We saw three additions to the temple that were not in the tabernacle. Now for three positive negatives!
In this study we will see three blessed negatives in the construction of this one-of-a-kind dwelling. First, “he made narrow ledges around the outside of the temple, so that the support beams would not be fastened into the walls of the temple” (1 Ki 6:6). If the temple illustrates God’s Son in glory, and it does (Jn 2:19, 21; Rev 21:22; see also 2 Cor 5:19), and the chambers point to His companions who praise Him night and day, then we can note both our nearness to Him and at the same time His uniqueness from us. The temple was a stand-alone building, although the beams leaned for support on its wall. There will be many sons brought to glory by His grace, but only one Son who came from glory at the Father’s behest. But second, “the temple, when it was being built, was built with stone finished at the quarry, so that no hammer or chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built” (1 Ki 6:7). If you walked by, just outside the enclosure, you would never know Israel’s greatest construction project was happening there in complete silence. So today, God is dynamiting stones loose from the world’s bedrock and shaping them to fit exactly into His plan. Does the world know? Are conversions announced each night on the evening news? Not at all. But the work continues right on schedule and will soon be complete. The third positive negative is found here: “All was cedar; there was no stone to be seen.…The whole temple he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the temple” (vv 18, 22). The stones, speaking of individual believers (1 Pet 2:5), are in the structure but not in sight. It was the gold-covered cedar on display. Oh that people today, when they look at us, will see the beauty of Jesus revealed!