All hands on deck

The story of Solomon's temple appears on pages 30-31 of this month's book, The Bible Atlas: A pictorial guide to the Holy Lands, available in Christian Science Reading Rooms. 

The opening paragraph offers helpful background:

               Solomon became king of Israel when his father, David, died in about 970BCE. Solomon inherited a large kingdom, with taxes pouring in from many surrounding lands. He became very rich, built a huge palace for himself and had many servants and many wives. ... Solomon was also a clever businessman. He bought horses from Egypt and then sold them to traders from other countries. He also imported gold, parrots, spices, and perfume. ... his biggest project was the building of a magnificent temple, where all the Israelites could come to worship God.

The atlas reminds of:

- Cedars transported by sea from Tyre

- King Solomon's mines (copper and other precious metals)

- The visit of the Queen of Sheba (to see for herself his fabled wealth)

- Solomon's wisdom (as shown in his resolution of a dispute between two mothers)

- The cut-out drawing of the temple shows its magnificence. 

 

The story of building this temple is fascinating. Here are a couple of details: 

I Kings 6:2, 7

And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. ...[27.5m x 9m x 13.7m; 90’ x 30’ x 45’]

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

Everything was prepared in advance! What a project. And what a lesson in planning, preparation, focus, cooperation, and attention to detail for us today. How the people must have loved being part of this building project.

Having a temple in which to worship was very significant. Previously, Solomon had gone “to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place” (I Kings 3: 4). Now, the people would have a temple right there in Jerusalem just where David had decreed it be built. No wonder they worked harmoniously together. Even King Hiram of Tyre, who had loved King David, was an enthusiastic participant (see I Kings 5:1).

Julie Swannell

Twelve tribes looking for home

Pages 22 and 23 of The Bible Atlas: A pictorial guide to the Holy Lands (text Dr. Stephen Motyer, illustrations Brian Delf) offer a spread titled “The Promised Land.”

There is an interesting set of stories: (1) Moses sees the Promised Land (remember, he wasn’t allowed to cross over Jordan and enter it because he had struck the rock to get water, whereas God had told him to speak to it: disobedience); (2) Rahab and the spies; and (3) The Fall of Jericho. There are two more stories (not numbered):  The Twelve Tribes of Israel – a small map shows the tribes and the symbols which represented them, and The campaigns of Joshua.

The River Jordan

My first reading found me curious about the River Jordan, which is shown in its length. We are told that it flows from north to south, passing through the Sea of Galilee and ending in the Dead Sea which is 1,365 feet (416 m) below sea level. I wanted more figures, so I consulted Google.

The river rises at the base of snow-capped Mount Hermon*, and it just happens upon the Sea of Galilee then travels 100 miles to the Dead Sea. 256 miles in all. It is only 1 to 2 foot deep! The Dead Sea is endorheic: a closed body of water with no outlets, the water only leaving the lake through evaporation or seepage. (Lake Eyre is an example of an endorheic body of water until it is flooded by water coming down from Queensland.)

The 12 tribes

West of the Jordan (N to S):

•                 Asher
•                  Naphtali
•                  Zebulun
•                  Issachar
•                  Manasseh
•                  Dan
•                  Ephraim
•                  Judah
•                  Benjamin
•                  Simeon

East of the Jordan:

•                  Gad
•                  Reuben

I have found it difficult to get details of the symbols shown against each tribe. This next list is from Wikipedia (Ed. This list excludes Manasseh and Ephraim but adds in Joseph and Levi.):

•        Asher: a tree
•        Naphtali: gazelle (Genesis 49:21)
•        Zebulun: ship, due to their bordering the Sea of Galilee and Mediterranean
•        Issachar: Sun, moon and stars (1 Chronicles 12:32)
•        Dan: Scales of justice
•        Judah: Kinnor, cithara, and crown, symbolising King David
•        Benjamin: jug, ladle, and fork
•        Simeon: towers and walls of the city of Shechem
•        Gad: tents, symbolizing their itinerancy as cattle-herders
•        Reuben: Mandrake (Genesis 30:14)
•        Joseph: Palm tree and sheaves of wheat, likely references to the dreams he received as a child (Genesis 37:7)
•        Levi: Priestly breastplate, symbolizing the Kohanim

It is interesting to compare these with the Glossary definitions in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy of some of the sons:

·       Asher (Jacob’s son).  Hope and faith; spiritual compensation; the ills of the flesh rebuked. (p. 581)

·       Benjamin (Jacob’s son).  A physical belief as to life, substance, and mind; human knowledge, or so-called mortal mind, devoted to matter; pride; envy; fame; illusion; a false belief; error masquerading as the possessor of life, strength, animation, and power to act.

