No 6

(The beginning of the end of Solomon’s Temple)

Solomon with the help of Hiram of Tyre and 183,000 workers built the temple using local limestone, cedar from Lebanon and very large amounts of silver and gold in seven years (1 Kings 5 to 9 and 2 Chronicles 2). Unfortunately, the demise of this magnificent building began when Solomon turned to idolatry and adultery. He would build idolatrous structures for the many foreign wives and concubines that he had “And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.” 1 King 11:3. Not long after this, the kingdom of Israel was divided – 10 northern tribes and 2 southern tribes; the temple was located in Jerusalem in the southern kingdom. Pharaoh Shishak of Egypt stole much gold and silver from the temple (1 Kings 14) in 910 BC. In 835 BC Joash king of Judah repaired the temple and brought a period of revival to the southern kingdom. Later, king Ahaz of Judah dismantled the temple and placed Syrian altars in the temple (2 Chron 28). Good king Hezekiah restored the temple in 716 BC and also brought a period of revival in Jerusalem but he later stripped the temple of gold to pay Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:16). King Josiah repaired the temple and brought about a semblance of national religious reform. The real end of Solomon’s temple came when King Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem and plundered and destroyed the temple. He stole the sacred vessels from the temple, he burnt the city and carried a remnant of princes into captivity to Babylon. The sacred vessels were placed in the temple of his god in Babylon (Dan 1:2). The great Jehovah God had blessed Solomon with wisdom and riches more that any other king ever “And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon” (1 Kings 4:34). God has only one standard – HIS. Solomon did not obey this standard and he became a cynical and broken person. He is most likely the author of Ecclesiastes and in this book, we read of the vanity of worldly goods and the futility of pursuing them. He learned his lesson well because at the end of this book he gives one final piece of wisdom – “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. (Eccl 12: 13,14)