Solomon Builds The Temple 1 Kings 6:1-38

Transcription

1 Lesson 091 Solomon Builds The Temple 1 Kings 6:1-38

2 MEMORY VERSE 1 KIN GS 6:13 And I will dwell am ong the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel. WHAT YOU WILL NEED: A large sheet of butcher paper, red construction paper, scissors, glue and markers. As many copies of the I am the Temple of the Spirit templates as the number of children in your class, various colors of construction paper, brads or paper fasteners, glue stick and markers. Graham crackers, ready made frosting, craft sticks, paper plates and paper towels. ATTENTION GRABBER! Temple Brick Banner The object of this activity is to make a large banner with bricks to represent each child in your class. Have someone in your class (or you can) look up Ephesians 2: Explain to the class that we will be learning about the time when Solomon built the temple and how that each one of us is the temple of the Holy Spirit. To help us to see how that we are each a part of God s building, we will make a banner with several bricks. You will need a large piece of butcher paper. Using half-sheets (cut width-wise) of red construction paper make enough bricks for each child in the class. Have the children decorate each brick. Instruct the children to leave enough space for a name to be written on the brick.

3 Next have the children pair up. Instruct the children to write down the name of their partner (the teacher and aide will need to assist the younger children). Instruct the children to find one good thing about their partner to write down on their brick. Next glue the brick onto the banner. See if you have enough bricks to build a building, or temple. Your class can also draw on the banner to enhance the picture. On the top of the banner write We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. LESSON TIME! King David desired to build a temple for God. He loved God very much and felt like God should be built a nice house to dwell in, instead of having to dwell in a tent. But as we studied in a previous lesson, God told David, no (see 2 Samuel 7). But instead He promised David that his son would build a house for Him. In today s lesson we are going to learn about the time when David s son, Solomon began to construct the temple of God. We will also learn some very important things about God and His presence with His people. In the Old Testament times, God first dwelt with His people in the tabernacle. Later He dwelt with His people in the temple. Then in the New Testament we are told that He dwells in very different temples. His people are the temples in which He now lives. Pretty amazing that God would dwell inside of us. We are going to learn more about that in our lesson today. We find that as King Solomon begins his reign that he is a good king. He is leading the people of Israel in the ways of God. Because the people were being obedient, the Israelites were going through a period of peace and prosperity. Times were good. God was richly blessing them. Solomon himself was very wealthy. He also had a good relationship with the countries around Israel. Because of that he

4 was able to purchase materials that would make the temple a very beautiful place to honor and worship God. In today s lesson we are going to learn more about that temple, how beautiful it was and how it glorified God. Also in today s lesson, we will see a picture of how our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He lives inside of us. So we should glorify the Lord with our bodies. In everything that we do and say we should always give glory to God. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 KI N G S 6:1 An d i t c am e t o p as s i n t h e f o u r h u n d r e d an d e i gh t i e t h y e ar af t e r t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l h ad c o m e o u t o f t h e l an d o f Egy p t, i n t h e f o u r t h y e ar o f S o l o m o n ' s r e i gn o v e r I s r ae l, i n t h e m o n t h o f Z i v, w h i c h i s t h e s e c o n d m o n t h, t h at h e be gan t o bu i l d t h e h o u s e o f t h e L O R D. It was in the spring of the fourth year of Solomon s reign that he began to build the temple. This was 480 years after the people left their slavery in Egypt. During this time the nation of Israel worshipped God in the tabernacle, the tent of meeting. This was a portable structure set up to house the Ark of the Covenant as well as to perform the sacrifices and ceremonies. Now the time had finally come to build a permanent structure that would bring glory to God among all of the nations. This desire was born in David s heart and fulfilled in Solomon s life. David had a big dream, to build a house for God to dwell in. Do you have big dreams for how you want to serve God? It is important to want to do great things for the Lord. God can use us to do so many things, if we will simply trust in Him. Who knows what God may do with any one of the lives from our classroom today? We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

