A temple and wisdom

And so on to II Chronicles and Solomon's story. Of course, most are aware of his great wealth - so much so that he is regarded as the wealthiest of all the kings. He is, however, also attributed great wisdom. In fact, his specific prayer is to be wise:

II Chron. 1:10 Now give me wisdom and knowledge to rule them properly, for who is able to govern by himself such a great nation as this one of yours?” (the Living Bible)

The temple is now to be built. Solomon needs thousands of workers and an extraordinary array of materials. The Jerusalem-sited temple will be huge: the foundations were 90 x 30 feet and the roof 180 feet high. When King Solomon contacts King Hiram in neighbouring Tyre and asks his for help, the response is warm. Britannica explains that Tyre “was a Major Phoenician seaport from about 2000 BCE through the Roman period” and “Hiram, king of Tyre (reigned 969–936), furnished building materials for Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem (10th century).” Today, the ancient port city of Tyre is located just north of the Israeli border in Lebanon, south of Beirut.

In response to Solomon’s request, King Hiram generously offers his craftsman, the “famous Huramabi”:

II Chron 2:13 – 16 “I am sending you a master craftsman—my famous Huramabi! He is a brilliant man, 14 the son of a Jewish woman from Dan in Israel; his father is from here in Tyre. He is a skillful goldsmith and silversmith, and also does exquisite work with brass and iron and knows all about stonework, carpentry, and weaving; and he is an expert in the dyeing of purple and blue linen and crimson cloth. He is an engraver besides, and an inventor! He will work with your craftsmen and those appointed by my lord David, your father. 15 So send along the wheat, barley, olive oil, and wine you mentioned, 16 and we will begin cutting wood from the Lebanon mountains, as much as you need, and bring it to you in log floats across the sea to Joppa, and from there you can take them inland to Jerusalem.” (the Living Bible)

A special feature would be the special Holy of Holies. The Living Bible describes it thus:

II Chron 3:10-13 Within the innermost room, the Holy of Holies, Solomon placed two sculptured statues of Guardian Angels and plated them with gold. 11-13 They stood on the floor facing the outer room, with wings stretched wing tip to wing tip across the room, from wall to wall. 14 Across the entrance to this room he placed a veil of blue and crimson finespun linen, decorated with Guardian Angels.

People across many nations invest in both buildings and ceremony. Shortly, the people of Great Britain will witness the crowning of their new king in Westminster Abbey. So, we can relate to the events in King Solomon's reign. And we can probably relate to the idea of church buildings as special spaces. 

In a June 3, 1996 article in the Christian Science Sentinel (A Church without Creeds), Beulah Roegge comments:

When King Solomon consecrated the Temple that the people had built, he said of God, "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!" (II Chron.6:18).  Though he perceived that God could not be confined to a building, apparently he thought of the Temple as a symbol of God's presence. His prayer continued by describing many situations and conditions under which his people could come to the Temple to receive help from God. He included wars and sickness, and also the needs of the stranger in the land.

From King Solomon's day to ours, people find that involvement in church supports their efforts to solve all sorts of problems. I found this help myself when I first began attending the Church of Christ, Scientist…

Today, we experience church in all sorts of ways, but how good it is to gather together and to seek that wisdom which is ours from God.

Julie Swannell