ROOTED - Friday, March 13, 2026
1 Kings 6:37, 38
37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of
the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. 38 And
in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house
was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was
seven years in building it.
Reflection: Solomon’s Temple
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro
Chapter 5 of 1 Kings details the preparation
for building God a Temple in Jerusalem. In Chapter 6 we read about the
construction, and in chapter 7 we see the detailed labor of its furnishings. It
took seven years to build this Temple (a.k.a. Solomon’s Temple) to the Lord…
not including the time to prepare for the foundation. No doubt this was a
massive undertaking that, if it stood today, would be one of the wonders of the
world. These few chapters describe the
great care taken to make a place suitable for the worship of God. It must have
been reverent, and majestic… having the basic structures of the Tabernacle from
the wilderness.
I, for one, often struggle about how we “should” design worship
spaces. There is no right or wrong answer, but it is something I ponder. Often
on the same Sunday morning I am convinced that the awe and reverent worship of
God at 9:00, with the vestments and high liturgy, are the best way to approach
God’s worship. Then, I walk into the 9:45 and am struck with the aspect of
worship that God is approachable and loves us… right where we are today. I
think, “this is the best way to approach God’s worship.” And the fact is, I am
correct… on both counts.
What I think about Solomon’s Temples… that is, the lesson I get
from its construction, is that we should be thoughtful in our worship. God
accepts true worship that come from cathedrals, from plain church buildings,
from large and small homes, and hidden basements in Iran. It is not the place
that matters and its ornateness. It is the stature of the heart that matters
the most for God. While we ought to take care to design our worship spaces
thoughtfully and carefully, we should take far more care to make certain we are
the kind of people whose hearts are earnest and pure in our worship of God.
Lord, may the spaces we make for your worship be suitable to you. And may our hearts be, all the more, hearts
full of love for you from which comes true worship.