A Glorious House For a Glorious God
1/9/25 Bible Thought (1 Kings 5)
Our work for God is representative of our esteem for God.
A Look at 1 Kings 5
As we open up today’s chapter, we see Solomon’s plans for temple-building. It was originally in his father David’s heart to construct a house of worship (2 Sam. 7:1-2), but he was forbidden to do it because of his excessive bloodshed (1 Chr. 28:3). As such, the torch was passed to Solomon to execute the building project.
With this in mind, we must take note of the lavish preparations that were made.
Solomon contacted a neighboring king to have the cedars of Lebanon cut for Yahweh’s temple (1 Kings 5:6). Cedar wood was a precious commodity. Scholars conclude that these trees were “A symbol of luxury in architecture, they were used for lining the walls of palaces and temples.”[1] Furthermore, Solomon enlisted the Sidonians in the project, knowing that no one could cut wood as they could (1 Kings 5:6).
Even more, when it came to stonework, the Scripture records:
“At the king’s command they quarried out great, costly stones in order to lay the foundation of the house with dressed stones” (1 Kings 5:17).
Solomon spared no expense in temple-building. Why? Because the place of worship ought to reflect the glory of its owner. This is made clear in the parallel passage in 2 Chronicles, where Solomon declared:
“The house that I am to build will be great, for our God is greater than all gods. 6 But who is able to build him a house, since heaven, even highest heaven, cannot contain him? Who am I to build a house for him, except as a place to make offerings before him?” (2:5-6).
Solomon wanted a glorious temple because He served a glorious God. His esteem for God was proven through his desire to give God the very best that they were able to provide.
Bringing it Home
Actions speak louder than words, and Solomon’s desire to bring the very best he could showcased that he saw his God as One who was altogether worthy of the greatest that he could offer. Could this be said of us and our churches?
Truly, our esteem for God is proven not just through words, but through our actions.
If our service to God is always calculated in order to ensure we don’t do too much, what does this say about our view of God? If we are more concerned with the church’s budget and saving money than with the reflection of its Owner, what does this say about our view of God?
We can contrast the splendor of Solomon’s project with the offerings of the priests in the prophet Malachi’s day, a few centuries later. They were offering blind, lame, or sick animals (Mal. 1:8), and God was insulted. They did their best to ensure their sacrifices weren’t costly.
Yet economical worship is offensive to a God who is worthy of far beyond our very best.
Certainly, our buildings, our worship, our service, or anything we bring to the table will not measure up to the One who is infinite. No building project that human beings embark on would be worthy to be God’s house—for all of the heavens cannot contain Him. Yet, this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take seriously that He is worthy of the best that we have.
Perhaps, then, we ought to consider how our actions in every area of life reflect the worth of the One who is both our Creator and Redeemer.
Challenge for Today: Am I economical in my devotion to God? How often is my service to God, in any area, genuinely costly?
[1] John H Walton, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 26.