The multitude of readers (likely counted on one hand) eagerly awaiting the next dispatch in this blog series on the temple are no doubt perturbed that a bit of time has elapsed since my previous post. Nonetheless, I confess to a certain amount of indecision as to how to approach this portion of the study. Obviously, there is a lot of detail given in II Kings and II Chronicles to preparations for, the building of, and the dedication of what came to be known to us in shorthand as Solomon's temple, and one could write numerous posts -- or an entire book -- on this subject alone. This has been done by others. That said, my approach up until now has been to provide the broad sweep of the biblical story, and with some reluctance I have decided that I will continue that approach here.
In an earlier post, I described the patriarchal altars in Genesis as transitional structures standing between the creational accounts and the construction of the tabernacle at Mount Sinai. I emphasized that the idea of transitional shouldn't cause one to think that they are unimportant. Somewhat similarly, but perhaps more surprisingly, I will also describe Solomon's temple as transitional on multiple levels. It provides a transition between the earlier tabernacle and the later coming of the true temple, Christ himself. It also provides a transition between descriptions of the cosmic and Edenic temples described in the opening chapters of the Bible and the description in Hebrews of the heavenly temple not made with hands, which provides the ultimate pattern for all biblical descriptions of faithful temples. Finally, it also provides a transitional structure connecting, once again, those temples in the opening of Genesis with the final temple, the New Jerusalem, that descends from heaven in Revelation 21 and 22.
This may seem confusing because it challenges our ordinary way of thinking about what is literal. If my analysis is correct, then Christ is the true temple, and Solomon's temple is an allegorical -- or better, typological -- depiction of Christ. Our tendency is to think the reverse, with the physical being the literal and anything else the "spiritual" or "symbolic" interpretation. However, the New Testament seems to take the opposite approach. Solomon's temple is the typological one pointing to the greater realities fulfilled in and through the arrival of Christ, who tabernacled among us, rebuilt the temple that men destroyed in three days, and mediates in our behalf in the heavenly temple, sweeping us into a new kingdom that ultimately will need no physical temple because Christ is there.
All of that briefly speaks to how Solomon's temple looks forward to the New Testament, but, as stated before, it points back to creation as well. In an earlier post, I justified my description of Genesis 1 as an account of temple building by pointing to the ways that Solomon's temple incorporated cosmic imagery into its design. In short, the three sections of the temple structure depicted the physical earth, the visible heavens, and the invisible heavens where only God and his angels dwell. The account of Solomon's temple adds many other features pointing back to the creation accounts. The clothing worn by its priests also presented a comparable threefold structure pointing to creation. It is also a matter of significance that the temple building refers back to the creation account through repetitions of the use of the number seven which hearken back to the seven days of creation and rest. Thus, the building of the temple took seven years, was dedicated in the seventh month in a festival that extended for seven days. There is more that can be said about this, but I will stop there.
Throughout the book of Exodus and the remaining Pentatuechal accounts of Israel's wilderness wanderings, God's glory as depicted by a great cloud of fire and smoke guided them. When the tabernacle was completed in Exodus 40, that great, massive cloud descended and filled the tabernacle with the glory of God. In the same manner, the glory of God filled the temple at Solomon's dedication. John 1 uses the same language, telling us that the Word pitched his tent among us, and "we beheld his glory, as the only begotten of the Father...." This begins a theme of Jesus' glory that is perhaps an underappreciated feature of John's Gospel. The connections from early biblical history through the temple and to Christ run deep.
While Solomon's temple, in contrast to the movable tabernacle, was regarded as permanent, it would in fact be destroyed by the Babylonians. At the end of the exile, a second temple would be built. The rebuilding will be the subject of the next post.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Monday, September 03, 2018
The Proffered Temple, Deferred
In II Samuel 7, King David made what seemed to be an extraordinary offer to the prophet Nathan, and it is understandable that the prophet immediately accepted the proposal that a temple would be built by the king. However, over night Nathan received guidance from the Lord that compelled a change of mind.
It seemed like an ideal time for David to take on this project. In II Samuel 5 he was finally recognized as the king of all Israel, having worked carefully to overcome the opposition of the northern tribes. At the end of that same chapter he decisively defeated the Philistines, thus reducing hostility from Israel's primary external threat. He followed that victory by bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, thus uniting the city as both the seat of government and the center of the worship of God. For centuries Israel had languished under the uneven rule of various judges and King Saul. Finally, everything seemed to be coming together. When David expressed regret that he lived in a fine house while the Ark of the Covenant moved about beneath a tent, he expressed a theme that would later be picked up by the prophet Haggai, who called for the post-exilic Israelites to repent of doing the same.
Yet, God told David that it was not time to build a temple.
