The foundation that Solomon laid for the house of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, according to the old standard. Sermons
I. OBEDIENCE; the intelligent carrying out of Divine direction. Close and careful correspondence with the commandment was more particularly enforced under the Mosaic dispensation (Hebrews 8:5). Solomon was careful to do as he was "instructed for the building" (ver. 3); the dimensions were determined "by the first measure" (ver. 3); he was concerned to act obediently. In the service of Christ, while there is very little indeed of prescription or proscription as to the details of devotion or the particulars of Divine service, we shall be careful to consult the will of Christ in everything. The mind of our Master, and not our own individual preference, should be the main consideration in all Christian effort: we shall gain a knowledge of his mind by a devout and intelligent study of his life and of his words, and of those of his apostles. II. SPONTANEITY. This is not any wise inconsistent with obedience, and it was not absent even from the building of the temple, in which there was, necessarily, so much of careful and detailed prescription. Solomon" garnished the house with precious stones" (ver. 6), and these had been furnished by the spontaneous liberality of David and of his people (1 Chronicles 29:2, 8). In the service of our Saviour there is ample room for the play of spontaneous devotion. We may bring to his sacred cause the "precious stones" of our most reverent and earnest thought, of our most fervent feeling, of our most eloquent and convincing speech, of our most self-denying labour, all uncommanded and unconstrained, all prompted by a pure and keen desire to serve our Lord and bless our brethren. III. BEAUTY. These precious stones were "for beauty "(ver. 6), and the abundance of gold would also add to the beauty of the building, as seen from the inside. Every "house of the Lord" which we build should be Fair and comely as well as strong. Happily for us, the beauty in which God delights is not pecuniarily costly; it is that which the poorest may bring to the sanctuary and the service of his Lord. It is not found in precious stones which only the wealthy can secure; it is found in "a meek and quiet spirit" (1 Peter 3:3), in the spirit of true reverence and pure devotion (John 4:23), in patient endurance under wrong (1 Peter 2:19, 20), in patient continuance in well-doing (Romans 2:7), in a broad and deep Christian charity (1 Corinthians 13.). These are the beauties which adorn our character and make our service well-pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour. IV. THOROUGHNESS. The strong timber which Solomon used was "overlaid with pure gold" - with the precious metal, and that of the best kind. Nothing was spared that could give strength, solidity, perfectness to the building now erected. It was built, not for a few years, or for a generation, but for long centuries; to stand the force of the elements of nature; to remain strong and fair when children's children in distant times shored come up to Zion to see the house of the Lord and to enter into its courts. All work that we do for our Divine Redeemer should partake of this character. It should be thorough; it should be of the very best that we can offer; it should be of "pure gold." Not our weakness, but our strength; not our exhaustion, but our freshness; not our crudeness, but our culture; not our ignorance, but our information and acquisition - our very best self should we bring to our Lord who gave himself for us. With the choicest materials we can furnish, in the exercise of our faculties at their fullest, should we build up his sacred cause who lavished his strength and laid down his life on our behalf. - C.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem. Biblical Museum. I. THAT GOD DID NOT NEED THIS LAVISH EXPENDITURE OF GOLD AND GEMS AND RICH ORNAMENTSII. YET DIVINE CONDESCENSION ACCEPTED THIS OFFERING OF HUMAN GRATITUDE. III. THE BEAUTY AND COSTLINESS OF THE TEMPLE SERVED TO IMPRESS THE MIND OF SURROUNDING NATIONS WITH THE FEELINGS OF THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL TOWARDS THEIR GREAT GOD. IV. THE ADORNMENT OF THE TEMPLE A REBUKE TO MERE UTILITARIAN VIEWS. (Biblical Museum.) And he began to build in the second day of the second month Have we not all had memorable days?1. The day when the boy left home. 2. The day when the young man finds his first friend in business, the head that can direct him, the hand strong enough to give him assurance of protection, the voice all strength and music that charmed his fears away, and gave him consciousness of latent possibilities of his own. 3. The day when the young man got his first practical hold of life and business, how much he made in his first little profit, the very first sovereign he made by his own wits and energy. Do not let all days be alike; save yourselves from so running one day into another as to drop the dignity, the accent, the significance of special occasions. (J. Parker, D. D.) Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house The building of the temple is a striking example of life-building.I. SOLOMON BEGAN WITH INSTRUCTION. "Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed": literally, "Now this is the ground-plan." So many people are building without a ground-plan. It would seem as if they were attempting to perform the impossibility of building from the top; they have no foundations, no great principles; there is a brick here, and a stone there, and a beam of wood yonder, but there is no grand scheme. "Solomon was instructed." Then Solomon was not a born builder that is to say, a man who needed no instruction, no hint, no apprenticeship, in these things. He was a man who began with instruction. A man is none the worse for having his little book of instructions in his pocket when he goes abroad. The book is not a large one in mere superficies, but who can declare in arithmetical numbers its cubical contents? Every line is a volume; every sentence is a time-bill; every proposition is a philosophy. Even Solomon accepted instruction. It is never wise to be beyond a hint, beyond the counsel of experience. II. SOLOMON BEGAN WELL: WHAT WONDER IF HE CONTINUE WELL? He said he would start life with the dowry of wisdom. No accidents could happen to Solomon, because he started at the right point; accepted the true definition of life, and walked in the light of wisdom. If it happened that Solomon should ever trifle with that light, conceal it, modify it, despise it, he would go to the devil. No matter if he had built s thousand temples, he would land in perdition if he ceases to walk in the ways of wisdom. No man can build himself up to heaven, however many temples he may build; he must build up from within — in the matter of conviction, principles, life, character, he must blossom into purity, he must fructify into love. III. SOLOMON'S INSTRUCTIONS WERE SUFFICIENT. Sometimes we wish that we had a rehearsal of life, and that we might come back and begin at the beginning, and walk in the light of experience. There is something better than experience, and that is revelation. The Christian claims that the whole map or chart of life is to be found in the Book of God; and co it is. So there need be no pensive desire for a trial-trip in the ways of life. IV. SOLOMON HAD A DEFINITE PURPOSE IN VIEW: he was building a temple. Definiteness of purpose economise time, enables strength to issue in the noblest accomplishments. A man will have good reason to know what he is doing if he pay attention to Providence. There need not be so much darkness in the ways of life as is often supposed. (J. Parker, D. D.) People Araunah, Boaz, David, Jachin, Ornan, SolomonPlaces Jerusalem, Most Holy Place, Mount MoriahTopics Ancient, Base, Breadth, Build, Building, Construction, Cubit, Cubits, Former, Foundation, Foundations, Instructed, Laid, Length, Measure, Measurements, Older, Position, Sixty, Solomon, Solomon's, Standard, Temple, Threescore, Twenty, Using, Wherein, Wide, WidthOutline 1. The place and time of building the temple3. The measure and ornaments of the house 11. The cherubim 14. The veil and pillars Dictionary of Bible Themes 2 Chronicles 3:3Library ChroniclesThe comparative indifference with which Chronicles is regarded in modern times by all but professional scholars seems to have been shared by the ancient Jewish church. Though written by the same hand as wrote Ezra-Nehemiah, and forming, together with these books, a continuous history of Judah, it is placed after them in the Hebrew Bible, of which it forms the concluding book; and this no doubt points to the fact that it attained canonical distinction later than they. Nor is this unnatural. The book … John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Chronicles 3:3 NIV2 Chronicles 3:3 NLT 2 Chronicles 3:3 ESV 2 Chronicles 3:3 NASB 2 Chronicles 3:3 KJV 2 Chronicles 3:3 Bible Apps 2 Chronicles 3:3 Parallel 2 Chronicles 3:3 Biblia Paralela 2 Chronicles 3:3 Chinese Bible 2 Chronicles 3:3 French Bible 2 Chronicles 3:3 German Bible 2 Chronicles 3:3 Commentaries Bible Hub |
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