for me. I'm bringing you to myself and

then you go to 1st Kings 6 and you see this connection between

the temple being built and the Exodus.

It could it be that the construction of the the House of

the Lord that Solomon's about to begin, is the express purpose

for why the people were saved? In other words, for this

building to be connected to the deliverance from Egypt is meant

to communicate the goal of God and saving them that it's

ultimately. Leading to this.

I'm drawing my people to myself. I'm bringing them to a place

where they can come as close as possible to to me without me

destroying them because of my holiness.

Well, if you read Exodus then it makes sense.

Now, some might say, well, the Tabernacle was provided for

that, right? And that's true.

But the Tabernacle itself, by by nature of what?

It was a tent. It was unfixed.

It was movable. And so, yes, that that's a

partial fulfillment. But then you come to the temple

and it's a permanent thing. There's a floor, there are stone

walls. And so it's supposed to mean

that this is, this is what it's all about.

And we know in the New covenant that there's more, but at least

in this dispensation, that's what's being said.

I'm bringing to a place where it's all about this moment, it's

all about this experience. And the point for you and I in

Christ Jesus is that. The purpose of His redemption

for us is no different. It's no different.

You heard me quote this in the conference of First Peter 318.

The reason why Christ suffered once for all was to bring you to

who? To God.

That's what he says, to bring you to himself again, just like

what he said in Exodus, Christ comes to bring us to the Father,

to himself, but this time to a different temple.

Not to geographical, geographical location.

Not to a specific city in the Middle East, No.

With this new structure, this spiritual house, you and I, the

new meaning place between you and God is in the heart of a

forgiven Sinner. And when forgiven sinners come

together that make up the temple of God, their God is in the

midst. Right here, right now, is the

temple of the Holy Spirit. If people really believed that,

there would be something so much more holy.

In our meetings. So much more excitement and

reverence in our meetings, and I praise God that that's true in

this place. But this is the reason why verse

one tells us about the Exodus, because it's connecting

deliverance with fellowship with God.

Why is this temple even being built to begin with?

So that God may dwell with his people?

Yes, that there would be sacrifices and a temporary

covering for sin, but ultimately that the Lord may be with his

people, and that the people would be with their God.

Now we come back here and we read something interesting and

verse 2IN connection with that thought.

The house that King Solomon built for the Lord was 60

cubits, 60 cubits long, 20 cubits wide and 30 cubits high.

A cubit is believed to be 18 inches, so about a foot and a

half, a foot and a half. And if you do the comparison

between the Temple and the Tabernacle, the temple this

glorious structure. Is roughly about double the size

of the Tabernacle, what the people knew up to this point in

terms of their centralized worship center.

And looking at this, we think well already we have this

impression that this temple is more impressive in terms of size

and as we're about to discover in terms of the ornaments and

the materials that are going to be used to color this thing.

But there is a temple that I just.

Referred to you that I just mentioned to you that it's far

more glorious than the temple and the Tabernacle, separately

and combined in terms of its size and in terms of what it's

made of. The Church of Jesus Christ, as

the temple of the Holy Spirit, covers the globe from the four

corners of the earth. There are different expressions

of houses of worship from living stones made from different

nations and tribes and tongues that are hosting the very

presence of God. Like here in this place on this

Friday night, in different places again across our lands.

And there are priests, a royal priesthood, according to First

Peter, that are giving, like what we're doing tonight,

spiritual sacrifices to God. And so this covenant with this

temple is far greater than the temple of first King 6 far

greater than the Tabernacle in the Book of Exodus.

And I hope you and I realize that now.

We read specific details about this temple, Solomon's Temple,

and like what we heard in Hebrews, we're not going to

cover every single detail, at least not in one session.

But we will highlight some things.

Look at verse 3. The vegetable in front of the

nave of the house was 20 cubits long.

Equal to the width of the house and 10 cubits deep in front of

the house. And he made for the house

windows with recessed frames. You know what's interesting

about that? Were there windows in the

Tabernacle? No, there weren't windows in the

Tabernacle. The only source of light were

the lamps inside. But now you come to the top

temple and you read of these, these narrow windows.

So that's interesting. We won't touch on that.

Now, verse five, he also built a structure.

Now try to visualize this. He also built a structure

against the wall of the house. So, so far we have the

dimensions of the main building, the temple.

We have a description of the front area that we just read,

but now we're talking about a structure that's around the

temple, and here's what we're being told about it.

He also built a structure against the wall of the house,

running around the walls of the house, both the nave and the

inner sanctuary, and he made side chambers all around.

So now you have this other structure with almost like

apartments. They're these side chambers

around the main place of worship.

And now we're we're being told about these side chambers here.

Here's what we see. In verse 6, the lowest story was

5 cubits broad, the middle one was 6 cubits broad, and the

third was 7 cubits broad for around the outside of the house.

He made offsets on the wall in order that the supporting beams

should not be inserted into the walls of the house.

So the way that these apartments, these chambers

worked is that they weren't connected into the temple.

There was different support, a different support system that

made it a part of it but didn't penetrate through the House of

worship. How many stories are these

chambers across the whole place? Three.

