1 Kings 6:1-38, 1 Kings 7:1-22 NIRV

1 Kings 6:1-38

Solomon Builds the Temple

Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord. It was 480 years after the Israelites came out of Egypt. It was in the fourth year of Solomon’s rule over Israel. He started in the second month. That was the month of Ziv.

The temple King Solomon built for the Lord was 90 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. The temple had a porch in front of the main hall. The porch was as wide as the temple itself. It was 30 feet wide. It came out 15 feet from the front of the temple. Solomon made narrow windows high up in the temple walls. He built side rooms around the temple. They were built against the walls of the main hall and the Most Holy Room. On the first floor the side rooms were seven and a half feet wide. On the second floor they were nine feet wide. And on the third floor they were ten and a half feet wide. Solomon made the walls of the temple thinner as they went up floor by floor. The result was ledges along the walls. So the floor beams of the side rooms rested on the ledges. The beams didn’t go into the temple walls.

All the stones used for building the temple were shaped where they were cut. So hammers, chisels and other iron tools couldn’t be heard where the temple was being built.

The entrance to the first floor was on the south side of the temple. A stairway led up to the second floor. From there it went on up to the third floor. So Solomon built the temple and finished it. He made its roof out of beams and cedar boards. He built side rooms all along the temple. Each room was seven and a half feet high. They were joined to the temple by cedar beams.

A message came to Solomon from the Lord. The Lord said, “You are now building this temple. Follow my orders. Keep my rules. Obey all my commands. Then I will make the promise I gave your father David come true. I will do it through you. I will live among my people Israel. I will not desert them.”

So Solomon built the temple and finished it. He put cedar boards on its inside walls. He covered them from floor to ceiling. He covered the temple floor with juniper boards. He put up a wall 30 feet from the back of the temple. He made it with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. That formed a room inside the temple. It was the Most Holy Room. The main hall in front of the room was 60 feet long. The inside of the temple was covered with cedar wood. Gourds and open flowers were carved on the wood. Everything was cedar. There wasn’t any stone showing anywhere.

Solomon prepared the Most Holy Room inside the temple. That’s where the ark of the covenant of the Lord would be placed. The Most Holy Room was 30 feet long. It was 30 feet wide. And it was 30 feet high. Solomon covered the inside of it with pure gold. He prepared the cedar altar for burning incense. He covered it with gold. Solomon covered the inside of the main hall with pure gold. He placed gold chains across the front of the Most Holy Room. That room was covered with gold. So Solomon covered the inside of the whole temple with gold. He also covered the altar for burning incense with gold. It was right in front of the Most Holy Room.

For the Most Holy Room Solomon made a pair of cherubim. He made them out of olive wood. Each cherub was 15 feet high. One wing of the first cherub was seven and a half feet long. The other wing was also seven and a half feet long. So the wings measured 15 feet from tip to tip. The second cherub’s wings also measured 15 feet from tip to tip. The two cherubim had the same size and shape. Each cherub was 15 feet high. Solomon placed the cherubim inside the Most Holy Room in the temple. Their wings were spread out. The wing tip of one cherub touched one wall. The wing tip of the other touched the other wall. The tips of their wings touched each other in the middle of the room. Solomon covered the cherubim with gold.

On the walls all around the temple he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He carved them on the walls of the Most Holy Room and the main hall. He also covered the floors of those two rooms with gold.

For the entrance to the Most Holy Room he made two doors out of olive wood. Each door was one-fifth of the width of the Most Holy Room. On the two olive wood doors he carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers. He covered the cherubim and palm trees with hammered gold. In the same way he made olive wood doorposts for the entrance to the main hall. Each doorpost was one-fourth of the width of the hall. He also made two doors out of juniper wood. Each door had two parts. They turned in bases shaped like cups. He carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers on the doors. He covered the doors with gold. He hammered the gold evenly over the carvings.

He used blocks of stone to build a wall around the inside courtyard. The first three layers of the wall were made out of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood.

The foundation of the Lord’s temple was laid in Solomon’s fourth year. It was in the month of Ziv. The temple was finished in his 11th year. It was in the month of Bul. That was the eighth month. Everything was finished just as the plans required. Solomon had spent seven years building the temple.

Read More of 1 Kings 6

1 Kings 7:1-22

Solomon Builds His Palace

But it took Solomon 13 years to finish constructing his palace and the other buildings related to it. He built the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon. It was 150 feet long. It was 75 feet wide. And it was 45 feet high. It had four rows of cedar columns. They held up beautiful cedar beams. Above the beams was a roof made out of cedar boards. It rested on the columns. There were three rows of beams with 15 in each row. The total number of beams was 45. The windows of the palace were placed high up in the walls. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other. All the doorways had frames shaped like rectangles. They were in front. They were in groups of three. And they faced each other.

Solomon made a covered area. It was 75 feet long. And it was 45 feet wide. Its roof was held up by columns. In front of it was a porch. In front of that were pillars and a roof that went out beyond them.

Solomon built the throne hall. It was called the Hall of Justice. That’s where he would serve as judge. He covered the hall with cedar boards from floor to ceiling. The palace where he would live was set farther back. Its plan was something like the plan for the hall. Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. He made a palace for her. It was like the hall.

All those buildings were made out of blocks of good quality stone. They were cut to the right size. They were made smooth on their back and front sides. Those stones were used for the outside of each building and for the large courtyard. They were also used from the foundations up to the roofs. Large blocks of good quality stone were used for the foundations. Some were 15 feet long. Others were 12 feet long. The walls above them were made out of good quality stones. The stones were cut to the right size. On top of them was a layer of cedar beams. The large courtyard had a wall around it. The first three layers of the wall were made out of blocks of stone. The top layer was made out of beautiful cedar wood. The same thing was done with the inside courtyard of the Lord’s temple and its porch.

More Facts About the Temple

King Solomon sent messengers to Tyre. He wanted them to bring Huram back with them. Huram’s mother was a widow. She was from the tribe of Naphtali. Huram’s father was from Tyre. He was skilled in working with bronze. Huram also had great skill, knowledge and understanding in working with bronze. He came to King Solomon and did all the work he was asked to do.

Huram made two bronze pillars. Each of them was 27 feet high. And each was 18 feet around. Each pillar had a decorated top made out of bronze. Each top was seven and a half feet high. Chains that were linked together hung down from the tops of the pillars. There were seven chains for each top. Huram made two rows of pomegranates. They circled the chains. The pomegranates decorated the tops of the pillars. Huram did the same thing for each pillar. The tops on the pillars of the porch were shaped like lilies. The lilies were 6 feet high. On the tops of both pillars were 200 pomegranates. They were in rows all around the tops. They were above the part that was shaped like a bowl. And they were next to the chains. Huram set the pillars up at the temple porch. The pillar on the south he named Jakin. The one on the north he named Boaz. The tops of the pillars were shaped like lilies. So the work on the pillars was finished.

Read More of 1 Kings 7