Tuesday, December 28, 2010

II CHRONICLES 3:16

     "And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains."   (NIV)


    King Solomon was called upon by God to build a great temple where God's people could worship, pray, and offer sacrifices.  Solomon received the instructions for the temple per an "oracle".  The definition for the Hebrew word, in which most of the Bible was written, is "utterance  from God".  All the details of the beautiful temple were from God.  As in the creation, every color, every item was directed by God. And, as in the creation, the temple was created in an orderly fashion and with indescribable beauty.
  



     Solomon traded with other countries to obtain the best resources, including some of the labor.  He hired a man - a master craftsman - named Huram (or Hiram) to create the artistic works of the temple... chains, pillars, pomegranates, cherubs, the altar, the vessels.  Everything was made of precious materials - gold, silver, rare fabrics, dyed with rare dyes.  The entire building was overlaid with gold on the inside... Truly, the most magnificent building ever created.
     This was a massive project.  Solomon hired 30,000 men to assist in the forests of Lebanon, 80,000 who quarried stone in the mountains, and 70,000 who carried the products from their origin to the temple site.  He had 3,300 men hires just to supervise the laborers.

  But, even more amazing is the temple that God created by creating mankind.  I Corinthians 3:16 (another 3:16!) states: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit if God dwelleth in you?" (KJV)
Even more than Solomon's temple is our body- our temple- a wonderful, beautiful, and detail-oriented creation.

Let us give thanks to The Creator.

1 comment:

  1. Glory! I am so glad I have been created in the image of a Holy God! I am wonderfully, beautifully, and detail oriented created! I give thanks daily to the Creator, the Most High God Himself!!

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