There are three stories, right? So you have a lower chamber, you

have a middle chamber, and you have a third chamber, right?

So imagine again, I'm trying to illustrate.

Here's the temple. Imagine I'm facing the temple.

Here's the door to the temple, but along the side, except for

the front area, of course, along the the the, the sides, in the

back, you have these chambers and they're three stories high.

You know, what I find interesting is that we're not

told the the purpose of these chambers.

We're not told. It's not until you go to

different books like Second Chronicles, Chapter 31.

2 Chronicles 31 · chapter mention

When you go to those places, you'll see that under Hezekiah's

rule, under Ezra's leadership. The priests were storing

treasures, gold, silver, offerings in these chambers, so

they were most likely used as storehouses, things to keep and

protect the precious offerings and donations that were granted

to the place of worship. What's also interesting is that

the Holy Spirit goes out of his way to give us the dimensions of

each floor. Did you notice that?

And what did you notice about these floors?

What stands out to you? Very good.

They get broader and broader and broader.

In fact, when you go to Ezekiel and I encourage you to turn

there, we have a lot of verses to cover tonight, so your

fingers are going to get some work.

OK, Ezekiel 41. This is not Solomon's Temple.

What are we being told about in Ezekiel 40 to 48?

Which temple? Oh, I kind of gave it away based

on the name of the book Ezekiel's Temple.

The temple that we believe will be known during when the

Millennium Kingdom, right? So this is not the same temple,

but there are a lot of similarities.

And when you go to Ezekiel 41 verse seven, you actually get

again a description of these side chambers and it's

confirming what we see here in First Kings chapter 6 and

1 Kings 6 · chapter mention

Ezekiel 41 seven, we're told. And it became broader as it

wound upward to the side chambers.

So just like in Solomon's Temple, the first floor is is a

certain measurement. Then as you go up it gets

broader and as you go higher, it gets broader, broader and

broader and broader. Now come back to First Kings

Six. Are you guys with me?

So far I'm not overwhelming you. Oh oh there nobody answered.

So I could be overwhelming people.

Good. We'll go to 1st Kings 6 again

and look at verse 8. The entrance for the lowest

story was on the South side of the house.

And one went up by stairs to the middle story and from the middle

story to the third. So in these apartments, in these

chambers, you had a door. And when you went into the door,

you were in the lowest part. And then there were stairs that

would bring you to the next level and another set of stairs

that would bring you to the third level.

And based on Ezekiel's words, it could be at least in his temple,

that they were winding stairs. But here's what you would feel

if you were one of the priests in these chambers.

The higher you climbed, the more there was to realize.

The higher you excelled, the more there was to discover.

And I'd like to think that that's a wonderful illustration

about our growth and revelation and truth concerning the things

of God. Is that not true?

You know, I I love reading books, and there are many books

that I'll read. And I will read it once and put

it on a shelf, never to read it again.

I've read this book every single day for years since I was 20

years old. And guess what?

I can't put it away and say I figured it out.

The more I read it, the more I realize there's more, there's

more. It doesn't stop.

The walls keep getting broader, broader and broader, and there's

even more treasure than the last level I was in.

It just keeps expanding. Is that not true?

It is true and it's completely biblical, you know?

Paul says, I've received the grace in Ephesians 38.

I've received the grace to preach to the Gentiles the

unfathomable riches of Christ, the immeasurable riches of

Christ. You can't put a limit on the

riches, the wealth of just the person of Jesus Christ.

And as I was thinking about this kind of illustration, I thought

of a Psalm. This Psalm is so exciting to me.

And again, your fingers are you're going to get to work,

right? You're going to get muscles in

your fingers tonight. And Psalm 119, what's Psalm 119

all about? Can I give you a challenge?

I wonder if anybody will take this challenge because I did it

once and it was one of the most exhilarating things in terms of

reading. If you are willing, read Psalm

119 in one sitting. Just do it and you will feel

like you're drinking out of a fire hose.

But it's a it's a good feeling because you just are showered

with the Holy Spirit's praise about the Word of God.

And here's one of the praiseworthy things about the

Word of God in Psalm 119. Look at verse 96.

Look what the Psalmist says about the word he says.

I have seen a limit to all perfection.

I've seen many things in the world and there's a there's a

stopping point here. There's a point where you figure

it out, but look what he says. But your commandment is

exceedingly broad. You see what he's saying there.

I've seen a lot of things in this world, beautiful things,

excellent things, mind boggling things.

But they come to an end in terms of the odd that it inspires,

perhaps. The mechanics and understanding

how things function. But there is one thing that I've

discovered that's exceedingly broad.

What is it? The word.

The word. There's no limit to the word.

There's no bottom to this. Well, there is no end to this

horizon. It just keeps growing.

It keeps expanding. And I believe that is the case

here. What we read about these

chambers expanding as they climbed, You can believe the

same thing about your. Experience with God through what

he's revealed in the place of prayer.

