BUILDING THE TEMPLE

“Now, my son, the LORD be with you, and may you have success and build the house of the LORD your God, as he said you would. . . . Then you will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the LORD gave Moses for Israel. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged.” —1 Chronicles 22:11–13

When David proposed the temple building project, God’s first response was, “When did I ever ask for this?” (see 1 Chronicles 17:6). But we can understand David’s logic: “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of the covenant of the LORD is under a tent” (1 Chronicles 17:1). After negotiation, it seems that God accepted the project, but insisted that Solomon, not David, would be the one to build it. David responded graciously to this rebuff (see 1 Chronicles 17:16–26), then set about doing the preparation work for Solomon and ensuring that his son recognized the importance of the task. It became the focus of David’s later years: “The house to be built for the LORD should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations” (1 Chronicles 22:5). He ordered stones and timber, bronze and iron (see 1 Chronicles 22:2–4). He also gave a number of speeches to Solomon and the people of Israel, urging the priority of this project. For all the attention given to this building project in the stories of David and Solomon, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem makes a surprising admission: Apart from the detailed descriptions in the Bible, “we have no archaeological evidence for the Temple in Jerusalem” from Solomon’s time. While God seemed to bless this project at the time, perhaps it was not the priority and legacy that David had hoped it would be. An emphasis on building Solomon’s courage and faithfulness for the duration of his reign might have brought better, more lasting results.