The Temple's Inner Sanctuary
[ READ ] 1 Kings 6:14–38
14 So Solomon built the house and finished it. 15 He lined the walls of the house on the inside with boards of cedar. From the floor of the house to the walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with boards of cypress. 16 He built twenty cubits of the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor to the walls, and he built this within as an inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. 17 The house, that is, the nave in front of the inner sanctuary, was forty cubits long. 18 The cedar within the house was carved in the form of gourds and open flowers. All was cedar; no stone was seen. 19 The inner sanctuary he prepared in the innermost part of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 20 The inner sanctuary was twenty cubits long, twenty cubits wide, and twenty cubits high, and he overlaid it with pure gold. He also overlaid an altar of cedar. 21 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. 22 And he overlaid the whole house with gold, until all the house was finished. Also the whole altar that belonged to the inner sanctuary he overlaid with gold.
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided. 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 34 and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high. 24 Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. 25 The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. 26 The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. 27 He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubim with gold.
29 Around all the walls of the house he carved engraved figures of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. 30 The floor of the house he overlaid with gold in the inner and outer rooms.
31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olivewood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided. 32 He covered the two doors of olivewood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers. He overlaid them with gold and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.
33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olivewood, in the form of a square, 34 and two doors of cypress wood. The two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 On them he carved cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and he overlaid them with gold evenly applied on the carved work. 36 He built the inner court with three courses of cut stone and one course of cedar beams.
37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.
First there was a Garden. God walked there in the cool of the day, and man walked with him. Then man disobeyed, and the walking stopped.
God did not give up on being with his people. He gave them a tent instead. A portable structure, moved on the shoulders of one tribe, tended by hands trained for the work. Smoke by day. Fire by night. A visible sign that the invisible God had not left.
Now, in our reading, the tent becomes a temple. Seven years of building. Cedar and cypress and gold, gold on the walls, gold on the floor, gold on the very carvings of palm trees and open flowers. Try to picture it. Every surface catching light. Nothing left plain that could be made beautiful instead.
Solomon updated everything he could. Everything except one piece. The ark stayed the same ark Moses built in the wilderness, mercy seat and cherubim unchanged. The setting kept growing more magnificent. The presence inside it did not change at all. That is the point worth sitting with. God's presence is not upgraded by better architecture. It is as real in a tent as it is under gold.
And here is where the story was always heading. Every believer is now a living temple, the Spirit of God dwelling in ordinary flesh. Not carved cedar. Not gold overlay. Us. Our bodies made holy by their union with a soul that belongs to Him. We are wonderfully made, and then made new again, by grace we did not build ourselves.
Solomon's kingdom will unravel. His sons will fail. Empires will come for what he built. But God does not change his mind about wanting to be with us. Garden, tent, temple, and now you. The address keeps changing. God’s desire never has.
- Mary Gunther
God did not give up on being with his people. He gave them a tent instead. A portable structure, moved on the shoulders of one tribe, tended by hands trained for the work. Smoke by day. Fire by night. A visible sign that the invisible God had not left.
Now, in our reading, the tent becomes a temple. Seven years of building. Cedar and cypress and gold, gold on the walls, gold on the floor, gold on the very carvings of palm trees and open flowers. Try to picture it. Every surface catching light. Nothing left plain that could be made beautiful instead.
Solomon updated everything he could. Everything except one piece. The ark stayed the same ark Moses built in the wilderness, mercy seat and cherubim unchanged. The setting kept growing more magnificent. The presence inside it did not change at all. That is the point worth sitting with. God's presence is not upgraded by better architecture. It is as real in a tent as it is under gold.
And here is where the story was always heading. Every believer is now a living temple, the Spirit of God dwelling in ordinary flesh. Not carved cedar. Not gold overlay. Us. Our bodies made holy by their union with a soul that belongs to Him. We are wonderfully made, and then made new again, by grace we did not build ourselves.
Solomon's kingdom will unravel. His sons will fail. Empires will come for what he built. But God does not change his mind about wanting to be with us. Garden, tent, temple, and now you. The address keeps changing. God’s desire never has.
- Mary Gunther
[ EXAMINE ] the passage. At this point, answer some questions about the meaning of the text. Take time to reflect.
+ Solomon replaced almost everything in the temple with something more magnificent, except the ark. Why do you think that one piece stayed the same?
+ The ark's mercy seat represented God's presence whether his people met in a tent or a temple. What does that tell you about what God's presence actually depends on?
+ Solomon replaced almost everything in the temple with something more magnificent, except the ark. Why do you think that one piece stayed the same?
+ The ark's mercy seat represented God's presence whether his people met in a tent or a temple. What does that tell you about what God's presence actually depends on?
[ APPLY ] the passage to your own life.
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ If your body and soul are a living temple, what have you been covering the walls with lately, gold or something you would not want anyone to find?
+ Where has your sense of God's nearness been tied to your setting, a place, a service, a good week, instead of to him?
+ Is there sin to confess or a next step to take? How has it gone since last time?
+ If your body and soul are a living temple, what have you been covering the walls with lately, gold or something you would not want anyone to find?
+ Where has your sense of God's nearness been tied to your setting, a place, a service, a good week, instead of to him?
[ PRAY ] through the passage and your application, and ask God to change your heart and your life.
+ Pray with me:
Lord, you have never stopped wanting to be near me. You walked in a garden, you dwelt in a tent, you filled a temple with your glory, and now you have made your home in me. Forgive me for the places in my life I have left untended, the walls I have not let you finish. Change what is unseen in me before you change what everyone can see. Remind me that your presence does not depend on my circumstances staying golden. Build in me a heart that welcomes you the way Solomon built a house that welcomed you. Amen.
+ Pray with me:
Lord, you have never stopped wanting to be near me. You walked in a garden, you dwelt in a tent, you filled a temple with your glory, and now you have made your home in me. Forgive me for the places in my life I have left untended, the walls I have not let you finish. Change what is unseen in me before you change what everyone can see. Remind me that your presence does not depend on my circumstances staying golden. Build in me a heart that welcomes you the way Solomon built a house that welcomed you. Amen.
[ SHARE ] what God is teaching you with at least one person: your roommate,
your spouse, your kids, or your coworkers. Don’t keep what God taught you to
yourself.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.org/community-groups)
yourself:
+ Talk today’s message over with someone who is discipling you, and someone you are discipling.
+ Who in your life needs to hear that God's presence with them does not depend on their setting looking impressive right now?
your spouse, your kids, or your coworkers. Don’t keep what God taught you to
yourself.
(e.g., your family around the dinner table, a friend, co-worker or neighbor- for help join a community group at downtownhope.org/community-groups)
yourself:
+ Talk today’s message over with someone who is discipling you, and someone you are discipling.
+ Who in your life needs to hear that God's presence with them does not depend on their setting looking impressive right now?
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