Walking with him day by day, you'll realize there's only more

to know. There's only more to realize

now. Let's come back to first kings

and let's read verse 7. When the house was built, it was

with stone prepared at the quarry, so that neither hammer

nor axe, nor any tool of iron. Was heard in the house while it

was being built. This is one of my favorite

verses in First Kings Chapter 6. Again, why is the Holy Spirit

1 Kings 6 · chapter mention

going out of his way to tell us about how these stones were

chiseled and prepared before they were assembled together?

It seems as though we need to know that there was no

recognition of the materials colliding together.

It was. It was at a great distance.

And when it came to the place of putting the pieces together,

there was almost this reverential silence about it.

It was sacred. And so there was this wisdom

behind this. But there's a spiritual message,

and I believe it's significant because it's to encourage us

when we link it to the house that God is building today.

You have to understand the New Testament.

You as an individual are called the temple, the Holy Spirit, and

the church at large is called the Temple of the Holy Spirit.

And here we're being told about this temple.

And interestingly about this temple.

There was no sound of tools. There is no sound of let me put

it this way, there was no immediate evidence that

something was happening. And someone once said, very

wisely, that this is a lesson not to mistake noise and

notoriety with spiritual progress.

First, Peter Two tells us that you and I are living stones

being built up together into a spiritual house.

That's what Peter said, living stones being built together up

to be a spiritual house. And I believe there's something

here for us to take in for ourselves.

You know, there's some believers who believe, unfortunately, that

in order to truly measure success and effectiveness, it's

all determined by the attention and praise you might receive

from others but the Lord here? Does not need to announce the

work that he's doing in your life.

He doesn't need to advertise it. He doesn't need to let the

masses know. This is what I'm doing in my

son. This is what I'm doing in my

daughter. This is what I'm doing in this

pastor, and through this pastor, he doesn't need to do that for

it to be legitimate. Your fruitfulness and mine can

sometimes take place in a way where.

People don't immediately see it, at least for a season.

For most of us here, you know your life is going to be

relatively quiet, unnoticed under the radar, not pointed out

by prominence. And that's OK.

But what you have to resist is the temptation of thinking just

because somebody is on a platform or somebody is highly

praised and. Greatly known that God is

working and doing more in them than he is in you.

And if you are feeling that, Lord, are you really doing

something significant? In my life that doesn't seem to

be much noise that I'm creating. I'm not really gaining much from

others and and seeing them appreciate, maybe point out

highlights what you're doing. I mean the gifts that you've

given me. Remember the temple?

Remember the House of God? Even this glorious structure

that would host the presence of God was built in silence.

It was not immediately recognized.

And you can apply that to the corporate sense as well.

The worship team that you're part of, the ministry team that

you're part of the church that you're part of, the outreach

that you're part of. A lot of people, again, confuse

something being loud with it being legitimate.

And if you use that kind of evaluation, then you actually

can get yourself in trouble. What do I mean by that?

Well, God is really at work when there's a lot of people crammed

into one place and in that meeting there are rivers of

tears and there are explosions of miracles happening, that's

when God is really at work. And God working that way,

Absolutely. Does God always work that way?

No. He can do.

A silent work, and it's still just as much, precious to him,

and it should be precious to you.

This inner surgery where he is chiseling and cutting so that

he's conforming you. The framing of your thoughts,

the putting together the fragments of the brokenness in

your life until that mess becomes something of a

masterpiece. God indeed is working, and he's

always working in you and I, whether people recognize it

right away or whether you even recognize it in the moment.

He is a patient, careful, meticulous, loving artist and

when he feels that it's necessary, he will make his work

known and it will be loud And there are other.

Times where he will take his time.

And I see that with the sacred structure, what would have been

like for a citizen of Jerusalem to see the progress?

I, I think just week after week, month after month as they go

about their affairs, they're not hearing anything right.

They're not seeing major cranes and traffic and noise.

The the all that complicated stuff is being done at a

distance. And from time to time they would

look out their window and they would see the building getting

stronger and higher and thicker. Look what's happening and do you

know how long it took for this temple to be built?

Who knows the number of years? Yeah, it's right here in verse

38. We're told here at the last part

of verse 38, he was seven years in building it.

Seven years now. David confessed in First

Chronicles 2819 that he received the blueprint for the building.

It wasn't a human architect who came up and offered something to

God from their own initiative. No.

God gave the exact instructions for this thing to be built.

And even though God gave it, it took seven years to build.

You know why that's important? Again, Because some people think

if God's going to do a work, and if he does work, it means it has

to happen instantaneously. Growth should happen instant

stainlessly, right? Disciples should should happen

in a moment. Who said that things have to

always happen in the blink of an eye or snap of a finger?

That's not how God always works. And just like his temple, here

he sweetly and wisely took his time.

And you can believe the same for you and I.

Not that that's permission for us to delay in our discipline or

to not be participating in the things of God.

No, but to understand that progress doesn't happen

overnight and that should encourage.

You and I to not be overwhelmed by our lack of progress at the

speed that we would like it to happen, and your knowledge of

the word of God in in different areas concerning your gifting.

And so this is something for you and I to be blessed by.

Now, before we move on, there's another lesson here, and I

believe the lesson here, when we see this verse being built,

this, this amazing building being built in silence, is to

remind us that God often also likes to build and work on us in

quietness, right? So this is this is a good word

for us because a lot of us always need distraction noise.

