Solomon’s kingdom was established, and God gave him the wisdom God promised. 1 Kings 4 contains a list of his key personnel – a very organized operation! (See 1 Kings 4.1 – 19) Also in chapter 4 is an indication of his wealth (1 Kings 4.20 – 28) and a summary of his wisdom and knowledge:

God gave Solomon wisdom—the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn’t handle. Solomon’s wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone… He became famous among all the surrounding nations. He created three thousand proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005. He knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall. He understood everything about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Sent by kings from all over the earth who had heard of his reputation, people came from far and near to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. (1 Kings 4.29 – 34, MSG)

1 Kings 5 talks about Solomon’s preparation for building the Temple, including enlisting help from Hiram, King of Tyre, for cedar trees.

The construction of the Temple is described in 1 Kings 6 and 1 Kings 7.13 – 51, beginning with:

Four hundred and eighty years after the Israelites came out of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s rule over Israel, in the month of Ziv, the second month, Solomon started building The Temple of GOD. The Temple that King Solomon built to GOD was ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and forty-five feet high. (1 Kings 6.1, 2, MSG)

It was a 7-year project:

The foundation for GOD’s Temple was laid in the fourth year in the month of Ziv. It was completed in the eleventh year in the month of Bul (the eighth month) down to the last detail, just as planned. It took Solomon seven years to build it. (1 Kings 6.37, 38, MSG)

Seven years sounds like a long time to work on a building until you read how chapter 7 opens:

It took Solomon another thirteen years to finish building his own palace complex. (1 Kings 7.1, MSG)

Seven years for the Temple, 13 years for his own house!?

People always get excited about building projects, especially if it’s a new church building. There was a church in my home state of South Carolina that had four buildings lined up in a row, from the original that may have seated 100 people to the next one, then the next one, and finally one that seated thousands. I’m sure each building was built and dedicated with great fanfare, just as we’ll see for Solomon’s Temple.

People get excited; God, not so much. Here’s his perspective:

The word of GOD came to Solomon saying, “About this Temple you are building—what’s important is that you live the way I’ve set out for you and do what I tell you, following my instructions carefully and obediently. Then I’ll complete in you the promise I made to David your father. I’ll personally take up my residence among the Israelites —I won’t desert my people Israel.” (1 Kings 6.11 – 13, MSG, emphasis in the MSG)

“What’s important is that you live…” Building a building is easy. It took Solomon only seven years. Building an obedient people is a little tougher, and it’s an ongoing project! Today, for example, Europe is filled with massive cathedrals, originally built to the glory of God, and yet I just read on the Greater Europe Mission website:

Most European countries have a population where less than 3% claim a relationship with Jesus. Many Europeans can go their entire lives never interacting with a Believer of Jesus.

Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, before the fire. A magnificent Temple in a country where just over 1% of the population are Jesus followers according to Greater Europe Mission.

We will continue the story of Solomon’s Temple with the dedication from 1 Kings 8…

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2.19 – 22, ESV)