Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 199
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SAMUEL–KINGS
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the way around the sides and rear of the building. The complex was three
stories high, the bottom floor being 71/2 feet wide, the second floor 9 feet
wide, and the top floor 101/2 feet wide. The rooms were connected to the
walls of the Temple by beams resting on ledges built out from the wall. So
the beams were not inserted into the walls themselves.
The stones used in the construction of the Temple were finished at the
quarry, so there was no sound of hammer, ax, or any other iron tool at the
building site.
The entrance to the bottom floor was on the south side of the Temple.
There were winding stairs going up to the second floor, and another flight
of stairs between the second and third floors. After completing the Temple
structure, Solomon put in a ceiling made of cedar beams and planks. As
already stated, he built a complex of rooms along the sides of the building,
attached to the Temple walls by cedar timbers. Each story of the complex
was 71/2 feet high.
Then the Lord gave this message to Solomon: “Concerning this
Temple you are building, if you keep all my decrees and regulations and
obey all my commands, I will fulfill through you the promise I made to
your father, David. I will live among the Israelites and will never abandon
my people Israel.”
So Solomon finished building the Temple. The entire inside, from floor
to ceiling, was paneled with wood. He paneled the walls and ceilings with
cedar, and he used planks of cypress for the floors. He partitioned off an
inner sanctuary—the Most Holy Place—at the far end of the Temple. It
was 30 feet deep and was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling. The
main room of the Temple, outside the Most Holy Place, was 60 feet
long. Cedar paneling completely covered the stone walls throughout the
Temple, and the paneling was decorated with carvings of gourds and open
flowers.
He prepared the inner sanctuary at the far end of the Temple, where
the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant would be placed. This inner sanctuary
was 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, and 30 feet high. He overlaid the inside
with solid gold. He also overlaid the altar made of cedar. Then Solomon
overlaid the rest of the Temple’s interior with solid gold, and he made
gold chains to protect the entrance to the Most Holy Place. So he finished
overlaying the entire Temple with gold, including the altar that belonged
to the Most Holy Place.
He made two cherubim of wild olive wood, each 15 feet tall, and placed
them in the inner sanctuary. The wingspan of each of the cherubim was
15 feet, each wing being 71/2 feet long. The two cherubim were identical
in shape and size; each was 15 feet tall. He placed them side by side in
the inner sanctuary of the Temple. Their outspread wings reached from