When's the last time you got quiet before God?

Quiet, quiet. Just to sit before him and allow

the architect of your soul to work on you?

You know, there's a lot of people who are frustrated with

their walk with the Lord. I don't just, I don't sense God

leading me, speaking to me, clarifying things to me.

And one of my first questions is, well, have you given time

for him to do that? Just to get before the Lord,

open your Bible. Say Lord, I'm reading this text

this week. Can you speak to my heart?

When's the last time you did that without checking Instagram?

A notification? Throw that thing in the garbage

just for an hour. You can pick it up, clean it and

go. Go about your day.

Just give time and silence. Before the Lord He wants to do

something with you in that place.

I argue that he can only do certain things in that place.

You can come to 1000 church services a week and it will not

substitute personal time with the Lord.

And I know that me saying this, and I'm becoming more aware of

this as I'm advancing in life, right.

Things become busier and busier and quiet that time.

Seclusion becomes more of a luxury, isn't it?

Look at all the heads. I just went.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I guess I'm not here to beat you

over the head, but I I am here to tell you that God is able to

do miracles with five loaves and two fishes.

Miracles. You know, when I was doing my

internship in Toronto, Canada, that was one of the most

frustrating times of my walk with the Lord.

Because up to that point, I had my just my my schedule at

school. I wasn't working and so I had

all this time. It was amazing and I'm so glad

for that season because so many things were revealed to me.

But then now I'm working full time school, full time

internship and that was technically part of my school.

So waking up, commuting, taking three different modes of

transportation, just. To get to the place and coming

all the way back. And I remember just feeling so

frustrated. I don't know what to do with

this. Lord, by the time I get home and

I got to make dinner, I'm ready to sleep.

Quiet time. I just.

I just need a full night's sleep.

To survive. That's how I was feeling.

But I realized how the Lord is willing to honor whatever you're

able to give him. You know what I was able to do

at that time? Yeah, there, there is still the

the grace to be able to take that time in my apartment.

But even during the day when I had coffee breaks, I was, I was

doing my internship in a fairly tall building.

And so there was a lot of stairs and a lot of empty stairs and

low traffic area. So my coffee breaks.

I would just go up to some of those stairs.

And I would go high enough where I can see the city of Toronto.

And I would just sit there and talk to the Lord.

Just talk to the Lord while I'm looking out the window.

Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you, Lord.

Fill me with the spirit as I go back into my office so that

people can sense the fragrance of Christ.

Give me boldness if I'm ever confronted with my beliefs that

I would be strong and loving. Just talk to the Lord.

About 10 minutes go by and go back to work.

Do you think the Lord is looking for heaven?

Saying you only gave me that much time.

I didn't hear a word you said that's not the Lord.

When Mary of Bethany broke that alabaster flask and poured it on

Christ, the disciples criticized her and Jesus said she did what

she could. And it is beautiful to me.

When I read that, I thought, yeah, in certain seasons there

are things that you can only do so much of, and God will see it

as beautiful as long as your heart is true and you're being

honest before him. Lord, this is all I can give

you. That's all I could give him in

that season. And so give that time to the

Lord and He can do miracles in your heart, your mind throughout

your day. The Lord wants to build us in

the place of quietness. Now there's there's much more

that can be said. But now we've come here, We read

verse eight, we read verse 9 about the roof, the ceiling.

But something happens here in verse 11 says here.

Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon concerning this house,

and he says here, excuse me. Now the word of Lord came to

Solomon concerning this house that you are building.

If you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all

my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my

word with you, which I spoke to David.

Your father and I will dwell among the children of Israel and

will not forsake my people Israel.

So Solomon built the house and finished it.

So as we're reading about the construction of this building

going up to verse 10, verse 11, there's this intermission.

Somehow the word of the Lord comes to Solomon.

It could have been through a prophet, and this seems kind of

out of place. The Lord is telling and

reminding Solomon about the covenant that he had made with

his father and with his descendants.

And we don't know why this came to Solomon, not only how, but

why. But based on the message itself,

we can gather enough information to understand the mind of the

Lord and why he spoke to Solomon in this manner.

The tone that you get from this, what kind of tone is it?

What is this message? What kind of message?

Is it? Condition.

Yeah, it's a condition. The promise.

The covenant is conditional. But what's the message then?

If he's giving this reminder for this condition, what is he

essentially doing? There's a cautious tone here,

and this message is a message of warning.

And so the Lord is warning Solomon at this point, at this

juncture, at this, at this mark of the progress of the building,

He wants to warn him. And based on that we can have

strong confidence to believe that Solomon.

Needed to hear this. Whether he knew it or not.

He needed to hear this message from the Lord, and it could be

that at this point the Lord saw something in Solomon, something

concerning. Perhaps there are early signs

already that Solomon was beginning to lose sight of the

significance and the recipe for true, lasting success concerning

the temple. Solomon, you're building this

temple. That's wonderful, but I want to

let you know that what's really going to bring blessing to you

and this people is going to be your obedience to my law.

