The first temple, designed by David, was built by his successor and drew the attention of the entire world due to the refinement of its construction, and its grandeur. But God showed Israel that it was no use having the best if the people were far from Him.



When the people of Israel conquered Jerusalem, it became the nerve centre of the kingdom. King David lived in a sumptuous palace. One day, he decided that it was not right for him to live in a large and complex building made of stone and wood and the Ark of the Covenant to dwell in a tent, the Tabernacle. He cherished in his heart the idea of building a great temple for God, a building in which everything would be just as in the Tabernacle, but which would have a permanent structure.

The second book of Samuel, chapter seven, clearly shows David telling Prophet Nathan, the king’s right-hand man, about his intent. However, God made it clear that David would not be the one to build the temple, but his son and successor. Nevertheless, David could begin to stockpile the material for the big contract (read 1 Chronicles 28:2-6).



When David felt that his days on earth were coming to an end, he called his son Solomon and determined that he would sit on the throne after his father’s death, and so he did.



Solomon’s reign was marked by peace between Israel and the peoples of the world, thanks to the wisdom of the monarch (which was granted to him by God as per his request), as well as luxury and ostentation.



But the sumptuousness of the great temple was not the only thing that drew people’s attention. The organization of the great work was something unparalleled at that time, by top professionals from different places. Thousands of men participated in the work. Thirty thousand men were assigned to cut wood—cedar from Lebanon and Cypress. There were 80,000 professionals just for cutting stones in Jerusalem. There were about 70,000 workers to do general services and superintendents. While the wood and rocks were local raw materials, gold, silver and other metals had to be imported. Kings of Israel’s allies also contributed to the work. Hiram of Tyre, for example, sent his best architects and artisans to Solomon.



The building site had to be Mount Moriah, where God had appeared to David, and where Abraham had gone to sacrifice his son Isaac, but was stopped by an angel who held his hand (read 2 Chronicles 3:1).



The temple was built in seven years. It was famous not only for its colossal size, but especially for the quality of the work, which used cutting-edge technology and arts. The book of 1 Kings describes the style of the construction and its realisation in detail: the stones and other materials were taken to the site ready for use, without being broken or sawn on site.



It was the most magnificent building ever, with several chambers and vestibules, reproducing the same layout of the ancient Tabernacle —which was disassembled and stored in the temple. It was a large complex with objects of art and luxurious utensils in every corner.


For the inauguration, Solomon held a grand ceremony that lasted seven days, with the presence of the people of Israel and representatives of allied nations. The Ark of the Covenant was carried into the Holy of Holies, and a cloud filled the room (see 1 Kings 8:1-11).



God blessed the temple and promised to protect Israel, as long as the people kept their faith incorruptible. If idolatry was introduced, not only would Israel be punished, but also the temple would be destroyed.



Rodrigo Silva, archaeologist in charge of the Paul Bork Museum of Biblical Archaeology, in São Paulo, says: “Unfortunately, the temple brought ‘religious bureaucracy’. Whilst in the Tabernacle people had direct access to the priests, in Solomon’s great temple the offerings and sacrifices were handled by several people until they reached the priests.” Moreover, according to Professor Rodrigo, the people of Israel did not take long to start idolising the temple itself, which became the pride of Israel.



Years later, the corruption and idolatry of the Israelites caused them to be defeated by the Babylonians. The temple, the pride of the Jewish people until today, was dilapidated, looted, and destroyed up to its foundations. All the care to build the temple, the cutting-edge technology and the luxury became useless, for the people got closer to the work of their own hands and turned from God. While the temple had in God its reason to exist (making an analogy between the building and the people of Israel), it remained standing, untouched. When the temple itself became the centre of attention, not the Almighty God, for whom it had been raised, both the temple and Jerusalem were destroyed. Again, the Israelites were enslaved by another race, as in the past.