SOLOMON'S TEMPLE - FIRST TEMPLEThe tabernacle was sacred to Israel as God's sanctuary. It was built according to a revealed plan and specifications (Exodus 26–27). It was a compact and portable structure and was made of the highest value and best quality materials that people had. This condition of excellence was the offering of a nation to the Lord. In every respect it was the best the people had to offer, and the Lord sanctified the offering presented with His divine acceptance.Upon settling in the promised land, after spending four decades wandering in the desert, the people of Israel finally took possession of Canaan, and the tabernacle was established in Shiloh, where the tribes went, in order to know the will and the word of God (Joshua 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; Judges 18:31; 1 Samuel 1:3, 24; 4:3–4).It was then removed to Gideon (I Chronicles 21:29; II Chronicles 1:3) and then to the City of David, or Zion (II Samuel 6:12; II Chronicles 5:2).David, the second king of Israel, desired and planned to build a house for the Lord. He declared that it was not right for him, the king, to live in a cedar palace, while God's sanctuary was in a tent (2 Samuel 7:2). But the Lord spoke through the mouth of the prophet Nathan, refusing the offer presented, because David, king of Israel, although in many ways a God-fearing man, had sinned and his sin had not been forgiven (2 Samuel 7:1– 13; 1 Chronicles 28:2–3). However, David received permission to gather materials for the house of the Lord, which would be built, not by him, but by Solomon, his son.Soon after ascending the throne, Solomon began the works. He laid the foundation in the fourth year of his reign, and the building was completed seven and a half years later. The construction of Solomon's Temple was a watershed, not only in the history of Israel.
The tabernacle was sacred to Israel as God's sanctuary. It was built according to a revealed plan and specifications (Exodus 26–27). It was a compact and portable structure and was made of the highest value and best quality materials that people had. This condition of excellence was the offering of a nation to the Lord. In every respect it was the best the people had to offer, and the Lord sanctified the offering presented with His divine acceptance.Upon settling in the promised land, after spending four decades wandering in the desert, the people of Israel finally took possession of Canaan, and the tabernacle was established in Shiloh, where the tribes went, in order to know the will and the word of God (Joshua 18:1; 19:51; 21:2; Judges 18:31; 1 Samuel 1:3, 24; 4:3–4).It was then removed to Gideon (I Chronicles 21:29; II Chronicles 1:3) and then to the City of David, or Zion (II Samuel 6:12; II Chronicles 5:2).David, the second king of Israel, desired and planned to build a house for the Lord. He declared that it was not right for him, the king, to live in a cedar palace, while God's sanctuary was in a tent (2 Samuel 7:2). But the Lord spoke through the mouth of the prophet Nathan, refusing the offer presented, because David, king of Israel, although in many ways a God-fearing man, had sinned and his sin had not been forgiven (2 Samuel 7:1– 13; 1 Chronicles 28:2–3). However, David received permission to gather materials for the house of the Lord, which would be built, not by him, but by Solomon, his son.Soon after ascending the throne, Solomon began the works. He laid the foundation in the fourth year of his reign, and the building was completed seven and a half years later. The construction of Solomon's Temple was a watershed, not only in the history of Israel.