It's going to be your consecration unto me.

Just because this building is going to be built does not

necessarily mean that you've guaranteed my blessing and my

presence here among you and your people.

I'm asking you, and I'm reminding you to live in my word

and to walk in my ways. That's a much needed warning for

many of us who are serving the Lord.

Listen, this is very important, right?

Because here Solomon is performing something for the

Lord in his tenure. At this point in his ministry,

he needed to receive instruction.

And you and I need this kind of instruction and warning from

time to time as we're serving the Lord, often times when we're

building something to the Lord, what do we need?

We need an encouragement. Well, we get discouraged.

There's delay. There's persecution.

We see that with Nehemiah. We see that with Ezra.

And so we need to be encouraged. Encouraged, encouraged,

rightfully so, but with encouragement.

We also need warning. We do need warning.

They're two pitfalls, right? We can fall into discouragement

that can lead us into other problems.

We can fall into disobedience because of what Solomon is

facing here. Could be the.

Solomon already is showing again evidence that his heart is being

uplifted or his own wisdom now is is filtering in and we see

later on what happens to Solomon.

You know, just because we have a church building with a service,

an order of service, a team that sings beautifully, somebody that

comes up on the pulpit and offering food, A5O1C3, that

doesn't mean God's presence is here, does it?

Do we need a big enough cross to be like, you know, that cross

impresses me. I'm going to come now and bless

this place. Is that how God?

Works, no. Some people think so.

If we have an extravagant enough of establishment, if we have

talented people enough, if the numbers come, if the money

flows, and surely we have the thumbs up from the Almighty,

that's not how it works. What is God after?

A holy people and obedient people, A repentant people, a

broken people, people who walk in the fear of the Lord?

That's what will usher in, and that's what will.

Guard his blessing, his power, and his presence, and his

delight. Amongst us.

And there's another thing here, right?

Again, Solomon could very well be losing focus here, being

deterred, drifting in one way. And you and I also have to be

careful and understand that the same temptation awaits all of us

who want to advance. And this is a temptation that's

very present for those who are seeing accomplishments, great

accomplishments done in the name of God.

Solomon is going to end up falling very bad and it makes

you wonder what went wrong. I mean, go to Chapter 9, we're

in First Kings, things go to go to Chapter 9.

This is after Solomon builds a temple, and then in chapter 8 he

dedicates the temple. And then look what the Lord says

in Chapter 9, verse four and five.

And the Lord is speaking to him again.

And As for you, if you walk before me as David your father

walked with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according

to all that I've commanded you and keeping my statutes and my

rules, then I will establish a royal throne over Israel

forever, as I promised David, your father, saying you shall

not lack a man on the throne of Israel again, He just did it in

chapter 6. Now he's doing it again.

After the thing was built, after it was dedicated, after there

was a grand opening. The Lord says Solomon, be

careful. Be careful.

When we do things for God and it blesses other people, and it's

grand and it's unique and it's spectacular and it's fruitful,

we can begin to think that we are above the law and maybe

there are certain rules that don't apply to me.

And certain things that I I can do, because look how much I give

to the church. This church wouldn't be able to

do what they're doing if it wasn't for my contributions.

That's dangerous thinking. Look what I did for the Lord.

Look at the glory I brought to His name.

Look at all the people who are blessed.

Surely the Lord will look with partiality upon me if I drift

here and there. There are people who think like

that. In fact, the Bible calls that

something. It's called the root of

bitterness. You know when people quote the

root of bitterness in Hebrews chapter 12, they think that's a

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

verse about when you have unforgiveness in your heart.

That's not true. When the author of Hebrews is

speaking about that, he's referring to a warning in

Deuteronomy where the Lord told the people, please be careful

that there is no one among you has a root of bitterness.

And then he describes what that root of bitterness is.

It's a person who hears the law and blesses himself and says, I

will be safe. Do I walk in the stubbornness of

my heart? And that root has the ability to

infect that garden bed and touch other people and bring him into

the wrong direction. So Solomon need to be careful,

because already when these things are taking place, things

are progressing and advancing. The Lord saying, please Solomon,

be careful, don't let it get to your head.

Don't think that these things are not binding on you.

They are. My law is just as much for you

as it is for anybody else. In fact, the warning is even

greater for him because he's what?

What is Solomon? He's a king, meaning he's a

what? He's a leader.

He's a leader. So notice what he says here when

you read I read it in verse 11, he says the word of Lord comes,

verse 12 describes what's going to happen.

And then in verse 13, the condition is in verse 12, verse

13 is the consequence. And I will dwell among the

children of Israel and will not forsake my people.

Israel, if you obey, I will be here and I will not forsake

them. Implying what?

If you don't obey? What's going to happen?

I will forsake them. Did he say forsake you or

forsake the people? Pray for your leaders.

Pray that the Lord would keep them from discouragement.

I recently preached about David's discouragement from

First Samuel 27. He believed that Saul was going

to kill him. When Saul think about this, he

believed Saul was going to kill him.

He was. Going to die.

And he had Samuel the prophet. He had Abigail, his wife.

He had Jonathan his friend. He had Saul himself, saying,

you're going to be the next king.

