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1KINGS
CHAPTER 6

1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.

Sometimes the dates given in the Bible tend to be a source of questioning for some people. And it's a good thing for us to question, IF we genuinely search out the answers.
What does the writer mean when he says the "..four hundred and eightieth year after the children were come out of the land of Egypt.."?
Perhaps we should think of it this way: David ruled for 40 years, Saul ruled for 40 years, and the period of the "judges" was about 400 years.
Therefore, if the "exodus" from Egypt occured at 1445BC, this would take us to 965BC for Solomon's first year of being king. Then, his fourth year (when he began construction on the temple) would have been 961BC.
All the dates in the Bible concur with one another (and with history) when the research is done properly.

2 And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. 3 And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. 4 And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. 5 And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about: 6 The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.

Ordinarily we think of a "cubit" as being 18 inches. This would make the temple about 90 feet long by 30 feet wide (verse 2).
The temple was divided into two sections: the holy place and the most holy place. The holy place was 60 feet long by 30 feet wide, contained the main entrance. The most holy place (or oracle, in verse 5) was 30 feet long by 30 feet wide. The most holy place was where the ark of the covenant was placed.
There was a porch on the front of the building that was 15 feet in depth and ran the entire width of the temple (30 feet, verse 3).
Small windows were placed strategcally to give light; and a building of rooms was constructed on either side of the temple to house the priests and levites (verses 4-6).

7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.

This verse, I believe, reflects the respect Solomon had for God. All the stones and timbers were cut AWAY FROM the temple site, and then carried to the site and assembled. That must have been some very precise measuring and cutting!
What we do for God should be done in respect toward him. He enables us to be precise and accurate in our work.

8 The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. 9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. 10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.

Solomon built the temple, then the outer buildings. He did not forget to add rooms for the priests who would constantly be changing their clothes due to the nature of their business.
Our Lord, Jesus Christ, is aware of our daily needs and will constantly supply them.

11 And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, 12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

God sent word to Solomon that as long as he and the people would abide by God's will expressed in His Word, He would continually bless them.
The best way to keep our minds on God is to learn His Word, and then, "..walk in.." His Word - or LIVE by it. And the blessing of learning and walking in God's Wordis joy and peace (see Isaiah 26:3, Psalm 119:97).

15 And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. 16 And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. 17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long. 18 And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.

Everything was built using the cedar wood Solomon obtained from Hiram. And the floor was covered with "..fir..", or cypress (verse 15).
The "..most holy place.." (verse 16) was 30 feet long, and the "..temple before it..," or the holy place, was 60 feet long.
All the cedar boards contained carved work (verse 18), and no stone was showing.

19 And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. 20 And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. 21 So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. 22 And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. 23 And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. 24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. 25 And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. 26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. 27 And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. 28 And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. 29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.

The holy of holies was completely overlaid with gold! All the riches that David and Solomon had reserved for the temple were now being totally given to God.
Solomon made two "cherubims" which were 15 feet tall, and each cherbuim's wingspan stretched 15 feet from finger tip to finger tip. That means the cherubim actually stretched the entire span of the 30 feet by 30 feet room. And these cherbim were also covered with gold!
All the walls were carved with intricate designs (verse 29).
When we build for God, we should build with beauty.

30 And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. 31 And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. 32 The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.

The floor of the temple was covered with gold!
A sort of french door was made to separate the holy of holies from the most holy place.

33 So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. 34 And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. 35 And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. 36 And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. 37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: 38 And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

The front doors were huge and made of olive wood (verse 33).
The "..two doors.." (verse 34) refers back to those two doors separating the holy of holies from the holy place. They also had carved works on them, and additional gold was placed on the carvings so that it protruded (verse 35).
The "..inner court.." was a square where the priests made the sacrifices (verse 36).
Solomon began the construction of the temple in April/May of his 4th year as king, and completed the work in October/November of his 11th year as king. It took seven years and six months!

NOTE: God's presence was NOT promised to the people on condition of building a magnificent and ornate temple. His presence was promised in relation to their OBEDIENCE! For God "..dwelleth not in temples made with hands..," (Acts 17:24); but God dwells in PEOPLS (1Corinthians 3:16).
The temple was (and should be today) built in HONOR of God for His great mercy which He has shown us.
(((For an excellent drawing of the temple see Hollman's Dictionary)))

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