My friend Sean Silverii recently returned from a trip to Israel. As part of him receiving a M.A., he took a class in Israel for 3 weeks as well as had a chance to survey some of the sites of the Bible. As he and I had coffee yesterday, he showed me some of the pictures and the actual places he was able to see. The item that struck me most was that of the Temple. When you see people standing next to it (what was rebuilt, not even the original!), you can see how dauting a structure it is. And it was made thousands of years ago! Without modern tools! I was blown away (and really want to go now). I recalled what was written about the temple in 2 Chronicles when Solomon was building it. Take the time to read through it, and note to self, a cubit is anywhere from 12-22 inches, depending on the length of a person's arm (I pick 17 inches since it's halfway).

2 Chronicles 3:1-4:22 (ESV)
¹ Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to David his father, at the place that David had appointed, on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. ² He began to build in the second month of the fourth year of his reign. ³ These are Solomon’s measurements for building the house of God: the length, in cubits of the old standard, was sixty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. ⁴ The vestibule in front of the nave of the house was twenty cubits long, equal to the width of the house, and its height was 120 cubits. He overlaid it on the inside with pure gold. ⁵ The nave he lined with cypress and covered it with fine gold and made palms and chains on it. ⁶ He adorned the house with settings of precious stones. The gold was gold of Parvaim. ⁷ So he lined the house with gold—its beams, its thresholds, its walls, and its doors—and he carved cherubim on the walls. ⁸ And he made the Most Holy Place. Its length, corresponding to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and its breadth was twenty cubits. He overlaid it with 600 talents of fine gold. ⁹ The weight of gold for the nails was fifty shekels. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. ¹⁰ In the Most Holy Place he made two cherubim of wood and overlaid them with gold. ¹¹ The wings of the cherubim together extended twenty cubits: one wing of the one, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and its other wing, of five cubits, touched the wing of the other cherub; ¹² and of this cherub, one wing, of five cubits, touched the wall of the house, and the other wing, also of five cubits, was joined to the wing of the first cherub. ¹³ The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. The cherubim stood on their feet, facing the nave. ¹⁴ And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it. ¹⁵ In front of the house he made two pillars thirty-five cubits high, with a capital of five cubits on the top of each. ¹⁶ He made chains like a necklace and put them on the tops of the pillars, and he made a hundred pomegranates and put them on the chains. ¹⁷ He set up the pillars in front of the temple, one on the south, the other on the north; that on the south he called Jachin, and that on the north Boaz. ¹ He made an altar of bronze, twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high. ² Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference. ³ Under it were figures of gourds, for ten cubits, compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. ⁴ It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east. The sea was set on them, and all their rear parts were inward. ⁵ Its thickness was a handbreadth. And its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held 3,000 baths. ⁶ He also made ten basins in which to wash, and set five on the south side, and five on the north side. In these they were to rinse off what was used for the burnt offering, and the sea was for the priests to wash in. ⁷ And he made ten golden lampstands as prescribed, and set them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. ⁸ He also made ten tables and placed them in the temple, five on the south side and five on the north. And he made a hundred basins of gold. ⁹ He made the court of the priests and the great court and doors for the court and overlaid their doors with bronze. ¹⁰ And he set the sea at the southeast corner of the house. ¹¹ Hiram also made the pots, the shovels, and the basins. So Hiram finished the work that he did for King Solomon on the house of God: ¹² the two pillars, the bowls, and the two capitals on the top of the pillars; and the two latticeworks to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the top of the pillars; ¹³ and the 400 pomegranates for the two latticeworks, two rows of pomegranates for each latticework, to cover the two bowls of the capitals that were on the pillars. ¹⁴ He made the stands also, and the basins on the stands, ¹⁵ and the one sea, and the twelve oxen underneath it. ¹⁶ The pots, the shovels, the forks, and all the equipment for these Huram-abi made of burnished bronze for King Solomon for the house of the Lord. ¹⁷ In the plain of the Jordan the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredah. ¹⁸ Solomon made all these things in great quantities, for the weight of the bronze was not sought. ¹⁹ So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of God: the golden altar, the tables for the bread of the Presence, ²⁰ the lampstands and their lamps of pure gold to burn before the inner sanctuary, as prescribed; ²¹ the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of purest gold; ²² the snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold, and the sockets of the temple, for the inner doors to the Most Holy Place and for the doors of the nave of the temple were of gold.

It is said that there was over twenty-three tons of gold used within the Temple, equalling about 736,000 ounces. With gold trading at $870.18 / ounce, that totals to $640,452,480! That is some serious coin. Over half a billion dollars dedicated to one building in one space at one place. When you see the size of it, it's astounding how much gold, gold precious items and money in general where put into this building. But to make a body to be a representation of the Almighty is quite the undertaking, so it's not like you want to take shortcuts anywhere.

Another friend of mine, DJ Van Hal, recently spoke a message at his church in Cleveland, OH (you can listen to the message by clicking here). In his message, he was dealing with the presence of God and how it moved from Eden, to tabernacle, to temple, to people. In light of all that we just read about what constituted the temple and how much value was put upon it, and read this:

1 Corinthians 6:19 (ESV)
¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a TEMPLE of the Holy Spirit (emphasis added) within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

WHOA!!! I mean really. WHOA!!! Half a billion into a building and God is referring to you and I as temples. Little buildings of golden everything. Precious metals, gems and lumber. You.

I was praying in our church's monthly prayer meeting and all of this came screeching together for me. DJ's sermon. Sean's pictures. The Bible's presentation of the Temple and of us the temple. What God sees in you and me is far better than what I see in myself. The value that God puts on you is far better than you see yourself. You are the dwelling place of the Most High (upon invitation to Him of course). You are the Temple. And He thinks that highly of you. WHOA!!!
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Now playing: Sufjan Stevens - In This Temple