Have you ever done a study on Solomon’s Temple? It is absolutely AMAZING! We see in 1 Chronicles 22:14 KJV that David had already set aside “for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.” 1 Chronicles 22:14 KJV
We also know that when it was time for the offering for the Temple that he added to this amount! “Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for things to be made of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and the brass for things of brass, the iron for things of iron, and wood for things of wood; onyx stones, and stones to be set, glistering stones, and of divers colours, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. Moreover, because I have set my affection to the house of my God, I have of mine own proper good, of gold and silver, which I have given to the house of my God, over and above all that I have prepared for the holy house, Even three thousand talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and seven thousand talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the houses withal:” 1 Chronicles 29:2-4 KJV
Additionally, when David opened up the opportunity for others to give, the people added greatly to this amount, “The gold for things of gold, and the silver for things of silver, and for all manner of work to be made by the hands of artificers. And who then is willing to consecrate his service this day unto the Lord? Then the chief of the fathers and princes of the tribes of Israel, and the captains of thousands and of hundreds, with the rulers of the king’s work, offered willingly, And gave for the service of the house of God of gold five thousand talents and ten thousand drams, and of silver ten thousand talents, and of brass eighteen thousand talents, and one hundred thousand talents of iron. And they with whom precious stones were found gave them to the treasure of the house of the Lord, by the hand of Jehiel the Gershonite. Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.” 1 Chronicles 29:5-9 KJV
In today’s terms, this roughly equates to a total of 302 TONS of gold, 637.5 TONS of silver, 675 TONS of brass, 3750 TONS of iron, “all manner’ of precious stones, marble and cedar trees in abundance! Just the gold alone, in today’s dollars, would be approximately $17.5 BILLION!!
Why so much investment? Why such extravagance and opulence? Because “the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it . . . arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.” 1 Chronicles 22:5,19 KJV
Notice David said it MUST be exceeding magnifical! The Lord God Almighty Himself is going to allow His very presence to dwell in this place!
Indeed, we see in 2 Chronicles 7:1 KJV, “Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.” And in verses 12,16, “And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.”
Can you imagine what diligence, and with what fervor, the temple was guarded against invaders, trespassers and ungodly things?!
Well, we don’t have to leave it all up to our imaginations! We can see the perfect example of it in the book of St. John chapter 2. “Now the Passover of the Jews was approaching, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem. There He found in the temple [enclosure] those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting there [also at their stands]. And having made a lash (a whip) of cords, He drove them all out of the temple [enclosure]–both the sheep and the oxen–spilling and scattering the brokers’ money and upsetting and tossing around their trays (their stands). Then to those who sold the doves He said, Take these things away (out of here)! Make not My Father’s house a house of merchandise (a marketplace, a sales shop)! [Ps. 93:5.] And His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Holy Scriptures], Zeal (the fervor of love) for Your house will eat Me up. [I will be consumed with jealousy for the honor of Your house.] [Ps. 69:9.]” John 2:13-17 AMPC
The fervor of love for Your house! For the honor of Your House!
Read that again!
What’s my point? What does all this meant to us?
“And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” 2 Corinthians 6:16 KJV
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?” 1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV
In our New Covenant, WE are the temple of God. The living God dwells in our bodies and we know from Ephesians chapter 5 that we are supposed to love and watch over God’s temple now just as in the First Covenant. “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:” Ephesians 5:28-29 KJV
Well now, that being the case, how DARE we allow ungodly invaders and trespassers such as sickness and disease in the temple of God! If you continue reading there in 1 Corinthians 6, you will see that, in verse 20, you are bought with a price. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20 KJV
Our temple was bought with something far more valuable than ALL the gold and silver that exists! Our temple was purchased with the very blood of the spotless, sinless Son of God Himself!
It is no wonder that Romans 12:1 KJV profoundly states, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Romans 12:1 KJV
It is simply our reasonable service to keep this body living, holy and acceptable – free of sickness and disease! These bodies are OURS! They have been given to us and we have authority over them. Look at 1 Corinthians 9 and you will see what I mean. “But I keep under MY body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” 1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV
Notice that Paul, by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, says that it is HIS body and that HE is the one who is responsible to keep it in subjection. Subjection to what? Subjection to the WORD! The Word of healing. The Word of divine health.
The Sword of the Spirit that drives out ungodly invaders and trespassers bless God!
I’m telling you that sometimes you have to just plain get fighting mad about it, let the fervor of love for the honor of the house of God rise up inside you and take 1 Peter 2:24 and Psalms 107:20 and drive that foreign invader out!
Say this, “The Word of the living God says that by Jesus’ stripes I was and am healed! He sent that very Word to me to heal me and deliver me from ALL my destructions! Sickness and disease, on the basis of the Word and the blood, I command you to depart this temple NOW! Temple, be made whole in the Name of Jesus! Amen!”
Glory to God! We agree with you!