Solomon built a magnificent temple to the Lord, covering the interior with gold. Literally, tons and tons of gold. His father, David, collected gold through his various conquests, and stored it for use in the future. Solomon opened the vaults and made it rain.

I can’t help but think about construction practices using so much gold. Normally a jeweler works with gold, using small amounts to fashion rings or other pieces of jewelry. In this case, workers pounded out sheets of gold to attach to the walls, overlay beams, and even cover the floors. Golden nails held it all together.

I walked by some guys building a deck in our neighborhood recently. Off to the side lay their discard pile—cut-off ends of boards, bent nails, mistakes in the building process. I don’t imagine there was much of a discard pile of gold outside the temple, too incredibly valuable, even in vast quantities.

Solomon’s spectacular house of worship makes me think of the heavenly city described in Revelation 21. Along with the floors, there we’ll walk on entire streets of gold. Even better, no need for any construction projects, as the presence of the Lord Almighty will serve as our temple.

1 Kings 6 in week twenty-six of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Jingming Pan