       Renewal of affections; self-offering, an improved state of mortal mind; the introduction of a more spiritual origin; a gleam of the infinite idea of the infinite Principle; a spiritual type; that which comforts, consoles and supports. (p. 582)

·       Dan (Jacob’s son). Animal magnetism; so-called mortal mind controlling mortal mind; error, working out the designs of error; one belief preying upon another. (p. 583)

·       Gad (Jacob’s son). Science; spiritual being understood; haste towards harmony. (p. 586)

·       Judah. A corporeal material belief progressing and disappearing; the spiritual understanding of God and man appearing. (p.589)

·       Levi (Jacob’s son). A corporeal and sensual belief; mortal man; denial of the fulness of God’s creation; ecclesiastical despotism. (p. 590)

·       Reuben (Jacob’s son). Corporeality; sensuality; delusion; mortality; error. (p. 593)

Of course the Bible is the source of this knowledge. For example, Dan is, for me, a stand-out. In Genesis 49, where Jacob called his sons together, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days,” he says of Dan: “Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” The horse was blamed rather than the real culprit, the adder.

There is much more on these two pages. I like the picture of the priests blowing the horns, for instance. I’ll leave it to the reader to catch up with those for themselves.**

Joyce Voysey

*Ed. Mt. Hermon is not on the map, unfortunately, but Wikipedia has a spectacular photograph and has this to say: “Mount Hermon is a mountain cluster at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon range, straddling the borders of Syria, Lebanon, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Rising to 2,814 m (9,232 ft), it is the highest point in Syria and features the only ski resort in the region.”  A further comment notes that Mount Hermon ... is uniquely special due to its strategic military dominance, profound biblical history, and its role as the primary water source for the region. Gotquestions.org/Mount-Hermon.html is helpful.

**Ed. I also liked seeing the trumpets (horns) and the Ark of the Covenant. I gather from this account, that after 40 years in the wilderness, there was still much work to be done in this, "The Promised Land", before they could settle down and call this place home.

The Mount of Olives

From time to time, the New Testament locates Jesus and his disciples in the Mount of Olives. For instance, Luke 21:37 says: "And in the day time he was teaching in the temple; and at night he went out, and abode in the mount that is called the mount of Olives." When we were in Greece and Turkey a couple of years ago, we noticed olive trees thriving everywhere. A little research tells me that they need a Mediterranean climate: hot dry summers and cool wet winters. To me, they offer a sense of timelessness, stability and peace.

Image by Chikilino, from Pixabay

Writing in the January 1926 issue of The Christian Science Journal, Allan Carson writes (The Mount of Olives) that "as night spreads her veil of silence over [Jerusalem's] activities, we catch another view of [Jesus], as he moves quietly away from the throng to the mount of Olives, there, through the still hours of the night, to commune more closely with God and gain inspiration, understanding, strength, and guidance for the work of the following day. We love to follow him in thought, as he slips unnoticed through the gate of the city wall, down over the brook Cedron, up through the quiet garden of Gethsemane, .... and on to the mount."

The Bible Atlas: a pictorial guide to the Holy Lands (written by Dr. Stephen Motyer, illustrated by Brian Delf, published by Penguin Random House 2001/2025) explains that the Mount of Olives is "just to the east of Jerusalem" and from there anyone travelling from Jericho would have had "a wonderful view" of that city. The double page spread on pages 56-57 of the Atlas describes Jesus' betrayal, death and resurrection in five clear and concise paragraphs, each accompanied by beautiful sketches, and a lovely map of the walled city of Jerusalem.

I especially like the sketch of Jesus and his disciples sitting down on the ground to celebrate Passover - when "Jewish families gathered to remember the night when the Israelites left Egypt for the Promised Land", and also the sketch of Judas' betrayal. The commentary explains that when Judas kissed Jesus, it was a signal to the menacing crowd - who were armed with swords and burning torches - that this was the moment they would arrest Jesus.

Julie Swannell