Ancient and Modern-day Importance of Solomon's Temple (Research Paper Sample)

Ancient and Modern-day Importance of Solomon’s Temple
Name
Institution
Solomon’s Temple, popularly referred to as the First Temple, is the Biblical temple built under the reign of the wise king, Solomon. Solomon built the Temple for seven years in Jerusalem at Mount Moriath. Having sinned against God by killing Uriah, King David was forbidden from building God a Temple. This task was passed on to the son of Bathsheba and David- Solomon. David agreed to this as a show of his repentance. The Temple that was first built by Solomon was later destroyed during the siege by Babylonians. King Nebuchadnezzar II ordered the destruction of the Temple and confiscation of all its contents. The First Temple is no longer in existence. When Israelites were in Babylon, they saw how the Babylonians worshipped idols and performed acts of paganism with their Temple contents, such as the “Ark of the Covenant”. The Second Temple was rebuilt under Cyrus the Great. It took a total of 23 years to come to completion, much longer than Solomon’s.
The structures were similar to the First Temple. The Restoration was a heavy relief for the Israelites in captivity. The Second Temple survived another attack by Alexander the Great. Alexander, from Macedonia, wanted to be honoured by Israelites. However, the Israelites could not agree to it. He was extremely angered but luckily, for the Israelites, he was calmed down by flattery from diplomats. Over the years, pagans and invaders defiled the Second Temple. At around 164BCE, Judas Maccabeus rededicated the Second Temple to the Lord. This did not stop future invaders such as Crassus, who raided the Second Temple’s treasury nearly 54BCE. Crassus, however, died in battle not more than a year later. This news sparked Jews revolt who demanded respect for the Lord’s Temple. King Herod the Great came to Israelites rescue by renovating the temple. He then renamed the Second Temple after himself; Herod’s Temple (Hamblin &Seely, 2007). The last straw in the Second Temple’s back was the Muslim Conquest of Jerusalem. Muslims raided the city and destroyed the Second Temple. They then built a shrine that is now a remembrance of Hebrew prophets of the Quran. The site of the Second Temple is known as the “Dome of the Rock” to date.
With such background information, it is quite unclear as to why the Israelites treasured the Temple very much. Why did they have to rebuild it over again? Why David was denied construction of the Temple, despite being the greatest king of Israel? Why the Israelites were angered so much by siege of the Temple? Why did the Israelites agree to take all the trouble of constructing the Temple? It took them a cumulative of 30 years for the First and the Second Temple. The cost itself put Israel into debt that King Solomon had to give away a few towns in Galilee to repay the debt. Why did the Israelites pay so much respect to the Temple that it had to be purified every time it was defiled by pagans? What was so important in the Temple that could not be done outside or in Tabernacles like in Moses’s times? What made the First Temple very significant to the Jewish people? Lastly, what was with pagans that they could not understand the significance of the Temple to the Israelites? These are questions that remain unanswered and this research will attempt to demystify the mystery behind the First and the Second temple.
First, it is impossible to understand the importance of the Temple without first looking at its structure and appreciating the magnificence of First Temple.
“he began to build the temple of the Lord.2 The temple that King Solomon built for the Lord was sixty cubits long, twenty wide and thirty high.[HYPERLINK "/passage/?search=1+Kings+6" \l "fen-NIV-8899b" \o "See footnote b"b]3 The portico at the front of the main hall of the temple extended the width of the temple, that is twenty cubits,[HYPERLINK "/passage/?search=1+Kings+6" \l "fen-NIV-8900c" \o "See footnote c"c] and projected ten cubits[HYPERLINK "/passage/?search=1+Kings+6" \l "fen-NIV-8900d" \o "See footnote d"d] from the front of the temple.4 He made narrow windows high up in the temple walls.5 Against the walls of the main hall and inner sanctuary he built a structure around the building, in which there were side rooms.6 The lowest floor was five cubits[HYPERLINK "/passage/?search=1+Kings+6" \l "fen-NIV-8903e" \o "See footnote e"e] wide, the middle floor six cubits[HYPERLINK "/passage/?search=1+Kings+6" \l "fen-NIV-8903f" \o "See footnote f"f] and the third floor seven.[HYPERLINK "/passage/?search=1+Kings+6" \l "fen-NIV-8903g" \o "See footnote g"g] He made offset ledges around the outside of the temple so that nothing would be inserted into the temple walls.
