1 Kings 6

“The Word of the Lord came to Solomon: ‘As for this temple you are building – if you walk in My statutes, observe My ordinances, and keep all My commands by walking in them, I will fulfill My promise to you, which I made to your father David. I will live among the Israelites and not abandon My people Israel.’” 1 Kings 6:11-13 (HCSB)

Have you ever watched one of those home improvement shows where a couple decides to makeover a room by utilizing the “do it yourself” approach? I’ll just say they typically learn that some jobs DEMAND a professional! Admittedly, I’m not a construction guy. I don’t like doing handy work around the house because it always looks like a kindergartener did it when I’m finished! I’m not into construction. Maybe you are, and I hope you’re just itchin’ to help me with some renovations.

So, can you imagine my lack of excitement as I approach a chapter like today? It’s pretty much a detailed play-by-play about “how to build a Temple .”If you’re into construction or architecture, this may be the chapter that changes your life. Totally not my kind of thing.

But two distinctions struck me as quite profound. One is how this chapter (along with chapter 7) represents more than just a holy building project. It is the beginning of a whole new era in Israel’s redemptive history.

Israel was 430 years in Egyptian bondage (before God redeemed them with the gift of freedom), so Israel was 480 years of wandering (so to speak) before God gave them the gift of rest. God had decided Israel’s wandering was over; hence, He allowed Solomon to build Him a house. It is as if God would not rest until He had given Israel rest.

The second item that sort of “jumped out” of today’s chapter, for me, was the timing in which the Lord appeared to Solomon. God spoke to Solomon in the middle of the Temple’s construction, precisely between the Exterior and Interior construction phases. Why is this important? Consider the apostle Paul’s words to the Corinthians.

“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)

It is not enough for us, as followers of Jesus, to have a clean, well-built “exterior.” We must also have a sanctified (set apart for God) interior. You can have the former without the latter, but if you have the latter, you get the former by default. Perhaps, today is the day that the “Architect and Finisher” of our faith has interrupted construction on us to underscore how much our personal obedience matters to Him. You see, the entire Kingdom of Israel’s blessing rested on Solomon’s obedience. Whose blessing is dependent upon YOURS?