Michiana Covenant Presbyterian Church

As we look at the building of the temple, we need to see this as a picture of what Jesus does in building us together as a holy dwelling place for God by his Spirit. In chapters 6-7 we hear of how Solomon's wisdom is manifested in building the temple – the House of the LORD - and in his own house. Chapter 6 deals with the construction of the temple. 7:1-12 then moves to the construction of Solomon's house. And 7:13-51 returns to the furnishing of the temple. Our text neatly fits together with the statement in 6:1 that Solomon "began to build the house of the LORD," and in 7:51 that "the house of the LORD was finished." This is the same word used in Genesis 2:1, where it says that God finished creating the heavens and the earth; it is also the word used in Exodus 40:33 to describe how Moses finished building the tabernacle We are also told that Solomon took 7 years to build the temple. His own house took longer – 13 years. Some have thought that this suggests that Solomon's priorities are backwards – since he