7 In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built.’’ (HYPERLINK "",1 Kings 6: 2-7)
Such was the glorious nature of the First Temple. The effort put in its construction was tremendous. Everything needed from wooden blocks to pillars were prepared and finished at the source before being transported to the Temple site. Wood was transported all the way from Lebanon to Jerusalem. 3300 officials supervised the construction of the First temple over a period of 7 years. Some of the money went into renovation of the area surrounding the First Temple, as well. The significance of this Temple to the ancient Israelites can be best demonstrated by looking at the contents, rituals, servants and their roles.
“The Ark of the Covenant”
This was an invaluable item in the Temple. Israelites travelled with it everywhere they went. It contained the Tablets of Stones, Aaron’s rod, a jar of manna and the First Scroll. The Tablet of Stones contained the Ten Commandments handed over to Moses on Mount Sinai. Moses had broken the first tablet when he descended the mountain and found the Israelites performing acts of immorality. The second Tablet was handed to Moses after Israelites promised not to go against the Lord again. Aaron’s rod was a staff handed down through generations of priests, descendants of Aaron’s lineage. The rod was used to cast the plagues on Pharaoh and his people during Israelites redemption from Egyptian captivity. Of great significance was when it turned to a snake at Moses’s command. The jar of manna reminded Israelites of when they were in the wilderness, and the Lord provided manna as food from heaven. The Ark of the Covenant was a powerful tool for the Israelites; they used it to break down Jericho’s walls and captured the town. They went round the walls with the Ark seven times and Jericho’s walls came down. During David’s time, the king and the people respected the “Ark of the Covenant”; David once danced with it the whole night put it in a tabernacle and after sacrifices, he blessed the people. David always wanted “the Ark of the Covenant” close to him. He fled with it to guard it against Absalom, but later pleaded with Zadok to return the Ark to Jerusalem.
The Ark was a form of blessing. When King David placed it in Obed-Edom, the Lord blessed the place. The Ark was so important that King Solomon spared Abiatha’s life, having plotted against Adonijah’s life, because he had hitherto bored the Ark. Inside the Temple, King Solomon built a special place for “the Ark of the Covenant”. The place was named Kodem Hardashim, Latin for ‘holies of holies. The place was purified to receive “the Ark of the Covenant”. King Solomon and the Ancient Israelites too, found the Ark of so much importance that he worshipped God in front of it when God promised him wisdom. The purity of “the Ark of the Covenant” and the Temple as a whole made King Solomon forbid his foreign wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from living in Zion just because the Ark was there (Grierson & Munro-Hay, 1999).
“The Altar of Burnt Offerings”
This was a part in the First Temple where the Israelites were allowed to offer animal sacrifices, bird and meat offerings. Drink offerings as libation were “offered on the altar (Grierson & Munro-Hay, 1999), as well. There was no other place, other than the Temple, where they were allowed to make sacrifices or offerings. The presence of the Altar encouraged Israelites to make their offerings of thanksgiving and pleas to God. There were daily offerings at the Temple; in the morning and in the evening. The Altar’s cross-section was a perfect square of approximately 16m and its height 5m, more or less. It had horns at the top corners, more like the other altars. Solomon’s temple had this altar designed according to God’s instruction. “Do not climb up to my altar with steps so that you do not show your nakedness on it” (Exodus 20:26). In accordance with this, King Solomon made a ramp to reach the “Altar of Burnt Offerings”. Such was the importance of purity for people’s offerings to God in Solomon’s Temple.
“The Altar of Burnt Incense”
This was also known as the Inner Altar. It was ‘more’ sacred than the “Altar of Burnt Offerings” (Grierson & Munro-Hay, 1999). The structure was rectangular. The dimensions were 2 cubits high, approximately one cubit wide and deep. It consisted of poles at the sides and the whole altar was covered in gold. The top of the Altar had horn-like structures plated in gold, as well. The Altar has saucer shaped structure for incense. Moses consecrated initial altars with anointing oil. This made the institution of the Altar a holy place. At the Altar, Israelites could offer burnt incense da...