1 Kings 6-7 - The True Temple Series

A few of you have been around to my house. I have to confess that it’s now been three years and I still haven’t put up most of the framed pictures I have. I suppose I still see my stay as temporary, and I’m not sure how much longer I’m going to stay in Malaysia.

But imagine for a moment that you came around to my house after I asked you to take off your shoes (I am Asian after all), you walked in to find that my floor was gold. The walls are also gold and there are beautifully ornate carvings everywhere to be seen of little angels.

Well, it’d be pretty strange, wouldn’t it?

I’ve seen a few decorations in SSF and in other furniture stores around Johor where I’ve thought to myself, that’s pretty disgusting, and gold ornaments are definitely out of fashion.

Why do we shy away from it though? Isn’t it because it’s opulent? We tend to shy away from things that show off our wealth. We don’t like those of obvious displays of wealth, do we?

But here, we see this in the Temple, and rather than shying away from it, we should see it in a different light. You see God deserves our best, and He is worthy, and so this opulence and ostentatious display of riches is somehow fitting.

Now, I’m not going to read out the two chapters, but you’re probably wondering what we can learn from these chapters filled with dimensions.

2 Timothy 3:16, one of my teenage memory verses, says “All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training”. That’s all scripture. All these measurements. All the names in the genealogies and lists of Old Testament laws. How is that useful for us now in the 21st century?

I also remember once being told that every passage in the bible can be used to teach the gospel and points to Christ. And you’d be right to wonder that as you read through these chapters this last week.

And this is where I miss Erik. I remember that he gave some great sermons on the tabernacle and the measurements of the temple and looked at the topic in a completely different way from the way I would, but I’m no architectural expert. So I’m going to take a look at a few points that we can take from these two chapters.

PRAY

John 2:13-22

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,c and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

I want to come back to this passage, because the connection is not altogether clear, but hopefully will become clearer. I am going to kind of work my way backward through the passage.

Firstly, I want you to take a look at this recreation of the Temple built by Solomon. Now think of the most impressive buildings in the world today.

Here are a few:

Taj Mahal — Agra, India

Angkor Wat — Siem Reap, Cambodia

St. Basil’s Cathedral — Moscow, Russia

Sagrada Família — Barcelona, Spain

What’s the difference?

I don’t know whether you spotted what I was getting at, but the outside of the temple is positively plain, isn’t it? I am sure that the interior of each of these buildings is impressive, but the outside is what’s considered beautiful.

If we take a closer look at the measurements and the decor of the temple, we should notice that the measurements are meant to denote perfection and the decor is to show us just how special God’s dwelling place is. It’s not for showing off to the outside world. And this is an important lesson for us.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.