It is common for modern preachers on this text to note the ongoing warfare associated with David and to focus on that theme as the reason for the temple being delayed to be built by Solomon. While this is not mentioned by either David or Nathan in II Samuel 7, it is stated as a reason later by Solomon, but it nonetheless is a mistake to stop there when thinking about reasons for the delay.
Why did God not let David build him a house? Why was Solomon's temple not David's temple?
It seems that the primary reason is that God delayed the building of the temple in order to prioritize the covenant that God was making with David in this episode. It is important to remember that all of the faithful temple building activity that we have looked at (in Genesis and Exodus) has been associated with covenant making and confirmation between God and his people. Now, David wanted to build a house for God, but temple building of this magnitude would be associated with a similarly magnificent covenant. David's request was to build a house for the Lord who could not be contained by all of the heavens, but God now initiated a covenant of a different nature. Rather than have David build a house for him, God would build a house for David. What would be the nature of this house? David's "house" would be a "throne...established forever."
This was a gracious covenant that God would fulfill even though David's descendants would "commit iniquity." In fact, there is a dual fulfillment in this covenant. Temporally, David would father King Solomon, and Solomon and his heirs would reign from Jerusalem for hundreds of years. However, hundreds of years does not equal forever, and ultimately the theocracy would fall in judgment from God for the nation's sins. However, the promises to David are ultimately fulfilled in his descendent and Lord, Jesus Christ, who would ultimately come and who now reigns over his kingdom, and who one day will reign in all of his glory. Because Jesus Christ unites the offices of priest and king (and prophet, though that is the subject of another post) he fulfills so much of what is looked forward to in the Davidic texts. He would be the King who reigns eternally on David's throne. He is the priest who offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins and who continually makes intercession for us. He also is the fulfillment of the typology of the temple, with Jesus promising that those who destroyed his body could not prevent his temple from being raised three days later. Because the true temple came in the person of Christ, that which was then standing became unnecessary and obsolete, so that a prayer in faith to remove "this mountain" could now be heard and answered by the Father.
All of this and more is wrapped up in the covenant promise made to David. Having promised to build David a house, God would then let Solomon build one for him.
It seemed like an ideal time for David to take on this project. In II Samuel 5 he was finally recognized as the king of all Israel, having worked carefully to overcome the opposition of the northern tribes. At the end of that same chapter he decisively defeated the Philistines, thus reducing hostility from Israel's primary external threat. He followed that victory by bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, thus uniting the city as both the seat of government and the center of the worship of God. For centuries Israel had languished under the uneven rule of various judges and King Saul. Finally, everything seemed to be coming together. When David expressed regret that he lived in a fine house while the Ark of the Covenant moved about beneath a tent, he expressed a theme that would later be picked up by the prophet Haggai, who called for the post-exilic Israelites to repent of doing the same.
Yet, God told David that it was not time to build a temple.
It is common for modern preachers on this text to note the ongoing warfare associated with David and to focus on that theme as the reason for the temple being delayed to be built by Solomon. While this is not mentioned by either David or Nathan in II Samuel 7, it is stated as a reason later by Solomon, but it nonetheless is a mistake to stop there when thinking about reasons for the delay.
Why did God not let David build him a house? Why was Solomon's temple not David's temple?
It seems that the primary reason is that God delayed the building of the temple in order to prioritize the covenant that God was making with David in this episode. It is important to remember that all of the faithful temple building activity that we have looked at (in Genesis and Exodus) has been associated with covenant making and confirmation between God and his people. Now, David wanted to build a house for God, but temple building of this magnitude would be associated with a similarly magnificent covenant. David's request was to build a house for the Lord who could not be contained by all of the heavens, but God now initiated a covenant of a different nature. Rather than have David build a house for him, God would build a house for David. What would be the nature of this house? David's "house" would be a "throne...established forever."
This was a gracious covenant that God would fulfill even though David's descendants would "commit iniquity." In fact, there is a dual fulfillment in this covenant. Temporally, David would father King Solomon, and Solomon and his heirs would reign from Jerusalem for hundreds of years. However, hundreds of years does not equal forever, and ultimately the theocracy would fall in judgment from God for the nation's sins. However, the promises to David are ultimately fulfilled in his descendent and Lord, Jesus Christ, who would ultimately come and who now reigns over his kingdom, and who one day will reign in all of his glory. Because Jesus Christ unites the offices of priest and king (and prophet, though that is the subject of another post) he fulfills so much of what is looked forward to in the Davidic texts. He would be the King who reigns eternally on David's throne. He is the priest who offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins and who continually makes intercession for us. He also is the fulfillment of the typology of the temple, with Jesus promising that those who destroyed his body could not prevent his temple from being raised three days later. Because the true temple came in the person of Christ, that which was then standing became unnecessary and obsolete, so that a prayer in faith to remove "this mountain" could now be heard and answered by the Father.
All of this and more is wrapped up in the covenant promise made to David. Having promised to build David a house, God would then let Solomon build one for him.
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