Sit Back and Admire Your Worship, Or Actually, Don’t
He made the most holy place; its length was 30 feet, corresponding to the width of the temple, and its width 30 feet. He plated it with 600 talents of fine gold. The gold nails weighed 50 shekels; he also plated the upper areas with gold. In the most holy place he made two images of cherubim and plated them with gold. The combined wing span of the cherubs was 30 feet. One of the first cherub’s wings was seven and one-half feet long and touched one wall of the temple; its other wing was also seven and one-half feet long and touched one of the second cherub’s wings. Likewise one of the second cherub’s wings was seven and one-half feet long and touched the other wall of the temple; its other wing was also seven and one-half feet long and touched one of the first cherub’s wings. The combined wingspan of these cherubim was 30 feet. They stood upright, facing inward. He made the curtain out of violet, purple, crimson, and white fabrics, and embroidered on it decorative cherubim.
Read through that description again. That place is amazing! It’s a 30-foot by 30-foot cube room covered in gold! Even the nails are gold. It would be dark inside, but it would have oil lamps eventually.
Even the furniture (the oil lamps and the Ark of the Covenant) was gold. There are two giant golden angels in there taking up most of the space. They are so big that it would look like they were crowded in there. Their wings were almost 8 feet long — each. The oil lamps would be blinding if you walked in here after being in the outer rooms.
Solomon had all of the materials supplied to him by his father, King David. God didn’t want David to build it because he had too much blood on his hands. He was a warrior first and foremost and wasn’t the one to build this temple.
When Solomon designed and directed the construction of the temple, he did every bit according to the wisdom and direction of God. It wouldn’t do any good to disobey God while building His temple.
Part of that Law meant that only Levites that were descended from Aaron would be allowed in this room.
Solomon wasn’t in the tribe of Levi.
That meant that this room he designed in the temple that he commissioned wasn’t for him. He would never set foot in it. Not because of some tragedy, but out of love, fear, and reverence for the Lord.
It wasn’t his room. It was the Lord’s. It wasn’t his holy place. It was God’s.
Solomon’s act of worship was putting gathering, assembling, and producing something that was entirely for others to experience the fullness of God.
His act of worship was as beautiful as the work it produced, but he had to take the High Priest’s word for it.
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