First Kings 6:19

The oracle in these verses is the inner chamber of the temple: the holy of holies. The Bible says in First Kings 6:19-32, “And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.[20] And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.[21] So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.[22] And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.[23] And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.[24] And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.[25] And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.[26] The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.[27] And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.[28] And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.[29] And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.[30] And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.[31] And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.[32] The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.” The “oracle” was the inner sanctuary of the temple. The inner sanctuary symbolized the closest presence of God, and it demonstrated the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament because only the high priest could go into the inner sanctuary (also called the most-holy place); and he could only go there once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, one of His seven statements was, “It is finished.” What was finished? The price for sin was finished, and also the law was finished. We are not under law, but under grace. It says in Colossians 2:14, “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.” The “handwriting of ordinances” is the law: the writings of the Old Testament. Yes, but the Old Testament is good. It is part of God’s Word. Not all of the Old Testament is gone, just the ordinances that were “against us.” Remember that when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they were given one commandment. The law and its hundreds of commandments had not yet been given. They had just one commandment. They were told, “Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” If they had not been given that command, they would have never sinned. The law and its moral and ethical requirements are still in effect in at least one way: the law is our school master that leads us to Christ. When we compare our own behavior to the holy and perfect standard that God gives, we know that we are sinners and that we need Jesus the Savior. So, in that sense the law is established, but in the sense of guilt and forgiveness, the law has been crucified. The law has been put to death. The commandments of the law were crucified with Christ. If there are no commandments, then there are no sins.

Notice also that when Jesus died on the cross, something happened in the temple. Something happened in the inner sanctuary (the oracle) that we were just reading about when Solomon first built it. When Jesus died, the vail of the temple was rent in two. This symbolized the fact that the barrier to the closest presence of God was taken away. Through faith in Jesus there is no barrier. Every Christian has full and complete access into the very presence of God. It is not just the priests: it is every believer. It is not just one day a year: it is every moment of every day that we can come into the presence of God. It says in Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

The Bible says in First Kings 6:33-38, “So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.[34] And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.[35] And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.[36] And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.[37] In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:[38] And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.” It took seven years to build Solomon’s temple. One of the reasons that it took so long was the care given to it with the carvings and the gold that was overlaid on so many things. Gold is mentioned in verse thirty-five as being used on the door of the temple. If we look back at the previous verses in describing the work done on the inside of the temple in the inner sanctuary that we call the holy of holies, we see a lot of gold. Gold is mentioned seventeen times in First Kings chapters six and seven in describing the building that was done for the temple. The temple was a beautiful building. It must have been a wonderful experience to walk into the courtyard and to see it before you, and to know that the temple symbolized the presence of God on earth. Therefore, how terrible it was when the Babylonians eventually came and destroyed it. The Jewish people wept the bitter tears of defeat and loss. Sin is a harsh task-master. But God is merciful: they came back and built another temple that was also very impressive. Jesus was once at the second temple with His disciples, and this is what was said in Matthew 24:1-8, “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.[2] And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.[3] And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?[4] And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.[5] For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.[6] And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.[7] For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.[8] All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Of course, Jesus was correct. The second temple was destroyed too in 70 AD by the Romans. At least one more temple will be built, and something terrible will happen there too: the antichrist will enter into it in the middle of the Great Tribulation and will defile the temple and declare himself to be God.

The Bible says in First Kings 7:1-14, “But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.[2] He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars.[3] And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row.[4] And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks.[5] And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks.[6] And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them.[7] Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other.[8] And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the like work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch.[9] All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court.[10] And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits.[11] And above were costly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars.[12] And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house.[13] And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.[14] He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.” Solomon built the temple. And then notice in verse one that it says, “And Solomon was building his own house…” Verse two says that “He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon.” Verse eight says, “Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter.” Solomon was a builder. We should all be builders. We are made in the image of God. God created. He did not tear down: He built up. What does God want you to build? If you are a true believer in Christ, God wants you to help build up the church: the body of Christ. We do not necessarily build buildings: we build the kingdom of God. Souls need to be saved; and to be saved, they need to hear the Gospel of Christ. Once they are saved, they need to be taught sound doctrine from the Bible so that they can grow in Christ and bear fruit for Him through a life of faith. Who will do the work of building them up: those who are called and prepared and who have wisdom from God.

Solomon was not the only one who had wisdom. Notice that verses thirteen and fourteen say, “And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.[14] He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass.” Hiram’s father had died, and so Hiram worked to take care of his mother. He did the work that his father taught him, and he was good at it; and so Solomon knew that he was the perfect person to work on the temple. Solomon wanted the best and he knew how to get the best.

The work that Hiram did is described in the next verses. No wonder it took seven years. The Bible says in First Kings 7:15-46, “For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about.[16] And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits:[17] And nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter.[18] And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter.[19] And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits.[20] And the chapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter.[21] And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and he called the name thereof Boaz.[22] And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished.[23] And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.[24] And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.[25] It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward.[26] And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths.[27] And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it.[28] And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges:[29] And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work.[30] And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetters molten, at the side of every addition.[31] And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round.[32] And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and a half a cubit.[33] And the work of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten.[34] And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself.[35] And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same.[36] For on the plates of the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about.[37] After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size.[38] Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver.[39] And he put five bases on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south.[40] And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD:[41] The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars;[42] And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars;[43] And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases;[44] And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea;[45] And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass.[46] In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan.” Hiram found what God wanted him to do with his skill and abilities. What does God want you to do?

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