The Work Of The Riddler

I Kings 6:7 ¡V ¡§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.¡¨

l Kings 6:7 ¡V ¡§The Temple was built throughout of stones roughly dressed at the quarry; not a sound of hammer, chisel, or any iron tool was ever heard during the building of the Temple.¡¨ (Moffatt¡¦s)

l. INTRODUCTION ¡V THE BEGINNING OF A PROJECT

-I am becoming increasingly convinced that when I look at item, whether it be an machine or building, there is a thought behind that object. In fact, the thought behind that object is often greater than the invention itself.

-To illustrate:

„« I know that the concept behind flight was much greater in the minds of the Wright brothers than that first contraption that they built in Kitty Hawk, N. C.

„« I know that the thought behind the first automobile was much greater than the first Model T that rolled off of Henry Ford¡¦s assembly line.

„« I know that the thought behind the first computer designed by IBM was much greater than what was manifested in it¡¦s early stages.

-I am becoming increasingly convinced that the concept in the mind of God concerning the church is much greater than what is known in our world presently.

-One of the greatest secrets in life is to learn that often the invisible idea is often much greater than the actual substance that is created. In fact the creation is just a shadow of what really could be.

ll. SOLOMON¡¦S TEMPLE

-The temple of Solomon, was built of stone, once in Chronicles (1 Chron. 29:2) it states it was built of marble.

-One hundred, eighty-three thousand, and three-hundred men worked for Solomon alongside of an un-numbered host of men provided by King Hiram of Tyre.

-The stones, removed from the hillside quarries of Syria, were placed on ships and brought on to Jerusalem.

-Yet the mystery of the whole event is not found in the host of men who worked to find the stones for the temple.

„« Nor that two countries who had an uneasy relationship at best could work together.

„« Nor that there were incredible weight limits placed on the ships to carry the stones back to Jerusalem. . . . . .

-No, the whole mystery of this entire event is locked up in the fact that there was no sound, nor fury of building in the precincts of Jerusalem.

-Every stone was made ready for use before it ever left the quarry. Where it was mined, it was prepared. 1 Kings 5:17 informs us that there were ¡§great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.¡¨ Those articles left Lebanon, clean, squared, polished, and fitted. When it reached it¡¦s final destination, it was placed in the setting of the Temple.

A. Contrast of Lebanon and Jerusalem

-The vast contrast of Lebanon and Jerusalem bears out our investigation:

-In Lebanon:

„« Noise

„« Dust

„« Confusion

„« A roaring din.

„« A cacophony of voices.

„« The harsh sounds of a busy life.

„« The rattle of tools.

„« The striking hammer.

„« The straining saw.

„« The distraction and the hurry.

„« The complication of blueprints.

„« The varying degrees of unfinished work. . . . all in Lebanon.

-But in Jerusalem:

„« Quiet

„« Calm

„« Refreshing harmony

„« A deep, almost solemn stillness.

„« A hint of worship.

„« A hush of purity.

„« A settling by the sacred.

-One word solves the whole mystery. The quarry and the workmen are at Lebanon. The Temple is ordained for Jerusalem. The work had occurred before it ever arrived in Jerusalem.

B. The Real Work

-Any real work is always going to be painful work. It is work that is going to cost something.

-The moment that one reads that the Temple was constructed in silence, is that the rattling noise occurred elsewhere besides Jerusalem.

„« No stone can be mined without noise.

„« No huge boulder was ever lifted out of it¡¦s place or torn from it¡¦s parent rock without blows and sweat and the strain of muscles.

„« No tree was ever dropped without the sharp, smiting, steady thud of the forester¡¦s axe.

„« No metal was ever shaped without the thunderous percussion of the hammer on the anvil.

-So the Temple rises in it¡¦s own vast magnificence in silence. But there is an incredible spiritual lesson observed in all of this.

-We have the rude elements of this world. . . . . .The rough, callous hands of conflict in this world. . . . . . .The turmoil of trials in this world. All working to shape the stones.