The guy that's trying to kill you believes that you're going

to be king, and you believe that he's actually going to kill you.

Imagine that. That's how dizzy we get when

we're discouraged. And so he goes, you know what?

I'm better off living with the Philistines.

Saul won't chase me. He moves with the Philistines.

That's a no, no. If you're an Israelite because

he provided boundaries, you ain't leaving those boundaries

unless God tells you plain and clear, you can go to Egypt.

Jacob was afraid to go to Egypt, even to visit his son.

The Lord assured him go. Abraham didn't see God to go to

Egypt, and he got in a lot of trouble.

David says. I'm going to go with the

Philistines. He goes, what happens?

600 of his men follow him with their families, because that's

what happens when the leader makes a decision.

It has consequences beyond his own life, beyond his own family.

It trickles down. And their obedience can inspire

people to greater obedience. And their disobedience can cause

people to either follow in that direction or all the other mess

and problems that can come with somebody of great prominence,

stature, leadership fails. Pray for your leaders.

Pray that they wouldn't be overcome with discouragement.

Pray that they wouldn't be overcome by their

accomplishments, by their gifting, by the opportunities

that they receive. Solomon here needed to hear this

warning. And we also, in our service to

the Lord, have to be careful. And now we come to the last

portion. And look how many verses we have

left. Look at verse 14 right.

I have to flip my page and I realize there's almost a whole

other page, at least in my version of detail upon detail

upon detail upon detail. And so I feel the author of

Hebrews. We don't have time to talk about

all the detail, but I want to encourage you of how studying

these kind of texts. Can bring joy and bring a sense

of absolute reverence for the authorship of this book.

So now hold tight to your Bible. We're going to look at different

references. We're going to, we're going to

stick in Chapter 6 and then we're going to go to a

completely different book because we're going to do a

comparison here and and this will be very exciting.

If you're willing to do the work with me, I hope you're willing

to do the work. So let's begin.

Now we're talking about the beautifying of the temple,

right? We talked about the construction

of the temple, some details there in we talked about the

instruction about the temple. Now we're coming to the

beautifying of the temple, and it's mainly occupied and

preoccupied with the internals of the temple, the materials and

the carvings and the the images. That's what we're being told

about in verse 14 all the way to verse 38.

But let's look at this one main feature beginning in verse 20,

right? We're going to skip a few

verses, but come here to verse 20 and notice what's being

described here. The inner sanctuary.

What's the inner sanctuary? Not the Holy.

Place. There's the Holy Place, and then

there's what? The Most Holy Place?

Good. So which one is this?

The Most Holy Place? The Inner Sanctuary The deepest

part of the building. The inner sanctuary was 20

cubits long, 20 cubits wide, 20 cubits high, and he overlaid it

with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of

cedar. And Solomon overlaid the inside

of the house with pure gold, and he drew chains of gold across in

front of the inner sanctuary and overlaid it with gold.

And he overlaid the whole house with gold until all the house

was finished, and the whole altar that belonged to the inner

sanctuary he overlaid with gold. What kind of material do you

think everything was overlaid with?

Gold. If you didn't get it yet, look

at verse 28 and he overlaid the cherubim with gold.

Look at verse 30, the floor of the house he overlaid with even

the. Floor was gold.

Again, we're talking about permanence here, right?

Did the Tabernacle have a floor? Did it?

No. It was dirt.

It was the earth. Everything around was built, and

there was material, but not not the, not the ground.

It was pure dirt. And there's a spiritual lesson

there as well. But here.

You have wood, and that wood was covered with gold.

Gold underneath your feet, Gold all around you.

Gold above you. If you still didn't get it, look

at verse 35 on them. He carved cherubim and palm

trees and open flowers. I wish we had time to talk about

these symbols, cherubim and palm trees and open flowers.

And he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved

work. Gold everywhere.

Can you imagine a room like this where the pews, the carpet, the

piano, the light fixtures, the walls, the pulpit, the screen,

everything gold. Now again, just really heavy

with detail. And this is not the only account

of the building of the temple. You have another account in

Second Chronicles. I told you if you do the work,

it'll be rewarding, right? So you go to Second Chronicles

and just one verse. It's just one verse, but just to

help us understand what is happening in this place called

the Temple in Second Chronicles, look at this in chapter 3, verse

six So, so far, What is it in the house?

Gold. Gold.

Gold. Gold, Gold Everywhere.

People estimate that the value of the Temple in terms of the

measurement of gold is in the billions of modern day currency.

We're talking billions. Of dollars.

But it wasn't just gold. Look at verse six of chapter 3,

Second Chronicles. He adorned the house with

settings of what? Precious stones, Precious

stones. And then we're told where the

gold is from at the end of the verse.

So on top of the gold you have diamonds and sapphire.

We're not told the exact stones. Some even believe they.

You know, people are imagining there's nothing dogmatic here,

but that Solomon placed them on the ceiling so they were like

stars. Right.

You can just imagine the vast beauty and wealth, how it would

take your breath away when you would walk in The just the

absolute investment, the massive investment that went in just

into the internals of this House of worship.