5 1 KI N G S 6:2-6 N o w t h e h o u s e w h i c h Ki n g S o l o m o n bu i l t f o r t h e L O R D, i t s l e n gt h w as s i x t y c u bi t s, i t s w i d t h t w e n t y, an d i t s h e i gh t t h i r t y c u bi t s. T h e v e s t i bu l e i n f r o n t o f t h e s an c t u ar y o f t h e h o u s e w as t w e n t y c u bi t s l o n g ac r o s s t h e w i d t h o f t h e h o u s e, an d t h e w i d t h o f t h e v e s t i bu l e e x t e n d e d t e n c u bi t s f r o m t h e f r o n t o f t h e h o u s e. An d h e m ad e f o r t h e h o u s e w i n d o w s w i t h be v e l e d f r am e s. Agai n s t t h e w al l o f t h e t e m p l e h e bu i l t c h am be r s al l ar o u n d, agai n s t t h e w al l s o f t h e t e m p l e, al l ar o u n d t h e s an c t u ar y an d t h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y. T h u s h e m ad e s i d e c h am be r s al l ar o u n d i t. T h e l o w e s t c h am be r w as f i v e c u bi t s w i d e, t h e m i d d l e w as s i x c u bi t s w i d e, an d t h e t h i r d w as s e v e n c u bi t s w i d e ; f o r h e m ad e n ar r o w l e d ge s ar o u n d t h e o u t s i d e o f t h e t e m p l e, s o t h at t h e s u p p o r t be am s w o u l d n o t be f as t e n e d i n t o t h e w al l s o f t h e t e m p l e. The main part of the temple was ninety feet long, thirty feet wide, and forty-five feet high. It had a large porch, the full width of the building, with narrow windows throughout. When you think about it, the temple wasn t a very large building. NOTE TO TEACHER: Perhaps you could compare these measurements to a building or something else your children can relate to in order to give them an idea of size. On both sides of the temple small rooms where built against the outer walls. These rooms were three stories high. The lower floor

6 was 7 _ feet wide. There were ledges around the building so that the beams would not be built into the temple walls. 1 KI N G S 6:7,8 An d t h e t e m p l e, w h e n i t w as be i n g bu i l t, w as bu i l t w i t h s t o n e f i n i s h e d at t h e qu ar r y, s o t h at n o h am m e r o r c h i s e l o r an y i r o n t o o l w as h e ar d i n t h e t e m p l e w h i l e i t w as be i n g bu i l t. T h e d o o r w ay f o r t h e m i d d l e s t o r y w as o n t h e r i gh t s i d e o f t h e t e m p l e. T h e y w e n t u p by s t ai r s t o t h e m i d d l e s t o r y, an d f r o m t h e m i d d l e t o t h e t h i r d. The blocks used in the construction were pre-finished at the rock quarry so that no building noise was heard at the sight of the temple. The bottom floor of the side rooms was entered from the right side of the temple. There was a winding flight of stairs from the second to the third level. It would appear that there was a certain reverence that was kept during the building of the temple. The workers respected the things of the Lord and wanted to do an excellent job and use only the best materials. It is an example of how we need to be careful to respect the things of the Lord. If We are the temple of the Holy Spirit then certainly we need to show reverence and respect in our lives. God is awesome and worthy of all of our respect. We can do that through worship and spending time with the Lord in prayer and in His word. We should always give the Lord our best. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 KI N G S 6:9,10 S o h e bu i l t t h e t e m p l e an d f i n i s h e d i t, an d h e p an e l e d t h e t e m p l e w i t h be am s an d bo ar d s o f c e d ar.

