The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 64
July 20
consider building a Temple for him, except
as a place to burn sacrifices to him?
7 “So send me a master craftsman who
can work with gold, silver, bronze, and
iron, as well as with purple, scarlet, and
blue cloth. He must be a skilled engraver
who can work with the craftsmen of Judah
and Jerusalem who were selected by my
father, David.
8 “Also send me cedar, cypress, and red
sandalwood* logs from Lebanon, for I
know that your men are without equal at
cutting timber in Lebanon. I will send my
men to help them. 9 An immense amount
of timber will be needed, for the Temple
I am going to build will be very large
and magnificent. 10 In payment for your
woodcutters, I will send 100,000 bushels of
crushed wheat, 100,000 bushels of barley,*
110,000 gallons of wine, and 110,000
gallons of olive oil.*”
11 King Hi
ram sent this letter of reply to
Solomon:
“It is because the Lord loves his people
that he has made you their king! 12 Praise
the Lord, the God of Israel, who made the
heavens and the earth! He has given King
David a wise son, gifted with skill and
understanding, who will build a Temple for
the Lord and a royal palace for himself.
13 “I am sending you a master craftsman
named H
uram-abi, who is extremely
talented. 14 His mother is from the tribe
of Dan in Israel, and his father is from
Tyre. He is skillful at making things from
gold, silver, bronze, and iron, and he also
works with stone and wood. He can work
with purple, blue, and scarlet cloth and
fine linen. He is also an engraver and can
follow any design given to him. He will
work with your craftsmen and those
appointed by my lord David, your father.
15 “Send along the wheat, barley, olive
oil, and wine that my lord has mentioned.
16 We will cut whatever timber you need
from the Lebanon mountains and will
float the logs in rafts down the coast of
the Mediterranean Sea* to Joppa. From
there you can transport the logs up to
Jerusalem.”
17 Solomon took a census of all foreigners
in the land of Israel, like the census his father
had taken, and he counted 153,600. 18 He as
signed 70,000 of them as common laborers,
80,000 as quarry workers in the hill country,
and 3,600 as foremen.
07_Jul_OY_Men.indd 642
642
3:1 So Solomon began to build the Temple of the
Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where
the Lord had appeared to David, his father.
The Temple was built on the threshing floor
of Araunah* the Jebusite, the site that David
had selected. 2 The construction began in mid
spring,* during the fourth year of Solomon’s
reign.
3 These are the dimensions Solomon used
for the foundation of the Temple of God
(using the old standard of measurement).* It
was 90 feet long and 30 feet wide.* 4 The entry
room at the front of the Temple was 30 feet*
wide, running across the entire width of the
Temple, and 30 feet* high. He overlaid the in
side with pure gold.
5 He paneled the main room of the Temple
with cypress wood, overlaid it with fine gold,
and decorated it with carvings of palm trees
and chains. 6 He decorated the walls of the
Temple with beautiful jewels and with gold
from the land of Parvaim. 7 He overlaid the
beams, thresholds, walls, and doors through
out the Temple with gold, and he carved fig
ures of cherubim on the walls.
8 He made the Most Holy Place 30 feet wide,
corresponding to the width of the Temple,
and 30 feet deep. He overlaid its interior with
23 tons* of fine gold. 9 The gold nails that were
used weighed 20 ounces* each. He also over
laid the walls of the upper rooms with gold.
10 He made two figures shaped like cheru
bim, overlaid them with gold, and placed them
in the Most Holy Place. 11 The total wingspan
of the two cherubim standing side by side
was 30 feet. One wing of the first figure was
71/2 feet* long, and it touched the Temple wall.
The other wing, also 71/2 feet long, touched
one of the wings of the second figure. 12 In the
same way, the second figure had one wing
71/2 feet long that touched the opposite wall.
The other wing, also 71/2 feet long, touched
the wing of the first figure. 13 So the wingspan
of the two cherubim side by side was 30 feet.
They stood on their feet and faced out toward
the main room of the Temple.
14 Across the entrance of the Most Holy Place
he hung a curtain made of fine linen, deco
rated with blue, purple, and scarlet thread and
embroidered with figures of cherubim.
15 For the front of the Temple, he made two
pillars that were 27 feet* tall, each topped by
a capital extending upward another 71/2 feet.
16 He made a network of interwoven chains*
and used them to decorate the tops of the pil
lars. He also made 100 decorative pomegran
ates and attached them to the chains. 17 Then
he set up the two pillars at the entrance of
5/19/2022 3:47:00 PM