Gold. Gold.

Gold. Gold.

And in precious stones, wherever they were placed, they're

obviously there. They're obvious to the eye.

Here's my question. What other physical area in the

Bible has the same? Description as the Temple

Revelation. Good.

But you got to be more specific. The New Jerusalem OK, tuck your

hand in First Kings 6 and then go all the way to the last book

of the Bible in chapter 21 and go to verse 10, just to ensure

that we are talking about the New Jerusalem.

This is not the Millennium that we're talking about here.

We've passed the Millennium. The Millennium is chapter 20.

Isaiah 20 · chapter mention

This is the final era, the final chapter of human history.

It's the eternal age. The new heavens and the new

earth will be created. The old is passed away.

And now, with this new heavens, new earth, we see this new city.

And we read about it here in verse 10.

And He carried me away in the Spirit to a great high mountain.

This is John speaking and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem

coming down out of heaven from God.

So this is Jerusalem, right? The new city, Jerusalem.

Now we get. The description of what the city

is all about. Look at verse 18 of chapter 21.

The wall was built of Jasper. While the city was what?

Pure gold, Like clear glass, it was almost transparent.

The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with what?

Every kind of jewel. And John was given even the

specifics of what these jewels were.

I'm not going to read them for you for the sake of time, but

look at verse 21 and the 12 gates were 12 pearls.

Each of the gates made of a single Pearl, and the street of

the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

I like the joke. The things that people are

coveting, the things that people are denying God for money,

wealth, gold, is going to be pavement in heaven.

That's silly. The betrayal, the murder, the

corruption and politics in heaven.

It's going to be the pavement. But wait, there's so much more

here. We're actually even given the

dimensions of this new city, this new heavenly Jerusalem,

which is important. Look at verse 15 and 16 with me.

You're still in Revelation 21, I hope.

Verse 15. And the one who spoke with me

had a measuring rod of gold. Even the measuring rod is made

out of gold. The measuring stick is made out

of gold. Had a measuring rod of gold to

measure the city and its gates and walls.

The city lies 4 square, its length the same at its width as

its with and he measured the city with its rod. 12,000

stadium. Some believe that this city.

Alone is thousands of miles long.

Each way, it's absolutely huge. What do you call the shape where

every side is the same? And in 3D it's a cube.

People believe the city of Jerusalem will be a perfect

cube. You know, there's only one other

place in all the Bible that we're told of another area

that's a perfect square or cube. Where is it?

The inner sanctuary in Solomon's Temple.

You didn't see it, did you? Back in First Kings 6.

Go back to First Kings 6, verse 20.

1 Kings 6:20

I hope you kept your your hand there.

Look at verse 20 and please keep your hand in Revelation 21.

We're going to go back and forth.

It will be rewarding first Kings 6/20.

The inner sanctuary, the Most Holy Place, was what, 20 cubits

long, 20 cubits wide, and 20 cubits high?

And he overlaid it with pure gold.

He also overlaid an altar of cedar.

So the Most Holy Place, if you were a high priest going in once

a year, you would realize that it was a perfect square or a

cube. The descriptions of the temple.

And the descriptions of the new city of Jerusalem, the heavenly

city Jerusalem, are strikingly similar.

The materials, the stones, and even the idea of the the

perfection of its dimensions. What's being conveyed here,

What's what's the message here is the message that the city

Jerusalem will, will be the heavenly temple.

This is the final temple, right? I mean, you see the description

in Solomon's Temple? It's there's gold or stones and

even the measurements are the same.

So is this the new temple that we will worship in forever and

ever? No, it's not.

Do you know why? Who knows why?

You have to go back to Revelation 21.

You get the answer to why When you go to 21, verse 22, what do

you read? And I saw what?

No temple. And I saw no temple in the city,

for its temple is the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb.

So why does so much of Solomon's temple then point to the New

Jerusalem if there's going to be no temple in that city?

And I believe the message here that the Holy Spirit is trying

to relay to us is that the temple had not just certain

dimensions and rules, it had a specific protocol.

You know this protocol very well, that if you were to

minister in the temple, you had to be a what?

You have to be a priest. From a specific line, from a

specific tribe, And not only that, but if you were to go into

the Holy of Holies, you couldn't be any priest.

You have to be the you have to be the high priest, and you can

only go in one day out of the year.

And if you walked in there, if you read the description, you

not only see the Ark of the Covenant, you see these towering

cherubim whose wings touch the walls of that room and the other

wings. Touch each other overshadowing

the ark. It it was supposed to give you

this feeling of this is holy, this is heavenly, this is the

throne of God, and there was only one person, one person, one

time out of the year. Who can enjoy that?

Who can be in close proximity to that?

And then now you come to this book called Revelation, and you

realize that if you have a knowledge of the Old Testament,

namely the temple, this place that was only for the privilege,

only for these certain priests, and this most holy place that

was exclusively and singularly for one man.

Is now a place that everybody can enter into.

Let me put it this way. The city of Jerusalem will be

the eternal Holy of Holies. So you have this square in the

temple that only one person can enter into.

And then we're being told of this.

Perfect. Cube to come.