7 An d h e bu i l t s i d e c h am be r s agai n s t t h e e n t i r e t e m p l e, e ac h f i v e c u bi t s h i gh ; t h e y w e r e at t ac h e d t o t h e t e m p l e w i t h c e d ar be am s. After completing the temple, Solomon paneled it all with cedar. The annex of rooms was connected to the temple with cedar beams. Each story of the annex was 7 _ feet high. 1 KI N G S 6:11-13 T h e n t h e w o r d o f t h e L O R D c am e t o S o l o m o n, s ay i n g: " C o n c e r n i n g t h i s t e m p l e w h i c h y o u ar e bu i l d i n g, i f y o u w al k i n M y s t at u t e s, e x e c u t e M y j u d gm e n t s, k e e p al l M y c o m m an d m e n t s, an d w al k i n t h e m, t h e n I w i l l p e r f o r m M y w o r d w i t h y o u, w h i c h I s p o k e t o y o u r f at h e r D av i d. " An d I w i l l d w e l l am o n g t h e c h i l d r e n o f I s r ae l, an d w i l l n o t f o r s ak e M y p e o p l e I s r ae l. " Then the Lord sent a message to Solomon about the temple. If you do what I tell you and follow all of my commandments and instructions, I will live among the people of Israel and will never forsake them like I promised your father, David. God s promise to us is that He will bless us as we walk in His ways. The promises to us are even better in Jesus. When Jesus comes into our hearts He promises to NEVER leave us or forsake us. The Holy Spirit comes inside of our hearts and dwells with us forever. God s presence is with us in our temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. I Am The Temple of the Spirit! Use the enclosed template; make one copy for each child in your class. You will need various colors of construction paper for the

8 heart, arms and legs, brads or paper fasteners, glue stick and markers. Have the children cut out the heart, arms and legs. Next, have them write the phrase I am the temple of the Holy Spirit onto their heart (for younger children, you may need to help them). Next, have them write their names onto the heart. They can color or decorate the heart, arms and legs. Glue the arms and legs to construction paper to make the craft stronger. Attach the arms and legs to the heart with brads. Reinforce the theme of today s lesson by reminding the children that We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 KI N G S 6:14-18 S o S o l o m o n bu i l t t h e t e m p l e an d f i n i s h e d i t. An d h e bu i l t t h e i n s i d e w al l s o f t h e t e m p l e w i t h c e d ar bo ar d s ; f r o m t h e f l o o r o f t h e t e m p l e t o t h e c e i l i n g h e p an e l e d t h e i n s i d e w i t h w o o d ; an d h e c o v e r e d t h e f l o o r o f t h e t e m p l e w i t h p l an k s o f c y p r e s s. Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary, as the Most Holy Place. And in front of it the temple sanctuary was forty cubits long. The inside of the temple was cedar, carved with ornamental buds and open flowers. All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen. At last the temple was finished. The entire inside, from floor to ceiling, was paneled with cedar and the floors were made of

9 cypress wood. At the far end of the building was a 30-foot inner room which was called the Most Holy Place. It also was paneled from floor to ceiling with cedar. The rest of the temple was 60 feet long. Throughout the temple the cedar paneling laid over the stone walls and was carved with designs of rosebuds and open flowers. Something interesting about the wood covering the stone is that the workers took so much extra time to cut the stones just right, including the foundation stones. God is not only interested in those things that are visible. He also wants those things that are even hidden away, invisible to be done well. Even when we won t be seen by anyone, how do we work for the Lord? Is our work pleasing to Him? What is really happening in our hearts between us and the Lord? We should desire to do what is pleasing to Him all of the time. We should do everything as unto the Lord. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 KI N G S 6:19-22 An d h e p r e p ar e d t h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y i n s i d e t h e t e m p l e, t o s e t t h e ar k o f t h e c o v e n an t o f t h e L O R D t h e r e. T h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y w as t w e n t y c u bi t s l o n g, t w e n t y c u bi t s w i d e, an d t w e n t y c u bi t s h i gh. H e o v e r l ai d i t w i t h p u r e go l d, an d o v e r l ai d t h e al t ar o f c e d ar. S o S o l o m o n o v e r l ai d t h e i n s i d e o f t h e t e m p l e w i t h p u r e go l d. H e s t r e t c h e d go l d c h ai n s ac r o s s t h e f r o n t o f t h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y, an d o v e r l ai d i t w i t h go l d. T h e w h o l e t e m p l e h e o v e r l ai d w i t h go l d, u n t i l h e h ad f i n i s h e d al l t h e t e m p l e ; al s o h e o v e r l ai d w i t h go l d t h e e n t i r e al t ar t h at w as by t h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y.

