Jerusalem, c. 970 BC

[1 Kings 5:1–9:9; 2 Chronicles 2:1–7:22]

SOLOMON’S magnificent temple has been dedicated to Yahweh with a huge 14-day celebration in which some 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats were sacrificed. Burnt, grain and fellowship offerings were made in the courtyard before the temple.

It is reported that God has appeared to Solomon and declared himself pleased with the work. He promised again that if Solomon followed his father’s example and lived in faithful obedience to Yahweh, then the royal line of David would sit on the throne of Israel for ever. But if Solomon or his sons should turn away from God by failing to honour his commands or by following other gods, he would remove Israel from the land he had given them and would reject the temple.

The temple that Solomon built, fulfilling his father David’s great desire, is both a shrine to house the ark of the covenant and a constitutional building at the centre of the nation’s life. It bears some similarities to the desert tabernacle, the mobile worship-tent which accompanied Israel through the desert and into Canaan.

The sanctuary is strongly reminiscent of the tabernacle, but it has an added entry porch and three rooms inside. Alongside the middle chamber (the Holy Place) and the Most Holy Place are storage rooms. Some aspects of the design have been influenced by the Phoenician workmen sent by Hiram, king of Tyre.

The temple is modest in size – (about 27 m [87 ft] long by 9 m [30 ft] wide) – and is not intended to hold a large congregation. It is seen as the house of God, where he promised he would dwell among his people. It has taken seven years to build, however, using a large task force of labourers. All heavy tool work was done away from the site, which was regarded as holy. The stone was cut and dressed at the quarry, probably underground to secure that the noise did not carry, and when brought to the site was worked on in silence.

Constructed from Lebanese cedar and local limestone, it has small windows set high in the roof. Its inner walls are clad with cedar planking, and gold covers almost every surface to create an unforgettable sight. But only a few selected priests will ever enter the Holy Place and fewer still will pass through the gold-plated olive-wood doors into the Most Holy Place.

The temple furnishings have been made by Hiram, a craftsman from Tyre, working under Solomon’s direction. They include bronze pillars, chains, pomegranate decorations, and lily-shaped trims. He made, among many other items, a huge bronze basin for washing, supported by 12 bulls, which stands in the courtyard.

The entry chamber is unfurnished. In the Holy Place there are golden tables holding the Bread of the Presence, five pairs of golden lampstands, and the altar of incense. In the Most Holy Place is the ark of the covenant. There are intricate decorations on walls and doors, using motifs from plant life and representations of angelic beings. Some seem to be purely decorative, with no obvious symbolic function.

As part of the opening ceremonies, Solomon brought valuable artefacts which David had consecrated to God and placed them in the Temple storage rooms.