I get so lost in the details of the Temple that I often forget why it was built in the first place. This chapter actually could be summed up in a few words: Solomon built the Temple so that God could live among the Israelites. That was the whole purpose of the Temple in the first place, but when I read it, I sort of get the impression that Solomon wanted credit for building the most elaborate structure ever built. Just look at all the details. There’s gold everywhere, carvings, humongous angels, ornate doors, the best timber. If you look at the specific measurements, you can see that the Temple itself really isn’t that huge, compared to modern-day standards anyway, but it’s the materials used that make it so elaborate. All the gold overlay reminded me of Buddhist temples. Wow. There are some fancy ones. I would say that those who designed them probably wanted to rival the Temple Solomon built. I feel like the project started pretty heartfelt, like Solomon wanted to give God the best house ever, but then it just gets a little ridiculous, like Solomon wanted to build the best Temple ever so that he could take credit for it. I got kind of a laugh about the gold chains Solomon made “to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place.” I feel like God kind of had the protecting-his-own-house duties covered. I also think that most people wouldn’t try to enter the Most Holy Place solely because of fear, but Solomon seemed to think that the Most Holy Place needed an ornamental barrier. That’s how humans think sometimes, don’t we? We get this notion that somehow, some way, we need to protect God. Like he’s fragile or something. Like we’re honoring him with our wealth and glitz and glamour so that those nasty outsiders don’t break through the gold chains and trash the Most Holy Place. What might have started as a gift to God ended up being a treasure to us that we now place higher than the Most High and make excuses as to why it’s honoring to do so. Bullhockey. God doesn’t believe it, and if we really look at what we’re holding on to, neither should we. Solomon will go down in history as one of the wisest men who ever lived, and he also will be remembered for building this incredible Temple. But as we can surmise from verse 13, he will not be remembered for the guy who was able to make God comfortable enough to live amongst the Israelites forever.
Writing prompt: gold chains
What have you secured with gold chains, metaphorically speaking, of course. (But if you’ve actually secured a treasure with gold chains, you HAVE to write about that! Jk … sort of.) Write about what you protect, thinking God won’t or can’t protect it for you.
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