King David, the greatest king Israel ever had, felt embarrassed that he lived in a palace while the God of the Universe had merely a tent as a dwelling place. Because of this, it was David who first articulated the desire to build a Temple for the Lord.
God’s response was clear: He is God, His presence fills the whole earth, He does not require a dwelling place built with human hands. But God was pleased that David had it in his heart to build a Temple. However, he had too much blood on his hands. The responsibility would fall to his son, Solomon.
So Solomon built the Temple, and during his 40-year reign, Israel knew peace and prosperity like it had never known before and never has since. The skill of the craftsmen and the opulence of their construction was the envy of the known world. Rulers came from miles around to marvel at King Solomon’s riches, notably including the Queen of Sheba, who had high praise indeed for Solomon’s rule and His Kingdom. We can read about this in 1 Kings, chapter 10.
The connection between the peace experienced under Solomon’s leadership and the awesomeness of the creation of the Temple is no coincidence. When there is peace, creativity always follows. A warzone can sometimes create some positives in us, but that siege mentality that stifles creative thinking is not one of them.
At our school youth church, we feel we are entering a time of creativity, because we sense the supernatural peace of God resting on all we do. This is an exciting time as look to emulate King Solomon’s legendary wisdom in our decision-making.
However, we are very aware that despite his wisdom, Solomon finished his life drifting away from God by making alliances with foreign kings through marriage to their daughters. Although perhaps a wise move of itself, foreign kings are unlikely to declare war on their son-in-law, this was in direct disobedience to what God had commanded him to do. We realise it is possible to be wise and disobedient at the same time. May we all commit again to simply living out lives of obedience to the God of the universe.
“So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.”
1 Kings 11:6
Mr Pountain
Head of Religious Education / Director of Spirituality