10 The inner room at the far end, the Most Holy Place, was where the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was placed. This inner sanctuary was thirty feet wide by thirty feet long and thirty feet high. Its walls and ceiling were overlaid with pure gold. He built a cedar altar for this room and covered it with pure gold. Then he covered the rest of the temple with pure gold. He made gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place. Even as beautiful as that room must have been, its real beauty came from the Lord s presence. We can try to make ourselves as beautiful as possible, but we can never be a beautiful as when we have the presence of the Lord in our hearts. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 KI N G S 6:23-28 I n s i d e t h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y h e m ad e t w o c h e r u bi m o f o l i v e w o o d, e ac h t e n c u bi t s h i gh. O n e w i n g o f t h e c h e r u b w as f i v e c u bi t s, an d t h e o t h e r w i n g o f t h e c h e r u b f i v e c u bi t s : t e n c u bi t s f r o m t h e t i p o f o n e w i n g t o t h e t i p o f t h e o t h e r. An d t h e o t h e r c h e r u b w as t e n c u bi t s ; bo t h c h e r u bi m w e r e o f t h e s am e s i z e an d s h ap e. T h e h e i gh t o f o n e c h e r u b w as t e n c u bi t s, an d s o w as t h e o t h e r c h e r u b. T h e n h e s e t t h e c h e r u bi m i n s i d e t h e i n n e r r o o m ; an d t h e y s t r e t c h e d o u t t h e w i n gs o f t h e c h e r u bi m s o t h at t h e w i n g o f t h e o n e t o u c h e d o n e w al l, an d t h e w i n g o f t h e o t h e r c h e r u b t o u c h e d t h e o t h e r w al l. An d t h e i r w i n gs t o u c h e d e ac h o t h e r i n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e r o o m. Al s o h e o v e r l ai d t h e c h e r u bi m w i t h go l d.

11 In the inner sanctuary he built two identical cherubim, or angels from olive wood. They were fifteen feet long and fifteen feet high. They were placed so that their wings spread out from wall to wall with their inner wings touching each other in the center of the room. They were both covered with gold. Imagine how wonderful that must have looked. The priest would only come into this room once per year on the Day of Atonement when he would sprinkle blood on the altar for the forgiveness of the people s sins. So again we see God s attention to detail, even when people won t be seeing it very much. Sometimes God may want to do something in our life that others may not see. He may want to correct a wrong attitude or teach us to rely on Him more. Maybe He will have us serve somewhere that no one ever sees except Him and us. That is OK, because He knows the kind of temple that He wants to fill up with His presence. He is doing His work to make us that temple. So we need to just trust Him to make us the temple that He wants us to be. 1 KI N G S 6:29,30 T h e n h e c ar v e d al l t h e w al l s o f t h e t e m p l e al l ar o u n d, bo t h t h e i n n e r an d o u t e r s an c t u ar i e s, w i t h c ar v e d f i gu r e s o f c h e r u bi m, p al m t r e e s, an d o p e n f l o w e r s. An d t h e f l o o r o f t h e t e m p l e h e o v e r l ai d w i t h go l d, bo t h t h e i n n e r an d o u t e r s an c t u ar i e s. Figures of angels, palm trees and open flowers were carved on all the walls of both rooms and were covered with gold. He even covered the floor with gold. No expense was spared in order make the most beautiful place possible for the Lord s glory.

