A Layman's View of Solomans Temple As A Pattern For Worship

By Giles J. Isaacson

I was reading through the book of 1 Chronicles during my devotions one day when it struck me! Although I had read through this account many times before, I had not seen this wonderful truth. In this book, starting mainly with chapter 9, King David was mapping out the pattern for worship in the tabernacle and the Temple.

This pattern incorporated much music to give praise to the Lord, using choirs, solos, and instruments of all kinds and led by those gifted in leadership and in the directing of music. Second Chronicles tells about the completion of the Temple and how the actual pattern was fulfilled in the offering of awesome worship and praise to our amazing God.

Throughout the study of worship, my attention was continually drawn to the Temple that Solomon built. I began to see what a remarkable picture this is, first of all, of the Lord Jesus. And it is a pattern for worship and building up the church. There are many other aspects to an in-depth study of the Temple, but these were the parts that I focused on as I developed a workshop study of the Temple, Solomon’s Temple, as a pattern for worship. Later, I began to fill in the blanks and to make the outline into a manuscript resulting in this publication.

As I continued to study this concept, another exciting study became clear to me, which I entitled “Building the Believer Temple.” This essay takes us step by step in our spiritual growth as revealed through the Temple pattern.

The Temple study has greatly enhanced my times of worship and has changed my life and relationship with my Lord. I pray that you will likewise be wonderfully blessed as you read these pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685263546

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A Layman_s View of Solomans Temple As A Pattern For Worship

Giles J. Isaacson

ISBN 978-1-68526-353-9 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68526-354-6 (Digital)

Copyright © 2022 Giles J. Isaacson

All rights reserved

First Edition

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

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Table of Contents

The Purpose of This Study

The Temple That Solomon Built

The Tabernacle and the Temple Comparison

Foreword

The topic of the tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple has always been a fascination for me. First, there was the tabernacle, which God instructed Moses to build in the wilderness. It had to be fashioned in such a way that would allow it to be taken down and carted around whenever the Israelites were on the move. Moses didn’t have to come up with a plan or design for any of it. God gave detailed instructions for its construction and transportation. Furthermore, He gave the crafting ability to those who would then bring His tabernacle from idea to reality. Incredible. But God wasn’t finished.

Years later, while David was king, it was his desire to build God a house out of cedar, replacing the tabernacle, which was made out of tent. God’s response to David’s desire is found in 2 Samuel 7:5–13 (ESV), which states,

Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.’

Thus, it came about Solomon built the Temple, a permanent dwelling place for the God of Israel, far larger and grander than anything the Israelites could have imagined. Furthermore, God put His stamp of approval on the project in 1 Kings 6:11–13 (ESV):

Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my rules and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people Israel.

This book is a description of that Temple as a pattern for worship.

As I considered writing this foreword, several thoughts kept vying for my attention. First off, we know Solomon’s Temple was destroyed in AD 70. It had been destroyed and reconstructed several times due to Israel’s disobedience and rebellion against the Lord of Hosts. None of the reconstructed temples ever came close to the grandeur and splendor of Solomon’s Temple. After the AD 70 destruction, it was never rebuilt again. Nevertheless, we, as believers in the one true God, have an advantage that the Israelites did not have when it comes to worshiping God. We have direct access to the Father. Hebrews 10:19–22 (ESV) states:

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

When Christ died, the veil in the Temple was torn in two: And the curtain [veil] of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (Mark 15:38 ESV). Because of this, we are allowed to enter the Most Holy Place. Hebrews 6:19–20 says, We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. As a result, we can with confidence draw near to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16 ESV). Furthermore, it’s not limited to the Jews. This access is for all who have put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, a life-changing trust of repentance and obedience. This brings me to the second incredible thought.

As believers, our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit! First Corinthians 6:19–20 (ESV) states:

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

We are His temple! Just as the Temple was used for worship and glorifying God, so, too, we, as believers, need to be yielded in obedience to Christ so we can bring glory to Him in all we do and say. We are not our own.

Christ Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross. He shed His own blood. Hebrews 9:22 (ESV) states, Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. He became the perfect sacrifice, the sacrificial Lamb without blemish or spot (1 Peter 1:9 ESV). Because of this, He has purified us to serve Him. Hebrews 9:12–14 (ESV) says,

He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

As you read this book, may you be inspired to serve Christ Jesus and bring glory to Him in all you do and say. If you are a true believer, you are now His temple.

Mari Dekle (daughter)

Prologue

I was reading through the book of 1 Chronicles during my devotions one day when it struck me! Although I had read through this account many times before, I had not seen this wonderful truth. In this book, starting mainly with chapter 9, King David was mapping out the pattern for worship in the tabernacle and the Temple.

This pattern incorporated much music to give praise to the Lord, using choirs, solos, and instruments of all kinds and led by those gifted in leadership and in the directing of music. Second Chronicles tells about the completion of the Temple and how the actual pattern was fulfilled in the offering of awesome worship and praise to our amazing God.

Throughout the study of worship, my attention was continually drawn to the Temple that Solomon built. I began to see what a remarkable picture this is, first of all, of the Lord Jesus. And it is a pattern for worship and building up the church. There are many other aspects to an in-depth study of the Temple, but these were the parts that I focused on as I developed a workshop study of the Temple, Solomon’s Temple, as a pattern for worship. Later, I began to fill in the blanks and to make the outline into a