It's not a temple, but it's supposed to point you and remind

you of a place in the temple where the presence of God would

radiate. And now it's a city, and in

essence it becomes the most holy place.

Not just for one person. Can I tell you who it's for?

Go back to Revelation 21 and verse 27.

Here's who it's for. But nothing unclean will ever

enter it. The city.

Nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only

those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

The new city of Jerusalem becomes the eternal Holy of

Holies. The connection with the

measurement and the material is supposed to help you realize

this is the place now that will host the Presence.

And glory of God. But everyone who has been

washing the blood of the lamb can enjoy it.

Not only that, you don't just visit the city.

The Holy of Holies, the eternal Holy Holies, becomes your home.

It's where you're going to live forever and ever and ever.

That's the connection. Now, if you skip the First Kings

1 Kings 6 · chapter mention

Chapter 6, you would think that the only perfect cube in the

Bible is this new city, Jerusalem.

No, There was another one in Solomon's Temple.

And you're supposed to make all those connections.

There's only one person who could go in there.

But there's a day coming. There is a city coming.

There's a. Holy of Holies that is coming.

Where can I go and enjoy the presence of God?

Oh yeah, all whose names are written in the lamb's book of

life can go in and enjoy it forever and ever and ever.

And I told you I was reading Hebrews this week, right?

This is the verse that I saw, the last chapter of Hebrews that

brought this so perfectly together.

You don't have to turn there. Just listen to this.

And Hebrews 1314 for here and 1314 for here.

We have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

That is to come. Is your name written in the

Lamb's book of life? If it is, you have a new

address, you have a new home. You get to walk into something

that only one man could enjoy, with absolute terror, by the

way, and fear not knowing if he was cleansed enough to walk in

and not be struck down by the holiness of God.

But when the city comes, that will radiate and manifest the

unfiltered presence of God. You will have a white robe.

You will be clothed in the righteousness of Christ that

will remove every ounce of fear from the holiness of God, and

all you will know is perfect bliss with Him and unending

years upon years upon years upon years.

There is an eternal holy of holies that's waiting for you

and I, and the way that you have entrance and residence in it is

if you have your name. Sealed by his blood, in that

book of life, Lord, we ask that every person here would know for

certain that that is the city that they will enter into and

reside in. And we thank you for the

richness of your word in First Kings. 6 And we pray, Lord, that

it would encourage us to continue to mind the Word of

God, trusting that you have something to say to us, trusting

that we will see the harmony and the Symphony of the scriptures.

And we pray, Lord, that our hearts would have been moved to

even worship you in song as we see the absolute supernatural

authorship of this book that we are carrying in our hands.

Lord, glory be to your name. Because what we just studied is

our future, is our tomorrow, is our security.

And we have been guaranteed it. And so we say on this Friday

night, Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And Lord, until we enter into that holy of holies in the city

of this heavenly Jerusalem, help us be the temple of the Holy

Spirit today, pure, undefiled, unified as stones, living

together for the glory of God. And may there be sweet incense

coming to your throne even now. In Jesus name.

Amen. As the team comes up, listen,

you're a priest, a royal priesthood this night.

Don't let your mind wander. Don't let your plans for

tomorrow over shadow the moment. I want you to see yourself in

this place, the way the Bible describes you even as you sing

now you were singing and offering a sacrifice of praise

to the Holy One, to the King of Kings, and to the Lord of Lords.

We should never, ever treat a moment like this as mundane.

It irks me. It irks me.

Can I be honest with you? It absolutely irks me.

When in a meeting, whether it's like this or any meeting, this

church or another church. When you see a place where

people are distracted and bored. How?

How? If this book is true, how how

can you, when you're in the presence of the King of Kings

and when you've been clothed an identity and a purpose for the

sole goal of pleasing him, Never mind anybody else, never mind

the elders. God himself as your chief

priority and your chief audience.

I'm here, Lord, to please you. You've redeemed me.

You've brought me to bring it to yourself.

And if that's the reason why you save me, then I'll give you what

you paid for, and that's worship.

If your heart is lukewarm, bring it to the altar and let God

light it on fire. Ask the Lord, Lord, even that

Bible study, OK, it was kind of interesting.

Like the guy up there got a little excited at certain parts.

I appreciated that. That's not the way you're

supposed to engage with the word of God.

Lord, set my heart on fire. And let me believe that you have

deposited something from heaven that can absolutely radicalize

and change my life if I engage with it in faith.

Well, I pray that you would get that lest your spiritual journey

become empty. Vain surface studies and a sin

bound life where you just go from boring to boring instead of

glory to glory may never be of us.

And so I exhort you. What?

What that what just happened there?

He said what just happened? He was so nice up to that last

point. What just happened there is

called exhortation, admonition, telling you and encouraging,

stirring you to see what this is really all about.

Can we stand and give the Lord worship on this Friday night and

say Lord, I have been called the royal priesthood, I've been

called the chosen people. And now based on the truth that

I heard, If this is the temple of the Holy Spirit and you've

called me to be a priest to give spiritual sacrifice, then here

it is. Engage with your God tonight in

Jesus name.