12 1 KI N G S 6:31-35 F o r t h e e n t r an c e o f t h e i n n e r s an c t u ar y h e m ad e d o o r s o f o l i v e w o o d ; t h e l i n t e l an d d o o r p o s t s w e r e o n e -f i f t h o f t h e w al l. T h e t w o d o o r s w e r e o f o l i v e w o o d ; an d h e c ar v e d o n t h e m f i gu r e s o f c h e r u bi m, p al m t r e e s, an d o p e n f l o w e r s, an d o v e r l ai d t h e m w i t h go l d ; an d h e s p r e ad go l d o n t h e c h e r u bi m an d o n t h e p al m t r e e s. S o f o r t h e d o o r o f t h e s an c t u ar y h e al s o m ad e d o o r p o s t s o f o l i v e w o o d, o n e -f o u r t h o f t h e w al l. An d t h e t w o d o o r s w e r e o f c y p r e s s w o o d ; t w o p an e l s c o m p r i s e d o n e f o l d i n g d o o r, an d t w o p an e l s c o m p r i s e d t h e o t h e r f o l d i n g d o o r. T h e n h e c ar v e d c h e r u bi m, p al m t r e e s, an d o p e n f l o w e r s o n t h e m, an d o v e r l ai d t h e m w i t h go l d ap p l i e d e v e n l y o n t h e c ar v e d w o r k. The doorway to the inner sanctuary was made from olive wood. He then made square door-posts of olive wood for the entrance to the Temple. There were two folding doors of cypress wood and each door was hinged to fold back upon itself. All the doors were carved with angels, palm trees, open flowers and were covered with hammered gold. Notice all of the detail that was taken to build the temple. Sometimes we may read this list real fast and not stop to consider what this may have been like. There was an incredible amount of detail taken to carve the palm trees, the flowers and the angels. The workers with the gold used the greatest amount of detail possible to make beautiful works. It must have taken a great deal of time. God is concerned about the details of our lives. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

13 1 KI N G S 6:36-38 An d h e bu i l t t h e i n n e r c o u r t w i t h t h r e e r o w s o f h e w n s t o n e an d a r o w o f c e d ar be am s. I n t h e f o u r t h y e ar t h e f o u n d at i o n o f t h e h o u s e o f t h e L O R D w as l ai d, i n t h e m o n t h o f Z i v. An d i n t h e e l e v e n t h y e a13, i n t h e m o n t h o f B u l, w h i c h i s t h e e i gh t h m o n t h, t h e h o u s e w as f i n i s h e d i n al l i t s d e t ai l s an d ac c o r d i n g t o al l i t s p l an s. S o h e w as s e v e n y e ar s i n bu i l d i n g i t. The wall of the inner courtyard had three layers of hewn stone and one layer of cedar beams. The foundation was started in the month of May in the fourth year of Solomon s reign. The entire building was completed in November of the eleventh year. It took seven years to complete from beginning to end. Solomon s temple was built with the best and the most expensive materials available. No cost was spared. The gold covering made the temple a place of wonderful beauty. It shined to represent the glory of God. The Bible says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. Nothing has been spared to redeem us, not even the life of His precious Son, Jesus which is more valuable than all the gold covering the temple walls. His blood cleansed and removed our sins so that our lives can become a life of beauty to glorify God. The temple was built out of love and obedience. The result was God s blessings. God promised the Israelites that if they would obey His commands and follow Him, then He would live among them and never leave them. God wants to bless us. If we obey God by asking Jesus into our heart, He will make something beautiful out of our lives. He will

14 live within our hearts, and will never leave us. We can depend on Him and can trust Him always. In everything we do let us remember that we are the temple of God s Holy Spirit. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Cracker Temple This is a craft and a snack all in one! You will need either graham crackers or saltine crackers, ready made frosting, craft sticks, paper plates and paper towels. Give each child two full graham crackers (can substitute 8 saltine crackers). Break the crackers into 8 quarter pieces. Dip one edge of the cracker into the frosting. Stick the edge of a second cracker to the frosted edge of the first cracker so that the children can begin to make a small house. Allow the children to use their imaginations as they build their cracker house. As the children build their house ask them about the house that Solomon built for the Lord in our story. Ask the children where the Holy Spirit lives today (in our hearts). PRAYER Lead the children in a prayer of commitment to remember that they are the temple of the Holy Spirit if they have received Jesus. Since our bodies are that temple, we have the responsibility to live out a life that is glorifying to the Lord. If there are any children who have not yet responded to the gospel, give them opportunity to do so.

15 Template - I Am The Temple Of The Spirit