Four hundred and eighty years after God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, King Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord. This chapter describes the building of the temple in exquisite detail. This shows the love and reverence for the Lord that Solomon and all the temple builders had. According to its description, the building was large, beautiful, and majestic. At the construction site, no stones were dressed up, and no hammer or chisel was used to ensure the construction site was quiet as possible. This added to the feeling of reverence as the workers toiled at their holy project. Although this method may seem inconvenient or time-consuming, we see the Lord wants more than just a building, no matter how large and beautiful it may be. The Lord wants our hearts. He wants obedience to his word. When we love the Lord in this way, our hearts become his temple.

The temple would be a holy place. In the Most Holy Place, the inner sanctuary, the Ark of the covenant would be placed, in which was held the Ten Commandments and the jar of manna. It was the most beautiful part of the temple. It was an earthly representation of the kingdom of God.
Application: Father, you are the Lord our God. You deserve the most beautiful of temples and even more. You desire and deserve our hearts. May our hearts be temples to you.
One Word: God dwells with his people in their hearts Thursday, November 28