After seven years of construction, King Solomon inaugurates the Temple. The event takes place 480 years after the Exodus and description of the Tabernacle—the place of worship that God commanded Moses to build in the Sinai desert. The main sanctuary of the Temple houses the altar of incense and leads to the innermost chamber—the Holy of Holies. This last space is home to the Ark of the Covenant and two majestically sculpted cherubim. Solomon’s Temple will become the secret source of abundance on earth and the dwelling place of the divine presence. The king and his people’s behavior is a precondition for unlocking God’s blessing. If they succeed in maintaining justice and observing divine law, God’s presence will remain with them.
“And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house” (1 Kings 6:2-3)
“Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel” (1 Kings 6:12-13)
Integrity is honest and uncompromising adherence to our guiding moral principles.
