Build for time and self, It only turns to dust; But build along with God, It will forever last!
Solomon and his massive work crew spent seven years building the Lord’s house. Then “Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house” (1 Ki 7:1). Almost twice as long on his own place as on the Lord’s? I’ll hasten to add that this second “house” wasn’t just the king’s residence (with a private wing for his Egyptian wife, v 8), but also housed the administrative center for his empire, including “a hall for the throne, the Hall of Judgment, where he might judge” (v 7). Of course, the Lord warned them this would happen when they demanded a king (1 Sam 8:11-18). All by Himself the Lord runs the government of the whole universe—and doesn’t charge a penny for it! On the other hand, human government just keeps getting more complicated and more costly. According to Statista, there were about 22 million federal, state, and local government employees in the U.S. last year. And they’ve wasted so much money that the federal government is now borrowing $63,000 every second! Aren’t we glad that God has a plan to reclaim this world? Only our Lord Jesus will be able to set it all right. And this temple is a model of His audacious plan. We saw it in the building materials—Jewish stones and Gentile timbers. Now we see it in the builder himself. “King Solomon sent and brought Huram from Tyre. He was the son of a widow from the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a bronze worker; he was filled with wisdom and understanding and skill” (1 Ki 7:13-14). With both Jewish and Gentile heritage, he illustrates the mystery of the one Body, “that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs [with believing Jews], of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel” (Eph 3:6). Hallelujah!